Former Bernie Madoff employees want
convictions dismissed

Daniel Bonventre, Annette Bongiorno, Joann Crupi, Jerome O'Hara and George Perez
were all found guilty on counts of fraud and other charges in connection to Madoff’s $65
billion Ponzi scheme, but say their verdicts should be tossed because the jury was
tainted and the evidence was lacking.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/bernie-madoff-employees-convictions-dismissed-article-1.1758011#ixzz2z5PXExIf

The five former Bernie Madoff office workers found guilty of fraud and other charges last month in connection with his $65 billion Ponzi scheme are asking that their verdicts be tossed out, citing flawed jury deliberations and a lack of evidence.

An 11-person Manhattan Federal Court jury found Daniel Bonventre, Annette Bongiorno, Joann Crupi, Jerome O'Hara and George Perez guilty on all counts after a five-month trial, reaching the verdicts swiftly — in just three days of deliberations.

“While it is impossible to know how the jury conducted its review … it appears likely that the jury applied a very broad brush … injected preconceived notions into the process and did not objectively and thoroughly analyze the evidence individually as to each defendant,” Gordon Mehler, a lawyer for O'Hara, wrote Tuesday.

Mehler complained that one juror was quoted after the trial saying, “I'm Jewish, and I know a lot of the victims were Jewish, so I feel good about (the verdict).”