The federal trial of Jersey City, NJ Deputy Mayor Leona Beldini for bribery continued today in Newark federal court. Beldini's lawyer Brian Neary (code name: Bow Tie) took more swings at scamster-turned-star government witness Solomon Dwek today.
Courtesy of this Star-Ledger update, Neary prompted Dwek to declare that one dozen public officials turned down his overtures for bribes, as if to implicate Neary's defendant Beldini on the basis that she did not turn down the overture in the same manner. Note that, so far, none of these responsible public officials have been identified; one can question whether there is any truth to that story.
But note that when Dwek described the rejections, he testified that these unidentified officials told him:
"Dwek go to hell."
Notice his claim that the officials used his real last name, Dwek. However, during all of the successful stings Dwek (whose arrest in 2006 for mega-million-dollar bank fraud was widely reported) used a "nom-de-guerre" of David Esenbach. Unless Dwek's success in his sting operations depended solely on his use of an alter ego, this discrepancy -- this excited utterance elicited by defense counsel Neary, who has reportedly been rattling the witness -- should seriously undermine Dwek's story.
From the various reports, it is beginning to seem as if this case rests largely on innuendo and implication, on statements which suggest, but do not conclusively lead to the inference of, an illicit transaction. Remember the criminal standard of proof is "beyond a reasonable doubt."
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