The Second Circuit yesterday reversed and dismissed (without prejudice) the conviction of former New York State Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno for theft of honest services fraud on his failure to disclose alleged conflicts of interest.  The reversal was based on the Supreme Court decision in United States v. Skilling, which limited 18 U.S.C. 1346, the honest services statute, to cases involving bribery and kickbacks.  Even though some circuit courts have upheld honest services fraud convictions over Skilling challenges, the reversal here was no surprise since, among other things, the government conceded error.

In an earlier blog (see here), we discussed what might have been the most important issue in the case:  whether the Court should for double jeopardy purposes analyze the sufficiency of the government's evidence at trial based on the "new" standard set forth in Skilling or the "old" standard existing at the time of the trial.

Bruno argued that if there were insufficient evidence at trial to justify a conviction under the Skilling bribery and kickback theory of honest services fraud, the Court must bar retrial on double jeopardy grounds.  The government argued that sufficiency review under a standard different from that at the time of trial was inappropriate and unfair.  (The defense did not contend there was insufficient evidence based on the law at the time of trial.)  At oral argument, the government stated that the evidence at the new trial would be the same as in the first.

The Court, declining to enact any black letter law, and relying considerably on the government's concession that the evidence would not change at a second trial, agreed to analyze the sufficiency of evidence based on the new, narrower Skilling standard.  Nonetheless, after reviewing the facts, the Court held that the evidence was sufficient under that standard.  Bruno, therefore, won the battle but lost the war.  The government announced that it will reindict him under an honest services fraud theory based on bribery and kickbacks.

Last week, a Southern District of New York jury acquitted William Boyland, Jr., a New York State Assemblyman, of honest services fraud for allegedly receiving bribes from David Rosen, the chief executive of a hospital conglomerate, apparently because of lack of sufficient proof of a quid quo pro.  Interestingly, Rosen had two months earlier been convicted in a non-jury trial before Judge Jed S. Rakoff for conspiracy to bribe Boyland based on the same payments at issue.  (The cases were not mirror images.  Rosen was also charged and convicted of conspiring with two others — a state senator and another assemblyman.)

(goldman)