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Ex-NY Senate Leader Dean Skelos Seeks New Trial On Appeal

Former New York state Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos
Karen DeWitt
Former State Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos

Federal appeals court judges don't seem eager to embrace the arguments of lawyers seeking a new trial for Republican former New York Senate leader Dean Skelos.

Skelos was convicted of strong-arming three companies into giving his son $300,000 and was sentenced to five years in prison.

A three-judge panel Thursday heard attorney Alexandra Shapiro argue on Skelos' behalf the convictions of him and his son should be vacated. Shapiro says that would be consistent with a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling reversing the conviction of a former Virginia governor. The government disagrees.

Circuit Judge Reena Raggi of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals challenged Shapiro repeatedly, saying Shapiro was being "a little selective in the facts."

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press.

Dave Lucas is WAMC’s Capital Region Bureau Chief. Born and raised in Albany, he’s been involved in nearly every aspect of local radio since 1981. Before joining WAMC, Dave was a reporter and anchor at WGY in Schenectady. Prior to that he hosted talk shows on WYJB and WROW, including the 1999 series of overnight radio broadcasts tracking the JonBenet Ramsey murder case with a cast of callers and characters from all over the world via the internet. In 2012, Dave received a Communicator Award of Distinction for his WAMC news story "Fail: The NYS Flood Panel," which explores whether the damage from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee could have been prevented or at least curbed. Dave began his radio career as a “morning personality” at WABY in Albany.
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