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Defense Attorney Does Not Believe His Client's Absence Is Voluntary
By LARRY McSHANE, AP
http://ar.atwola.com/link/93179288/592633052/aoladp?target=_blank&border=0
NEW YORK (Oct. 13) - A Genovese family capo, facing a five-year jail term in a Brooklyn mob case, disappeared in the middle of his trial - prompting speculation that he instead received a Mafia-imposed death penalty.
"I do not consider my client's absence to be a voluntary one," defense attorney Martin Schmukler said in court on Wednesday, the second consecutive day that Lawrence Ricci was missing from the courtroom. Ricci, who generally kept a low public profile, went on trial Sept. 20 in the waterfront corruption case.
Ricci was due in court Tuesday when the trial resumed, but never appeared. He was last seen a week ago; his trial was scheduled to resume Monday.
"We are looking for him" said FBI spokesman Matt Bertrand. "We still haven't arrested him, or have him in our sights yet."
The timing of the disappearance was one of the factors in the concerns about Ricci. Even if convicted, he faced only a five-year sentence. And Schmukler said it was "entirely out of character" for his client to not show up, particularly three weeks into the trial.
http://articles.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id=20051013151809990011
By LARRY McSHANE, AP
http://ar.atwola.com/link/93179288/592633052/aoladp?target=_blank&border=0
NEW YORK (Oct. 13) - A Genovese family capo, facing a five-year jail term in a Brooklyn mob case, disappeared in the middle of his trial - prompting speculation that he instead received a Mafia-imposed death penalty.
"I do not consider my client's absence to be a voluntary one," defense attorney Martin Schmukler said in court on Wednesday, the second consecutive day that Lawrence Ricci was missing from the courtroom. Ricci, who generally kept a low public profile, went on trial Sept. 20 in the waterfront corruption case.
Ricci was due in court Tuesday when the trial resumed, but never appeared. He was last seen a week ago; his trial was scheduled to resume Monday.
"We are looking for him" said FBI spokesman Matt Bertrand. "We still haven't arrested him, or have him in our sights yet."
The timing of the disappearance was one of the factors in the concerns about Ricci. Even if convicted, he faced only a five-year sentence. And Schmukler said it was "entirely out of character" for his client to not show up, particularly three weeks into the trial.
http://articles.news.aol.com/news/article.adp?id=20051013151809990011