GOSHEN — Nearly two years after the slayings of Gerald and Frank Piscopo, the man charged with masterminding their deaths has filed new legal papers, again delaying a trial.
Victor Koltun, a Brooklyn rabbi who, prosecutors say, hired two ex-cons as his muscle, is awaiting trial in Orange County Court on charges including first- and second-degree murder in the Nov. 4, 2010, shootings. Ex-cop Frank Piscopo, 49, and his nephew, Gerald Piscopo, 28, were shot execution-style in a vacant house on Liberty Street in Newburgh. Frank Piscopo was expecting to meet with Koltun over a debt Koltun owed him.
On Wednesday in court, Koltun handed his lawyer, Paul Brite, a sheaf of papers, authored by Koltun, asking in part for Judge Jeffrey Berry to remove Brite and appoint a new lawyer.
Koltun will return to court Nov. 15. He's also scheduled for trial Nov. 20 in Kings County Court on a mortgage fraud case.
Koltun's co-defendants pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy charges and are serving prison time. Koltun's case, however, has been beset with delays. Koltun got his original lawyer in the case removed after their relationship disintegrated; he spent time in a secure psychiatric center after a flare-up of bipolar disorder; and he then challenged the psychiatrists' competency finding, acceding only after a doctor testified last month that Koltun was clearly malingering.
The delays have worn on Gerald Piscopo's mother, Debbie Piscopo, who has attended almost every court appearance.
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