Hearing set for ex-student, convicted drug dealer

For the last six years he has been federal prisoner 69816-098, but come Friday, former Wharton student and convicted drug trafficker Alexander Moskovits may be a free man. Moskovits, who was granted a new trial by U.S. District Court Judge Louis Pollack this summer, will appear before Pollack again Friday morning for a bail hearing. The government has appealed Pollack's decision to grant Moskovits a new trial and is resisting his release on bail, Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristin Hayes said yesterday. Moskovits was convicted on 18 federal drug counts in September 1988 for trafficking 50 kilograms of cocaine, at least 10 of which were funneled through the University. But this summer, Pollack ruled Moskovits deserved a new trial since his original trial attorney, Robert Simone – who has since been convicted of extortion – failed to provide him effective counsel. Simone told Moskovits not to testify in his own defense on the mistaken belief that a previous Mexican conviction would be used against him. In March 1992, Pollack restructured Moskovits' sentence, ruling that the Mexican conviction was illegally considered during the original sentencing because Moskovits had no lawyer during key portions of the Mexican trial. Moskovits, who would have graduated from Wharton in 1987, has been on extended leave of absence from the University since his incarceration during the summer of 1987. It is not clear if Moskovits can return to the University to finish his degree if he is released on bail. Moskovits, who has always maintained his innocence, will be represented at his bail hearing by famed New York civil rights attorney William Kunstler and by Miami lawyer Scott Srebnick, who has been a friend of Moskovits since childhood. Kunstler has gained notoriety most recently for his defense of the alleged World Trade Center bombers. Moskovits should be released without bail, Kunstler said earlier this week. Kunstler encourages University students to come to Moskovits' court hearing to show their support for "a fellow student who was wrongfully convicted and has spent six terrible years in prison." Hayes said the government opposes Moskovits release because "he has not changed at all since his original incarceration." Hayes believes a new trial will lead to a new conviction. "If we do not win our appeal [to prevent a new trial] then he will be retried and reconvicted," Hayes said of Moskovits. "It is possible he would get a longer sentence than before." Moskovits said Hayes and the government have acted hypocritically, offering him a plea bargain in which he would waive his right to a new trial and plead no contest to drug charges in exchange for time already served. "If I waive my rights [to a new trial] then I'm free. If I take a no contest plea then I'm not a danger to society anymore," he said. "But if I refuse then I'm morally corrupt and a danger to the community." Hayes refused to comment on whether the government has offered Moskovits any type of plea bargain. Moskovits has also made allegations against Pollack and the University, saying he has "never received a fair trial" and has been denied the right to explain his side of the story. Moskovits' lawyers have been less outspoken because, Moskovits said, they are afraid of angering those who have the power to facilitate his release. "After six years in prison I am no longer afraid of angering anyone," Moskovits said. While Kunstler praised Pollack for having "the courage" to grant Moskovits a new trial, Moskovits said Pollack should have taken himself off the case due to a conflict of interest involving the University. The original complaint against Moskovits was brought by the University after they linked Moskovits to 4.4 kilograms of cocaine found in a Williams Hall mail room and multi-kilogram shipments of cocaine to the Castle. Pollack is a University Trustee and Law Professor and his wife is also a University employee, making him a biased judge, Moskovits said. Moskovits also alleges conflict because Hayes is a former student of Pollack's. A spokesperson in Pollack's office said he could not comment on developments in an ongoing case.