Newly Disclosed Tapes Could Stop Malcolm Smith Corruption Trial
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The judge at the corruption trial of three New York politicians is being asked to declare a mistrial and even dismiss the charges.
Defense attorneys argued Friday that the trial must be halted because more than 90 hours of secret recordings -- including 28 hours in Yiddish -- had been withheld by prosecutors until this week.
Newly Disclosed Tapes Could Stop Malcolm Smith Corruption Trial
They claim the recordings include material favorable to the defendants: state Sen. Malcolm Smith, former City Councilman Daniel Halloran and former Queens Republican leader Vincent Tabone.
They're accused of scheming to bribe Republican party leaders so Smith, a Democrat, could run for the GOP line in the New York City mayoral race.
Smith's attorney moved for a mistrial, the others for dismissal of the indictment.
Judge Kenneth Karas has made it clear he won't postpone the trial so that it's still going on through the 4th of July fireworks and said he'll decide what to do on Monday, WCBS 880's Irene Cornell reported.
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