Judge Felix J. Catena Judge Felix J. Catena

Felix J. Catena will be the new administrative judge for the Fourth District beginning July 1.

Catena will oversee the day-to-day management of the trial-level courts in the Unified Court System's largest geographic district, which comprises 11 counties in Northern New York.

He replaces Judge Vito C. Caruso, who has been named deputy chief administrative judge for courts outside New York City.

Chief Administrative Judge Lawrence Marks credited Catena with playing a key role in launching the district's first opioid intervention court.

Catena began his judicial career in 1995 as a judge in Amsterdam City Court. He was appointed in February 1999 to Montgomery County Court. He was designated an acting Surrogate and Family Court judge in March 1999 and an acting Supreme Court justice in January 2001. He has served as the Fourth Judicial District's supervising judge for county courts since 2015.