The man accused of plotting to kill a federal judge and prosecutor will undergo a mental competency evaluation, a judge has ruled. Joseph Romano is charged with scheming to arrange the murders of Eastern District Judge Joseph Bianco and Eastern District Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Gatz. Romano pleaded guilty before Bianco in September 2010 to defrauding coin collectors in a case where Gatz was the lead prosecutor.
Before a court appearance on March 18, Romano’s attorneys wrote that "as a result of a steadily deteriorating situation that has now reached a level of unavoidable concern," they thought their client could be suffering a "mental disease or defect rendering him mentally incompetent" to stand trial, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 4241. The prosecution in court papers questioned Romano’s purported mental deterioration and said he had exhibited "an ability to engage in elaborate planning and strategic thinking in pursuit of his various plots." But, in an "abundance of caution," it did not oppose the exam.
