Skeloses appeal case

Cite Supreme Court decision in argument to overturn conviction

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Dean and Adam Skelos have officially appealed their corruption sentences, and are now petitioning to remain out of prison until the appeals process is complete.

The father and son were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Kimba Wood on May 12 for their parts in corruption schemes that leveraged the elder Skelos’s influence as majority leader of the State Senate to procure jobs and monetary payments for his son. Dean was sentenced to five years in prison and a $500,000 fine, while Adam was sentenced to six and a half years. The two were also ordered to repay the $334,120 their scheme earned.

However, they have been free men since their sentencing, and no date has been set for them to report to prison. At the sentencing, lawyers for both men requested that they be granted bail pending appeal, and Wood agreed.

Lawyers for the pair detailed their arguments in court papers filed last week. They requested continued bail pending appeal, as well as a stay of the Skeloses’ financial penalties.

“This is a paradigm case for bail,” the documents read. “It is undisputed that Dean and Adam Skelos pose no risk of flight or danger to the community. They are therefore entitled to bail if their appeals raise a ‘substantial’ question that could lead to reversal or a new trial.”

That question, the defense says, comes from the Supreme Court decision in McDonnell v. United States, which was decided in late June. The court unanimously overturned the corruption conviction of former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, ruling that the definition of “official act” under corruption laws was too vague.

McDonnell and his wife were convicted of federal bribery charges for taking $175,000 in loans, gifts and other benefits from a local businessman.

But because of the Supreme Court’s decision, the Skeloses’ attorneys claim, their convictions cannot be upheld, because what they did no longer constitutes corruption.

“The Skeloses will likely be entitled (at a minimum) to a new trial under McDonnell,” the lawyers wrote. “For each of the three schemes alleged by the government, at least one of the ‘official acts’ that Dean Skelos purportedly traded for payments to his son involved merely setting up meetings, talking to other officials, or meeting with lobbyists — i.e., precisely the types of conduct that the Supreme Court held insufficient to establish official action.”