Attorneys for a man accused of plotting to kill a federal judge and prosecutor say they will argue to the jury that their client was entrapped. Joseph Romano’s attorneys submitted notice it would advance the defense on Sunday, a day before jury selection began.
Romano is charged with conspiring to have Eastern District Judge Joseph Bianco and Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Treinis Gatz murdered for the pair’s involvement in a coin fraud case where Romano pleaded guilty. Prosecutors say Romano schemed with a codefendant and an undercover officer posing as a hit man after the government learned Romano was looking for someone to carry out the murders (NYLJ, Oct. 10, 2012).
