Posted on 09/10/2008 1:44:52 PM PDT by NativeNewYorker
NEW YORK, Sept. 10 (UPI) -- Two former racing employees have sued former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, claiming they were victims of a witch hunt when he was attorney general.
Lawyers for Mario Sclafani, 51, who lives in Dutchess County in New York, and Braulio Baeza, 68, of West Virginia, say that Spitzer and others were involved in a malicious prosecution, the New York Daily News reported. Sclafani and Baeza were charged with taking bribes from overweight jockeys, but a judge threw out the case during trial in 2007.
The suit filed in federal court names several employees of the New York Racing Association and of the attorney general's office and state troopers as defendants along with Spitzer.
"From the beginning, the prosecution did not make sense," lawyer Todd Greenberg said.
Spitzer was in charge of the 2005 investigation into allegations of corruption in the racing association.
The plaintiffs are seeking $100 million for the loss of their jobs and reputations. But their lawyers acknowledge they have a high hurdle since prosecutors and police are protected against most law suits.
Good news. Spitzer’s behavior while attorney general was, at times, criminal. Just ask Hank Greenberg and his friends.
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