District Leader Courting Norman Plea In Return for Further Indictments
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A Democratic district leader in Park Slope, Alan Fleishman, yesterday said he would welcome a plea bargain for the convicted former head of the Brooklyn Democrats, Clarence Norman, if it led to more indictments.
A self-described party reformer, Mr. Fleishman said the system for appointing Brooklyn judges is corrupt.
“I think if Norman were to give up some judges, a reduced sentence would be something people could live with,” Mr. Fleishman told The New York Sun. “Clearly, he is the one person who knows everything. He has something to offer if he wants leniency. Two to four years in state prison is something I’m sure he does not want to experience.”
Last month, after a four-week trial, a jury for the state Supreme Court in Brooklyn convicted Norman of violating election law and falsifying business records. Norman, an Assemblyman for 23 years and the leader of the Brooklyn Democratic Party for 15 years, now faces up to eight years in state prison.
A spokesman for the Brooklyn district attorney, Jerry Schmetterer, would not comment on a report yesterday in the Daily News that Norman will seek to avoid three more indictments by cooperating with an ongoing probe into judicial corruption. The lawyer representing Norman, Edward Rappaport, did not return phone messages yesterday.
A potential deal with the district attorney may appeal to Norman, 54, who faces more legal wrangling in the near future. In 2003, the Brooklyn district attorney, Charles Hynes, handed Norman four separate indictments.
On November 7, jury selection will begin for a second trial. The remaining charges against Norman include coercing two judicial candidates to hire preferred vendors during an election campaign, stealing $5,000 from his re-election committee and putting the money to personal use, and submitting fraudulent vouchers to the state for reimbursement of travel expenses.
Another Brooklyn district leader, City Council Member Lewis Fidler, said that an official meeting scheduled for today to select a new Democratic Party leader had been canceled. Mr. Fidler said he expected a “clear majority” of those attending an informal meeting today to give their support to Assemblyman Vito Lopez to take over the role vacated by Norman.
Other potential candidates to lead the Brooklyn Democrats include a district leader, Joseph Bova, Assemblywoman Annette Robinson, and the party’s acting chairwoman, Freddie Hamilton.
