Fumo fraud figure wants own trial

A second defendant in the fraud and obstruction-of-justice case against state Sen. Vince Fumo has asked a federal judge to order that he be tried separately.

An attorney for Leonard Luchko, a computer technician alleged to have destroyed Fumo e-mails to thwart an FBI probe of Fumo, said Luchko's chances of getting a fair trial would be "significantly prejudiced" if he was tried along with Fumo and two co-defendants.

James C. Schwartzman said that the feds improperly linked the obstruction counts against Luchko with unrelated counts involving "separate and distinct" alleged conspiracies and frauds involving Fumo.

Further, there would an "inevitable spillover effect" from a joint trial, he said, that would artificially link Luchko in a jury's mind to the fraudulent schemes prosecutors say Fumo perpetrated on the state Senate and a charity for his personal benefit.

Schwartzman said such linkage would prevent a jury from making a "reliable" judgment on Luchko's guilt or innocence and would also hamper Luchko's ability to earn a living.

He said Luchko would be required to sit through approximately six months of trial testimony having nothing to do with the charges against him.

Luchko is charged only with 29 counts of obstructing the federal investigation, and Schwarztman said those charges could be disposed of by a jury in less than two weeks.

Earlier this month, an attorney for Mark Eister, another computer aide charged with destroying Fumo e-mails, filed a similar motion with the court. *