The attorney representing former state Sen. Thomas Bromwell in his public corruption case has “irreconcilable” conflicts of interest that will cause the trial to be postponed at least until the fall, a federal judge ruled Friday.
Judge J. Frederick Motz said the attorney for Bromwell and his wife, Mary Patricia Bromwell, must step down from the case but did not disclose the conflicts.
“The hearing on pending motions will likewise be postponed until after new counsel have entered their appearance on behalf of the Bromwells and have had an opportunity to review the motions and prepare their arguments,” Motz said in a statement.
The Bromwells, accused of accepting free construction on their home and a no-show job in exchange for help securing minority state contacts, were at one time represented by Baltimore-based attorney Robert Schulman. Messages left for Schulman at his office were not returned.
Citing attorney conflicts, Motz delayed jury selection Thursday after an earlier postponement to allow time to consider a request to unseal documents in Bromwell?s public case file. A motions hearing scheduled for Friday was also postponed.
Bromwell allegedly accepted $85,000 worth of construction work on his home from mechanical contracting firm Poole and Kent Co., which won millions of dollars in state contracts while the Baltimore County Democrat was in office. Mary Patricia Bromwell was allegedly paid $192,000 for a no-show job with a company operated by Poole and Kent. Bromwell also was offered $80,000 by a Poole and Kent employee to stay in office rather than retire, according to prosecutors.
A total of seven co-defendants, including Poole and Kent President W. David Stoffregen, pleaded guilty to related charges and are expected to testify against the Bromwells.
Prosecutors have backed off attempts to collect a $400,000 severance package Bromwell will receive in a separation agreement with the Injured Workers Insurance Fund, the public-private corporation he headed since April 2002, said Marcia Murphy, a spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein.
Rosenstein withdrew the request after the Bromwells sufficiently demonstrated they needed the money to fund their own defense, Murphy said.
