The ‘Other’ Seabrook Case

In the wake of the jury in his bribery trial being unable to reach a unanimous decision Nov. 16 after six days of deliberations, ex-Correction Officers Benevolent Association President Norman Seabrook spoke as if it was just a matter of time—and an acquittal in a retrial—before he would be back doing “what I have to do for the men and women” he represented for 21 years.

It is hardly that simple, however. Mr. Seabrook’s lawyer, Paul Shechtman, did a masterly job of shredding the credibility of the key witness against him, Jona Rechnitz, and constructing an alternative theory of the case by plausibly using the available evidence to argue that the $60,000 his client was supposed to receive in return for investing $20 million of the union’s money in a hedge fund had actually been paid to Mr. Rechnitz. His efforts were enough to create reasonable doubt among the jurors, who were deadlocked 10-2 in favor of convicting him on a conspiracy charge but vo­ted 11-1 to acquit him of actually taking the bribe.