He moved mountains for O.J. Simpson and Claus von Bulow — but when his own sister-in-law was mowed down in a fatal accident, noted attorney Alan Dershowitz couldn’t move the Manhattan DA, a prosecutor told a jury yesterday.
“They were upset that the defendant had not been charged with a reckless manslaughter or criminally negligent homicide,” Assistant DA William Beesch — former lead prosecutor on the case — testified on Day 3 of a dramatic hit-and-run trial.
Dershowitz and his family angrily urged prosecutors to throw the book at postal driver Ian Clement, who is on trial for a single charge of leaving the scene of the July 2011 accident in which lawyer Marilyn Dershowitz, 68, was crushed under the wheel of a 7-ton mail truck while bicycling with her husband in Chelsea.
Alan Dershowitz spoke “acrimoniously” to prosecutors about the case, as did Marilyn’s husband, Nathan, who is also a lawyer, Beesch conceded.
Clement has denied realizing he had struck the woman. His lawyers have suggested the DA brought the case only under pressure from the family.
But Beesch testified that his office did not do the Dershowitzes’ bidding.
“In my opinion, there was insufficient evidence to bring those [homicide] charges against him,” explained Beesch, the trial’s final prosecution witness.
“Did Alan Dershowitz call you?” defense lawyer John Arlia asked Beesch, who answered, “Yes, he did.” Asked whether the calls were “acrimonious,” Beesch answered, “That’s correct.”