The jury in the corruption trial of former Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno has notified the judge that it has reached a consensus on two of the eight counts against the Rensselaer County Republican and is deadlocked on the other six, Jon Campbell of Gannett’s Albany Bureau reports from the federal courthouse in Albany.
In a note to U.S. District Court Judge Gary Sharpe shortly after 2 p.m. today, the jury said it’s not ready to give up and has asked for some help. This is the wording of the note:
“After careful consideration, we have come to a consensus on two counts. We cannot come to a decisionn on the other six counts. Could you please provide us with some guidance as to how we are to proceed. We are not ready to give up, but we could use some assistance.”
Sharpe had an issue with the use of the word “consensus,” because it doesn’t mean unanimous. He reminded jury members that the options on the charges are unanimous guilty, unanimous not guilty or hung. He requested a second note from the jury to clarify the situation.
Today is the jury’s third day of deliberations in the trial of Bruno, who is charged with eight counts of federal mail and wire fraud. Prosecutors allege he used his private consulting practice for personal gain, saying he received more than $3 million from individuals or groups in exchange for his political influence.
Bruno, 80, resigned his political office last year.
6 Comments
I am guessing not guilty on two….and they can’t
agree on the other 6…i would be surprised if they
convicted but who knows….80 years old and upstate
jury…...and of course he may have benefited but
the line between a part time state job and what
he did privately has always been blury..
Blurry for a reason. The legislature SAW TO IT, and continues to see to it that there exists blurriness (for themselves.) Do you think this kind of widespread secret selling-out of the taxpayer, sub-rosa payoffs and shenanigans by elected and appointed officials is ethical, honest, reasonable, truthful, useful, lawful? Who cares if he’s 80 years old? He got old, so what? Same goes for Silver. Same goes for Duke Cunningham. Same goes for Jefferson of Louisiana. Same goes for the deceased Ron Brown. Same goes for Charlie Rangel. Same goes for Blagojevitch from Illinois. Same goes for boatloads of them!
hey porpoise..i agree with you completely just trying to
assess what the jury is thinking frankly i hope they put
his rear end in jail…..these guys just don’t know where
the line is..but having said that I am not sure the jury
will be convinced that there is a line after hearing the
defense arguments…lawyers can justify just about anything
jeffrey: As you say, and I agree, he’s got every right to a muscular defense (for which, unfortunately he’s paying with campaign funds – another example of the sweet little deals they set up for themselves). I just hope the jury utilizes common sense in their ultimate judgment, which sometimes trumps legal argument no matter how couched in the persiflage of law when, as in this case, it is indefensibly written to protect only those who write it. I care little if he’s incarcerated – the issue is much larger than him, but it is high time a message is sent to all of them that this type of neanderthal governing is no longer acceptable.
I’m with you..but having seen the oj jury, and the bronfman
jury and lots of other juries….they can be driven to
conclusions that defy the reality of the evidence
If John Gottie Jr. can get hung jury after hung jury, you can rest assured that Bruno will see no jail time.