By Sarina Trangle
A White Plains federal court judge ruled Thursday that former Queens GOP Vice Chairman Vincent Tabone’s trial would resume with co-defendant state Sen. Malcolm Smith (D-Hollis ) despite his attorney requesting an adjournment because of her pregnancy, prosecutors said.
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara’s office said jury selection was slated for Jan. 5.
The two were charged in what prosecutors described as a scheme orchestrated by Smith to bribe his way onto the Republican ticket in the 2013 mayoral elections.
Because the state senator was a registered Democrat, he needed consent from three of the five county GOP organizations to assume their line.
He is charged with steering $500,000 in state funding to a sham upstate project in exchange for its recipients agreeing to finance his suspected bribes of county GOP leaders.
Tabone is charged with pocketing a $25,000 alleged bribe and attempting to convince the now-deceased Queens GOP boss Phil Ragusa not to testify.
A jury previously found former Republican City Councilman Daniel Halloran of Bayside guilty of acting as Smith’s power broker among GOP circles while accepting kickbacks.
His case was severed from Smith’s and Tabone’s this June. Their attorneys successfully sought mistrials because prosecutors did not release hours of conversation and text messages in Yiddish from a wiretap on a cooperating witness’s phone ahead of the trial.
As the second trial approached, Tabone’s attorney, Deborah Misir, sought to delay the case until September because of what she described as a high-risk pregnancy and planned maternity leave.
Smith’s attorney, Gerald Shargel, opposed further delays, but said he would be comfortable with the senator’s case proceeding alone.
Prosecutors argued severing the cases would impair their argument and that Smith’s right to a speedy trial did not overshadow Tabone’s right to an attorney of his choice.
Federal Judge Kenneth Karas sided with the government.
Misir could not immediately be reached for comment.
Leo Ahern, an attorney retained by Misir’s firm to assist with Tabone’s trial, said his client was currently considering his options.
“He was disappointed with the judge’s ruling and wanted Ms. Misir to represent him along with me,” Ahern said. “If he’s going to get a new lawyer, he’s got to do it right away.”
Reach reporter Sarina Trangle by e-mail at strangle@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 260–4546.
