'Staggering' Series of Late Disclosures by Manhattan ADA Leads to Dismissal of Bribery Charges for Engineer
Justice Michael Obus detailed a "staggering" series of late disclosures in the corruption case, despite clear instructions from the court and repeated requests from defense lawyers,
February 05, 2020 at 05:56 PM
3 minute read
Manhattan Supreme Court at 60 Centre Street. (Photo: Rick Kopstein/ALM)
A Manhattan Supreme Court justice on Wednesday dismissed all charges against an engineer indicted in 2018 alongside former city employee Ifeanyi "Manny" Madu in a bribery scheme, dealing a blow to the Manhattan District Attorney's Office in the wake of a scandal over withholding of evidence by a top assistant DA.
"While the remedy of dismissal may be unusual or extreme, so too are the facts of this case," Justice Michael Obus wrote in the 17-page dismissal order for Kyriacos Pierides, who had been charged with bribery and corrupting the government.
Obus detailed a "staggering" series of late disclosures in Pierides' case, despite clear instructions from the judge and repeated requests from Pierides' defense lawyers, Marc Agnifilo, Teny Geragos and Andrea Zellan of the firm Brafman & Associates.
Until a few weeks ago, the lead prosecutor in the case was Diana Florence, Obus noted.
Florence resigned from the DA's office Jan. 21 amid accusations that she withheld evidence involving Madu, who had become a key cooperating witness in several bribery cases. She was still working in the office to wrap up her cases Wednesday, according to a spokeswoman.
Florence argued in January that she inadvertently failed to turn over a 2015 audiotape in which Madu swore he never took bribes, in contrast to his later testimony that he'd taken luxurious bribes in return for city contracts.
Until the tape came to light, Florence led Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr.'s Construction Fraud Task Force.
In a statement on the Pierides dismissal, spokeswoman Emily Tuttle said the DA's office respects the decision.
"We are in the process of reviewing this matter and related cases," she added.
The Brafman & Associates team praised Obus' ruling in a statement.
"This is a victory for Mr. Pierides, a PhD and engineer, who has had his professional life derailed by this prosecution, and for all criminal defendants deserving fair treatment in our justice system," they wrote.
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