103 witnesses to testify against Bruno
ALBANY—Federal prosecutors plan to call 103 witnesses in their corruption case against former State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, including business associates, former aides, top lobbyists, lawmakers and two reporters.
In filings submitted by the U. S. attorney’s office in federal court in Albany, prosecutors outlined their case, stemming from an eight-count indictment filed in January against Albany’s former top Republican.
The case is due to go to trial next month in what will be widely watched testimony that, besides going into the case against Bruno, also could reveal some of the secrets of how business is done at the State Capitol.
Among those on the government’s witness list are four Republican lawmakers — Sens. George Maziarz of Newfane, Michael Nozzollio of Seneca Falls, Elizabeth Little of Glens Falls and William Larkin of Orange County—along with legal, communications and policy advisers who once served under Bruno before he left office under a cloud last year.
Bruno’s lawyers plan to call 119 people to testify, including some of the same individuals on the government’s list such as Maziarz. Among those appearing only on Bruno’s witness list are top lobbyists such as James Featherstonhaugh; David Catalfamo, who was the communications director for former Gov. George E. Pataki; and several senators, including Republican Dale Volker of Depew. Maziarz and Volker did not return calls to comment.
Prosecutors also plan to call two reporters—New York magazine’s Geoffrey Gray and former New York Sun reporter William Hammond, now a New York Daily News editorial writer and columnist — to verify statements in articles they wrote about Bruno’s outside business dealings.
Bruno, who resigned his Senate seat last year, now is an executive with an Albany-area consulting firm that has major business dealings with the state government.
The government’s case alleges Bruno committed fraud by denying New Yorkers his “honest services” as a public servant as a result of his outside business dealings. In court papers, Bruno’s lawyers argue that the theft of “honest services” charge is “in a state of flux” around the country, noting an upcoming case before the U. S. Supreme Court on the charge that prosecutors have turned to in cases against public officials.
Bruno also faces mail and wire fraud charges involving his business ties to private companies, including Wright Investors Service, and labor unions. The charges carry a penalty of up to 20 years in prison.
Lawyers had until Monday to submit what ended up being hundreds of pages of documents for a trial set to begin Nov. 2.
The government maintains that Bruno entered into outside business arrangements with entities that had dealings before the state and that the veteran lawmaker, who served 30 years in the Senate, tried to conceal some of those dealings. Prosecutors allege the wrongdoing occurred from August 1992 until December 2006, when Bruno shocked Albany by revealing he was the target of an FBI probe.
In their document filings, Bruno’s lawyers maintain the lawmaker served in a part-time Legislature and had every legal right to maintain an outside consulting company. They deny that money Bruno received represented gifts by entities trying to influence a top lawmaker. They said it was income derived from his services.
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