NEW YORK -- A state assemblyman obfuscated and lied when confronted by the FBI and others about taking a no-show job that was meant to buy favors in Albany, a federal prosecutor told a jury before it began deliberating Tuesday at the lawmaker's corruption trial.
The deception is "the best evidence William Boyland Jr. knew he was being bribed," Assistant U.S. Attorney Glen McGorty said in closing arguments in federal court in Manhattan. "He lied because he knew the arrangement was a crime."
Boyland has not denied the hospital paid him a salary.
But his lawyer argued that the government failed to prove his client viewed it as anything other than legitimate compensation for community outreach that had nothing to do with his legislative duties.
"There has been no evidence of his state of mind or his intent," said the attorney, Richard Rosenberg. "This is a disconnect in this case."
The jury deliberated for about three hours Tuesday afternoon without reaching a verdict.
The case against Boyland stems from an investigation that resulted in the September conviction of a hospital executive on charges he sought to bribe the Brooklyn Democrat and two other legislators. Boyland has remained in the Assembly while fighting the charges.
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