MANHATTAN FEDERAL COURT — The former NYPD deputy inspector charged in a public corruption scandal took no part in closing part of the Lincoln Tunnel as a favor to politically connected businessmen, his lawyer said Wednesday during his arraignment.
“That could just be puffery from the cooperating witness,” James Grant’s defense attorney, John Meringolo, said.
The lawyer said nothing about charges that Grant took bribes and had sex with a prostitute during a free flight to the Super Bowl on a private jet.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo has ordered the Port Authority officials to investigate the tunnel closure, which he called "deeply troubling."
► READ MORE: Who’s Who in the Federal NYPD/City Hall Corruption Probe
At the hearing Wednesday morning, Grant, former NYPD Deputy Chief Michael Harrington and Brooklyn businessman Jeremy Reichberg sat stone faced as they pleaded not guilty to corruption charges.
“We take the position that we will be exonerated at trial,” Meringolo said. “I think my client wants to have his day in court.”
Grant is accused of taking various bribes, most notably round-trip travel to Las Vegas for the Super Bowl in 2013 aboard a private jet. Prosecutors said Grant had sex with the prostitute and she stayed in his room during the trip.
In exchange, Grant provided Reichberg police escorts from the airport and access around the city, according to the indictment.
Harrington, the former No. 2 in the NYPD’s housing bureau, is accused of receiving a free trip to Chicago as well as other bribes.
Reichberg, one of the businessmen at the center of the probe, allegedly wooed NYPD officers with cash, free food and lavish trips. He also raised $35,000 for Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Campaign for One New York.
Harrington’s lawyer, Andrew Weinstein, and Reichberg’s lawyer, Susan Necheles, declined to comment.
Their next court date is scheduled for Tuesday, July 19.
