Federal prosecutors have filed court papers seeking a new fraud trial for the former Republican leader of the New York Senate, saying there was enough evidence to show Joseph Bruno received $280,000 from a business associate in return for taking official actions on his behalf.
Bruno's lawyers have asked the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals to block a retrial.
He was convicted on two charges and acquitted of five others by jurors.
The U.S. Supreme Court later rejected some others' fraud convictions based on a similar theory that taxpayers were denied honest services because an official concealed business interests that benefited from his public post.
The court ruled that statute criminalizes only schemes involving bribes or kickbacks.
Bruno has denied any wrongdoing, saying he had a separate consulting business.
