By Dana Williams
Corbin's lawyer, Thomas Liotti, said the legislator is running a nearly 24-hour-a-day re-election campaign, which includes efforts to obtain the needed 500 petition signatures from his constituents.
The 2nd Legislative District includes Lakeview, parts of West Hempstead, East Meadow and New Cassel, among other areas.
"Roger Corbin is circulating his petitions for nomination and anticipates filing his paperwork this week with the sufficient signatures," Liotti said.
This announcement comes just days after a federal judge set Oct. 19 as the date to begin Corbin's trial on charges of fraud and lying to federal officers. Corbin is accused of evading taxes on $226,000 in income that he allegedly received from a developer involved in the Town of North Hempstead Community Development Agency's $60 million New Cassel Revitalization Project, and lying about his taxes to federal agents.
According to a court affidavit, Corbin falsely reported a total income of $575,873 on his federal tax returns for 2005 through 2007, when his income for those years was approximately $801,873.
He pleaded not guilty in federal court on June 9 to three counts of fraud - for filing false income tax returns in 2005, 2006 and 2007 - and one felony count of lying to FBI and IRS agents about the taxes during an interview at his Westbury home last Nov. 20. Corbin was indicted by a federal grand jury on June 2.
If convicted on all charges, he could face up to 11 years in prison and be ordered to pay more than $70,000 in back taxes, plus interest and other penalties, and nearly $1 million in fines, court officials said.
Corbin's trial date is just two weeks before the county-wide election on Nov. 3. Liotti said he intends to ask for a later trial date, and contends that Corbin is being treated unfairly by the government and the media, and that he has been targeted by the government because he is a public figure representing a minority district. Liotti also said that Corbin was not properly informed of his rights during his conversations with the federal agents, and that he will make a motion to strike from the record the statements prosecutors claim Corbin made.
Liotti is pushing for a civil disposition of Corbin's case through the U.S. attorney general, because, he said, this is a private matter. Corbin is aiming to have the situation resolved with the filing of amended tax returns and the payment of taxes that may be due. The legislator also passed a lie detector test on May 31, according to Liotti, and the attorney said he plans to use the results to strengthen his efforts to have Corbin's case resolved civilly.
Although it is unclear whether there will be a Democratic primary for the 2nd L.D. seat, which Corbin has held since the Legislature's inception in 1995, Liotti said that Corbin is prepared to run in a primary if necessary. A primary would be held on Sept. 9. The deadline for filing petitions for the legislative race is Thursday.
The Democratic Party voted not to nominate Corbin on June 9. Jay Jacobs, the party's chairman, did not return calls for comment on whether the party would nominate another candidate for the 2nd District seat.
Comments about this story? DWilliams@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 205.
