Deputy Senate Leader Lied, Prosecutor Says

Thomas Libous, who is accused of lying to federal agents about helping his son land a job with a Westchester law firm.

In his opening statement at Sen.

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) – The deputy majority leader of the New York Senate lied repeatedly to FBI agents to cover up that he arranged a high-paying job for his son with a politically connected law firm, a federal prosecutor said Tuesday.

A lawyer for Mr. Mangone didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Mr. Libous’s trial comes at a time of upheaval in Albany, when former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and former Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos are under indictment on corruption charges.

The defense said the prosecution’s key witness is “morally bankrupt”. “Each case is different”, he said.

Mr. Allee said Mr. Libous also asked an Albany lobbyist, Fred Hiffa, to pay the firm to contribute to his son’s salary and offset his expenses, including a auto. He has said he is dying from prostate cancer that has spread to his spine. Allee acknowledged to the jurors that Mangone has pleaded guilty to charges of bribing politicians and evading taxes and was cooperating in hopes of lightening his sentence.

“When someone walks into your office and asks you about something that happened five years ago, particularly when you’re a busy person like Senator Libous, you may not recall everything”. His punishment was delayed by U.S. District Judge Vincent Bricceti, who is also presiding over Thomas Libous’s case, and the younger Libous was seated in the court’s front row.

Neither side’s opening statement referred to Libous’ physical condition.

The payments continued even after Matthew Libous left the law firm in August 2006, prosecutors said.

Libous’ campaign spent about $113,000 on attorneys previous year, the Board of Elections filings show.