So said a defense lawyer for former city jail-union boss Norman Seabrook Tuesday during summations at Seabrook’s Manhattan federal court bribery trial, telling jurors star informant Jona Rechnitz falsely twisted an innocent holiday gift into the linchpin of an alleged payoff scheme.
“He created a crime to get himself out of trouble,” defense lawyer Paul Shechtman said during a full day of summations in the two-week trial. “If you’re Jona Rechnitz, you cut and paste to serve your purposes. If you’re Jona Rechnitz, you create history.”
Seabrook, 57, the once powerful head of the Correction Officers Benevolent Association, is charged with bribery and conspiracy for allegedly taking cash in return for putting $20 million into co-defendant Murray Huberfeld’s hedge fund, Platinum Partners.
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