Lawyer Takes Fifth to Avoid Testifying in Hearing Over Claimed Attorney Conflict
A lawyer has asserted his Fifth Amendment right not to testify in a pretrial hearing concerning a former New York judge who is accused of seeking money from a lawyer who appeared before him.
Although he is not accused of wrongdoing, Sanford Rosenblum, 71, notified a federal judge in Albany, N.Y., in writing that he will take the Fifth if he is called upon to testify in an attorney disqualification matter concerning defense counsel for former Supreme Court Justice Thomas Spargo, reports the Albany Times-Union.
Spargo, who is the defendant in a federal bribery and extortion case, allegedly sought money from a lawyer appearing before him in 2003 to help pay his defense costs in legal ethics matters pursued by the state Commission on Judicial Conduct. Prosecutors say Rosenblum, who is a friend of the judge, helped Spargo ask for money, the newspaper reports.
Prosecutors contend that attorney E. Stewart Jones should be disqualified from representing Spargo in the federal criminal case against the former judge because Jones donated $10,000 to a legal defense fund to help Spargo pay $140,000 in legal bills he racked up during his disciplinary battle with the commission.
However, U.S. District Judge Gary Sharpe—who excused Rosenblum from testifying—allowed Jones to continue representing Spargo, the Times-Union reports. He found there was no conflict, and Spargo apparently waived any conflict that might otherwise have been deemed to exist.
Spargo currently is in private practice in New York.
Earlier coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Ex-NY Judge Indicted, Accused of Seeking $10K from Lawyer”
