Newly revealed phone records are raising questions about whether the state attorney general’s top deputy is getting mixed up in the case against AIG honcho Maurice “Hank” Greenberg, although he once worked for the insurance bigwig’s defense.
Chief Deputy Attorney General Harlan Levy has spoken on the phone more than a dozen times to his former co-worker at the offices of Boies, Schiller and Flexner, which is defending Greenberg against fraud charges, according to records obtained by The Post and being reviewed by the Joint Commission on Public Ethics.
Before taking his job with Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, Levy worked on the Greenberg defense. Legal ethics rules dictate that he now have no involvement in the case.
“Levy participated in high-level litigation strategies with the most senior members of Greenberg’s legal team before leaving to join Scheiderman’s office,” a Greenberg insider said.
While it is not clear what Levy talked about with his old firm, the fact his number shows up 13 times in the Boies, Schiller and Flexner logs is raising eyebrows.
Senate Republican leader Dean Skelos’ office said the conversations raise conflict-of-interest concerns.
“If these allegations are true, we would seriously consider holding hearings to look into this matter,” said a source close to the Senate GOP leadership.
The logs show Levy talking to Boies, Schiller and Flexner attorney Nicholas Gravante several times between Dec. 6 and 9, 2013.
The phone logs show that Gravante made the initial call. Six of the 13 calls found in the logs were made by Levy to Gravante.
One call Dec. 8 lasted 34 minutes, the logs show.
Those calls came around the time that reports surfaced about David Ellenhorn, the lead prosecutor in the Greenberg case, taking a free ride on David Boies’ private jet in 2009 during an out-of-state deposition in the case.
Ellenhorn’s alleged ride came after the deposition of Warren Buffett in Omaha, Neb. Now-Gov. Andrew Cuomo was attorney general at the time. Ellenhorn didn’t immediately report the trip as an expense, which can be considered a free gift for a public official.
Greenberg had filed an ethics complaint over Ellenhorn’s alleged involvement in the “Air Boies” incident. JCOPE is reviewing the allegations against the prosecutors.
If Levy has now involved himself in the Greenberg case — which has been dragging on for years — that would be improper, a Greenberg insider said.
But sources also said that it could be considered inappropriate for Gravante to be reaching out to his former law partner, Levy, to discuss any aspect of the Greenberg case.
Gravante declined to comment.
Schneiderman’s office dismissed the conversations as much ado about nothing.
“This is the just the latest ploy by Mr. Greenberg’s team to deflect attention away from the serious fraud charges that three successive attorneys general have pursued,” said Schneiderman spokesman Damien LaVera.
A source close to Greenberg said, “It’s unfortunate that the Attorney General’s Office views corruption and ethics in his office as nothing but a distraction.”
A source familiar with the case said members of Greenberg’s legal team have been busy fighting among themselves.
“First, one Hank Greenberg lawyer complains about what another Greenberg lawyer did with his plane. Then one Greenberg lawyer complains about another Greenberg lawyer’s phone calls. Maybe they should work this out between themselves,” the source said.
Boies issued a statement in December flatly denying that Schneiderman’s office had been involved in witness tampering regarding his response to the “Air Boies” controversy — undercutting claims by Greenberg that it had.