Malcolm Smith faces a mistrial after being accused of scheming with other Queens elected officials to get his name onto the mayoral ballot as a Republican.
File Photo
A federal judge declared a mistrial in a federal corruption case involving state Sen. Malcolm Smith (D-Hollis), pushing it back to January.
Smith had asked to have start the trial over after new information was brought to the table earlier this month. He was charged along with co-defendant and former Queens Republican vice chairman Vincent Tabone with bribery and corruption in an attempt to have his name appear on the mayoral ballot as a Republican.
Former City Councilman Dan Halloran expects his trial to start this week. File Photo
Former City Councilman Dan Halloran (R-Whitestone), who was also part of the elaborate scheme to allegedly get Smith’s name into the mayoral race last year, opted to have his trial continue this week, his lawyer Vinoo Verghese said.
Court records showed prosecutors brought new evidence to light earlier this month, including recorded conversations and text messages in Yiddish. The defense attorneys argued the new information was issued too late into the process, making it difficult for them to field an appropriate response when trial time arrived.
The attorney representing Tabone filed documents in court saying his opening statement would have been different if he had only known what kinds of evidence the prosecution would be including.
But Halloran’s lawyer said he did not want to seek a mistrial after waiting more than one year since his April 2013 arrest for his day in court. His court date was scheduled to proceed June 25, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in White Plains.
Halloran attempted to delay his initial court date last month on the grounds of insanity, arguing that brain surgery he underwent in 2012 rendered him unable to comprehend the nature of his actions. Judge Kenneth Karas dismissed that motion earlier this month.
Former GOP Vice Chair Vincent Tabone is charged as part of the elaborate corruption and bribery scandal to get Malcolm Smith’s name onto the mayoral ballot as a Republican. File Photo
Prosecutors accused Halloran of helping Smith handle nearly $500,000 in taxpayer dollars to fund a fake real estate project in order to fund his political campaign. Halloran reportedly received at least $60,000 in exchange for his assistance, documents said.
Smith was looking for GOP support to get him on the mayoral ballot as a Republican, prosecutors said. Tabone has been charged with receiving roughly $25,000 in helping Smith in his efforts of gaining the GOP line on the mayoral ballot, documents showed
Former Republican county chairman from the Bronx Joseph Savino was also arrested in the alleged scheme and pleaded guilty in November to bribery, conspiracy and wire fraud for accepting nearly $15,000. Joseph Desmaret, a former deputy mayor from Spring Valley, also pleaded guilty in January to accepting $10,500 in bribes to sell village land in connection to the scheme.
By Phil Corso
