N.Y. Sting Lawyer Sentenced
A former New York divorce lawyer who helped convict a judge was sentenced to one year in jail yesterday.
Judge Jeffrey Berry of Brooklyn said Paul Siminovsky deserved jail time rather than probation for giving unlawful gratuities, the New York Times reports. “I’m not calling you the devil,” he said, “but you certainly are someone who is guilty up to your ears.”
Prosecutor Michael Vecchione had sought leniency, citing Siminovsky’s help in a sting that secured convictions or guilty pleas for nine people. Siminovsky “has been candid with me and the district attorney’s office from day one in telling his role in this sordid affair,” Vecchione said.
Siminovsky helped gain the bribery conviction of Judge Gerald Garson and the extortion and theft conviction of former Democratic leader Clarence Norman Jr.
