How much has Wlasiuk's second trial cost already?
NORWICH – Two years since its appeal, the Peter M. Wlasiuk murder retrial has cost taxpayers about $150,000 in legal expenses.
Assigned Counsel Attorney Randel Scharf, of Cooperstown, has received $96,495.09 from the Public Defender’s Office for his services alone.
Scharf was assigned to the case by Broome County Court Judge Martin E. Smith from a preapproved panel created by the Chenango County Court system after the Public Defender’s Office was conflicted out of the case.
According to the court orders, Scharf began billing the county after the court assigned him on Aug. 2, 2007.
Another $27,279.59 was allocated to Wlasiuk’s appellate lawyer Linda Campbell for her work on the appeal and $25,716.19 was billed out for a private investigations firm, New Perspective Investigations.
Public Defender Alan E. Gordon requested an additional $50,000 from the county in last week’s Safety and Rules committee meeting. Gordon said the office only had $1,000 left in its assigned counsel budget and $12,000 was currently owed.
“Unfortunately this has all been because of a single case and our office has no control over that,” said Gordon, who later confirmed he was referring to the Wlasiuk case. New concerns were raised at the meeting regarding a second murder case that’s currently being privately handled but may be allocated to the Public Defender’s Office, similar to the current situation with Wlasiuk.
Wlasiuk’s lawyer, Scharf, is also representing George Ford Jr., 42, of Piscataway, N.J., who’s charged with second degree murder for allegedly causing the death of his babysitter, Shyanne A. Somers, 12, from South Otselic on July 8, 2007. The Public Defender’s Office said it was possible for the case to become assigned counsel just like the Wlasiuk case.
Gordon said, “That hasn’t happened and unless it does, we’ll wait to cross that bridge.” The committee approved Gordon’s request for the $50,000.
After being privately retained, Scharf reported to the court that he would be unable to represent Wlasiuk any longer because of the family’s lack of funds, saying his fees were over $30,000. As his assigned counsel, the cost of Wlasiuk’s defense fees have since been shouldered by the taxpayers.
Smith, who originally rejected the request to appoint Scharf, said he had appointed him as the public defender because he had “command of the record,” meaning any new attorney would have to go over thousands of pages worth of paperwork before being able to move ahead with trial, which would delay proceedings even longer.
The case has been delayed repeatedly and the court has rescheduled jury selection on four previous dates. They were altered due to the defense requiring additional time, and due to the dismissal of Wlasiuk’s original indictment.
Jury selection in the trial will begin Tuesday.
Assigned Counsel Attorney Randel Scharf, of Cooperstown, has received $96,495.09 from the Public Defender’s Office for his services alone.
Scharf was assigned to the case by Broome County Court Judge Martin E. Smith from a preapproved panel created by the Chenango County Court system after the Public Defender’s Office was conflicted out of the case.
According to the court orders, Scharf began billing the county after the court assigned him on Aug. 2, 2007.
Another $27,279.59 was allocated to Wlasiuk’s appellate lawyer Linda Campbell for her work on the appeal and $25,716.19 was billed out for a private investigations firm, New Perspective Investigations.
Public Defender Alan E. Gordon requested an additional $50,000 from the county in last week’s Safety and Rules committee meeting. Gordon said the office only had $1,000 left in its assigned counsel budget and $12,000 was currently owed.
“Unfortunately this has all been because of a single case and our office has no control over that,” said Gordon, who later confirmed he was referring to the Wlasiuk case. New concerns were raised at the meeting regarding a second murder case that’s currently being privately handled but may be allocated to the Public Defender’s Office, similar to the current situation with Wlasiuk.
Wlasiuk’s lawyer, Scharf, is also representing George Ford Jr., 42, of Piscataway, N.J., who’s charged with second degree murder for allegedly causing the death of his babysitter, Shyanne A. Somers, 12, from South Otselic on July 8, 2007. The Public Defender’s Office said it was possible for the case to become assigned counsel just like the Wlasiuk case.
Gordon said, “That hasn’t happened and unless it does, we’ll wait to cross that bridge.” The committee approved Gordon’s request for the $50,000.
After being privately retained, Scharf reported to the court that he would be unable to represent Wlasiuk any longer because of the family’s lack of funds, saying his fees were over $30,000. As his assigned counsel, the cost of Wlasiuk’s defense fees have since been shouldered by the taxpayers.
Smith, who originally rejected the request to appoint Scharf, said he had appointed him as the public defender because he had “command of the record,” meaning any new attorney would have to go over thousands of pages worth of paperwork before being able to move ahead with trial, which would delay proceedings even longer.
The case has been delayed repeatedly and the court has rescheduled jury selection on four previous dates. They were altered due to the defense requiring additional time, and due to the dismissal of Wlasiuk’s original indictment.
Jury selection in the trial will begin Tuesday.
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