Utica NY Daily Press 1981
Jury acquits Utican of charges
A U.S. District Court jury sitting in Albany yesterday acquitted a Utica man of
charges stemming from a scheme to defraud the Oriskany branch of the Oneida
National Bank.
Thomas Brindisl. 38, 2 Powell Ave., Whitesboro. was found innocent of charges
he conspired to defraud the Oneida National Bank and five counts of aiding and
abetting branch manager Lance Myers in the misapplication of bank funds.
Myers was convicted last month of three counts of conspiracy in the loan fraud
scheme, which resulted in a loss of about $250,000 to the bank.
Brindisi's lawyer, Frank Policelli, said the jury returned its verdict after deliberating
for about six hours.
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Myers didn't profit, lawyer says
By ANDY ARMSTRONG
An attorney for former Oneida
National Bank branch manager Lance
R Myers told a US. District Court
jury yesterday that Myers did not profit
from a fraudulent loan scheme at the
bank, and should not be punished for
errors of Judgment.
Myers' attorney, James Kernan,
said his client "may have been young
and inexperienced, and he may have
made mistakes, but he did nothing
criminal. Lance Myers is an honest
and truthful man."
Federal prosecutors have charged
Myers, 29, of 62 Whitesboro St., Yorkville,
with three counts of conspiracy,
citing his alleged role in a scheme that
resulted in a loss to the bank of approximately
$250,000. Myers was manager
of the bank's branch office in Oriskany.
His co-defendant, Laurence Martin,
24, of 741 South St.. Utica was charged
with one count of filing a false statement
on a loan application.
The case goes to the jury today Ten
of the other 12 defendants accused of
related crimes have either been convicted
or have entered guilty pleas.
Myers was originally charged with
89 counts of banx embezzlement and
conspiracy, but Assistant U.S. Attorney
Joseph Pavone said the government
is asking for convictions on only
three counts oT conspiracy. The prosecution
dropped 10 of the 69 counts
before the trial began, he said
Kernan said the prosecution's key
witness. James Calabrese. should be
on trial instead of Myers Calabrese,
27. of 206 Roosevelt Drive, Utica, was
allowed to enter a guilty plea to one
count of conspiracy. Pavone told Judge
Neal McCurn that Calabrese had
agreed to assist the prosecution
Kernan said Calabrese testified
"with the rattle of jail bars in his ears
He sold his testimony for 30 pieces of
silver
It's not Lance Myers who should be
at the defense table, but James Calabrese,"
Kernan said. "He could have
been charged with 12 forgeries, but he
was not" He also said Myers never
told successful loan applicants that
they need not repay the bank ,
Pavone, summing up for the prosecution,
said the number of loans that
went into default at the Oriskany office
soared after Myers left the bank's
employ in July 1979. The loan scheme
began in January 1977, Pavone said,
when Calabrese fell behind on his payments.
Myers agreed to approve a
number ofloan applications for friends
of Calabrese, Pavone said. He said
Calabrese got some of that money.
"It was like a snowball rolling down
a hill. It grew into a monstrous amount
of loans,' Pavone said.
Arthur Bellino, 27, of 2031 Baker St.
Utica, accounted for 35 of those loans,
Pavone said. Bellino was subsequently
found guilty of defrauding the Oneida
National Bank.
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