Trial and furor
Lawyers in shoving match at cop-bribery case
The bribery trial of a Brooklyn businessman and a former NYPD deputy inspector went off the rails Tuesday after a heated courthouse spat between a defense attorney and a prosecutor.
The showdown between Assistant U.S. Attorney Martin Bell and ex-cop James Grant’s attorney John Meringolo led to threats of criminal charges against Meringolo, as well as a possible mistrial.
The livid litigators went nose to nose after Meringolo allegedly threatened the government’s star witness, Jona Rechnitz. A Grant supporter said he separated the two men.
“Peoples’ tempers were up. It’s been a hard fought trial. We all realize we need to be politer and act in a way that doesn’t inflame each other,” said peacemaker Susan Necheles, an attorney for businessman Jeremy Reichberg.
Judge Gregory Woods sent the jury home and held a hearing in which Grant said under oath he wanted to continue using Meringolo as his lawyer, despite the kerfuffle.
The trial, which is in its fourth week, has been heated from the start. Things reached a boiling point around 9 a.m. Tuesday as FBI agents escorted Rechnitz, a corrupt donor to Mayor de Blasio, from an elevator to the courtroom.
Meringolo, an animated attorney from Bensonhurst, was chatting with Grant’s supporters as Rechnitz passed by, several witnesses said.
“You’re a disgrace,” Meringolo allegedly told Rechnitz.
Word quickly reached prosecutors and Bell angrily stormed out of the courtroom to confront Meringolo.
“You better wake up from this dream. You’re going to find yourself in trouble!” Bell yelled, according to someone in Grant’s camp. Shoving ensued. “Mr. Bell barges out and threatens me and tries to walk toward me in a very confrontational way, so I pushed him away. I did not pop him in his mouth, but I pushed him away from me,” Merinoglo said.
“You can’t come out there threatening my life like you’re a big shot ... I’m going to take the threats wholeheartedly. I’m just not going to have it.”
The episode presented such a risk to the trial that U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman, the top federal prosecutor in Manhattan, got involved. He pledged the feds would not prosecute Meringolo for the comment to Rechnitz or ensuing fracas, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Lonergan said.
Potential charges included intimidating a witness, assault on federal property and threats of violence to a prosecutor in the conduct of his business, Judge Woods said, calling the confrontation “a freighted and unfortunate situation.”
Grant is accused of accepting bribes — including a private flight to Las Vegas with a prostitute — from Reichberg and Rechnitz. Grant allegedly then used his power in the NYPD to help make the men look like big shots through police escorts and other favors.
Reicbherg is accused of showering numerous cops with gifts.
The trial has been unusually tense for federal court, where judges usually exert strict control over proceedings.
Woods has warned Meringolo twice for what the judge called “ejaculations of outrage.” He ordered the jury to ignore Meringolo’s outbursts.
The judge has also asked Reichberg’s supporters, many of whom are Orthodox Jews, to refrain from displaying images of rabbis that could be seen by the jury. Several men in Reichberg’s camp have angrily stared at Rechnitz during breaks in testimony.
Bell has raised concerns about “heckling” and “harassment” of Rechnitz while he’s on the stand — allegations that have been dismissed by the defense.