NORWICH – The sentencing of convicted murderer Peter M. Wlasiuk has been set aside today after the judge approved a defense request to hold a hearing to see if jury misconduct occurred during deliberations.
Defense Attorney Randel Scharf of Cooperstown asked that Broome County Court Judge Martin E. Smith set aside the guilty verdict and hold a hearing on possible jury misconduct; that request has been approved, according to District Attorney Joseph McBride.
Today, the court will hear testimony from the jurors to decide if the allegations of misconduct are true; if that’s the case, the judge may set the guilty verdict aside and schedule a new trial.
McBride said all the jurors had been called to a hearing that will begin at 11 a.m., originally the time scheduled for Wlasiuk’s sentencing.
McBride said the proceeding could take all day and he did not know if the sentencing would happen following the investigation, assuming its outcome finds no misconduct.
In October, Scharf presented a statement he took from one of the jurors, Jason Lyons, accusing another juror, podiatrist Dr. James Lentini, of possible misconduct for allegedly offering inappropriate medical advice during the deliberations.
Although Scharf had no statements from jurors to the specifics of the misconduct, he said that during the course of his interviews, he discovered similar concerns and said others told him that Lentini claimed to have performed autopsies.
A jury found Wlasiuk, 39, guilty on Sept. 26 of the second degree murder of his wife.
At trial, prosecutors argued that Wlasiuk smothered his wife Patricia at their Oxford home in 2002 and later staged a truck accident at Guilford Lake, in which he claimed she drowned.
Six years ago, another Chenango County jury also convicted Wlasiuk of second degree murder, but the New York State Appellate Division overturned that verdict in 2006, citing a number of procedural and conduct errors by the court and DA’s Office.
Smith delayed Wlasiuk’s October sentencing over a technicality, because the DA’s Office failed to adequately inform the defense that family members would be speaking at sentencing. The judge said McBride failed to file notification within a 10-day deadline.
Smith also said he was frustrated with the defense for not presenting any additional statements from jurors to back up the attorney’s claims, and denied the motion to have a hearing, but said if Scharf could obtain additional information he would reconsider the decision.
Scharf said he intended to use the delay to gather additional jury statements and make additional arguments for setting aside the verdict when court resumes.
McBride said his office and the Chenango County Sheriff’s Department conducted an investigation into the allegations of jury misconduct and found none following the October court appearance.