Senator To Seek Dismissal of Indictment

Two years after federal prosecutors indicted a senior state senator, Efrain Gonzalez Jr., on charges that he stole state funds from a charity, the prosecution will face its first test. Click Image to Enlarge Office of Senator Efrain Gonzalez Senator Efrain Gonzalez appears with then state Senator David Paterson at the 2004 Somos El Futuro Conference. At oral arguments in U.S. District Court in Manhattan tomorrow, Mr. Gonzalez, a Democrat of the Bronx, and three co-defendants will seek to have the indictment dismissed by arguing that there are limits to the federal government's jurisdiction to prosecute alleged misappropriation of state funds. That argument, if the court accepts it, could prove an obstacle to a broad investigation under way by the U.S. attorney in Manhattan, Michael Garcia, into the use of state funds for... [read full story]