Nocella was ordered to pay the penalty last month by Common Pleas Court Judge Gary DiVito in a ruling that affirmed the board's allegation that Nocella helped empty the bank account of a high-profile political action committee called the Appreciation Fund to avoid paying a separate fine.

In 2007, the board fined the Appreciation Fund $39,000 for failing to file a campaign-finance report despite several extensions. Founded in 2003 by Carol Campbell, a former city councilwoman and city Democratic Party secretary, the PAC mostly raised money from judicial candidates backed by the party.

Nocella was formerly an attorney for the Appreciation Fund, which went on to spend all but $109 of its cash on hand in the months after the ethics board fine. In its lawsuit, the board contended that the spending had been deliberate.

For example, the fund paid a $13,350 catering bill on behalf of U.S. Rep. Bob Brady's 2007 mayoral campaign committee.

Last month, DiVito held Nocella and the Appreciation Fund's treasurer, Ernesto DeNofa, personally liable for the ethics board's $39,000 fine.

But Nocella and DeNofa reached a settlement with the board that requires them together to pay just $16,440. That was the amount the PAC had when the board was trying to collect the fine.

The agreement to pay less than half was part of a "practical and realistic" resolution, Shane Creamer Jr., the board's executive director, said yesterday.

Nocella and DeNofa are expected to pay next week, he added.

The parties agreed that the remaining $22,560 will remain a sum to be paid to the board if the PAC begins raising money again.

Nocella, a longtime insider who for years has provided free legal work for Philadelphia's Democratic Party, was appointed judge by Gov. Rendell last 2008 to fill a vacancy. Though still on the bench, he lost a bid for a new term in May's Democratic primary.

DeNofa is assistant treasurer of Brady's House campaign committee.