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SCHWARZ PERJURY RAP MAY SCARE OFF WIESE By KATI CORNELL SMITH
April 1, 2002 -- New perjury charges against Charles Schwarz could force a key witness to clam up if he's asked to back the ex-cop by testifying at his new trial, lawyers say. The account given by former Police Officer Thomas Wiese — that he, not Schwarz, was the second cop in the 70th Precinct station-house bathroom where Justin Volpe sodomized Abner Louima with a stick in 1997 — could bolster Schwarz's case, lawyers not involved in the matter claim. But not if Wiese is too afraid to talk. Calling the new indictment against Schwarz "exceptionally rare" and "overzealous," attorney Paul Callan said, "I think part of the strategy is to prevent Wiese from testifying." Schwarz's lawyer, Ronald Fischetti, agreed the perjury charges could have a chilling affect on defense witnesses, although he wouldn't try to guess U.S. Attorney Alan Vinegrad's intent. Last week, the feds indicted Schwarz, alleging he told two lies about his role in the attack in an unsuccessful attempt to exonerate himself at his 2000 cover-up conspiracy trial. The new charges came less than a month after an appeals court ordered a new trial on charges he participated in the attack. The court also threw out a jury's verdict that Schwarz, Wiese and ex-cop Thomas Bruder had obstructed a grand jury investigation. Wiese has claimed that he was outside the bathroom playing with a dog until right after the attack, then went inside and found Volpe and Louima alone. Defense lawyer Joseph Tacopina said Wiese would not "be intimidated by any charging decisions." But Benjamin Brafman, another attorney not connected with the case, said, "The difficulty arises if you believe you're telling the truth, and the government doesn't. We've got some heavy competing interests here." Vinegrad declined to comment. A law-enforcement source said that prosecutors might actually see "a strategic advantage" to Wiese taking the stand, and exposing himself to cross-examination. Meanwhile, Fischetti faces a tough choice of asking Brooklyn federal Judge Reena Raggi to lump the perjury charges into a retrial on the bathroom assault charges - set to start June 24 - or handle them separately. "If we join them together then I've got a completely new case to try. If I don't, I'm facing two trials and he's had two already," Fischetti said. The lawyer may decide by Wednesday, when Schwarz is
scheduled for an arraignment. |
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