Lawyer Lied About Pomeranian in Federal Corruption Probe in N.J.
A New Jersey lawyer who is also an architect reportedly gave a Pomeranian to a Union City Zoning Board member’s girlfriend, in an effort to bribe him.
Then, when questioned about the little orange yapper by the FBI, attorney Jose Izquierdo, 52, falsely claimed that he had been repaid $3,417 to cover the cost of the dog and pet supplies, according to federal prosecutors pursuing a government corruption investigation in Hudson County. He pleaded guilty Monday in federal court in Trenton to one count of making false statements in connection with the pet, reports the New Jersey Law Journal, in an article reprinted in New York Lawyer (reg. req.).
“In exchange, the government will not prosecute him for other, unspecified illegal activity in Union City and West New York that he disclosed to authorities in 2006,” the legal publication writes, citing the plea agreement.
At his sentencing in December, Izquierdo, whose office is in West New York, just across the Hudson River from Manhattan, could be sentenced to a maximum of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He has been released on an unsecured bond of $50,000.
