ALBANY — The jury weighing the fate of Joe Bruno said yesterday it was deadlocked on six of the eight corruption charges against the former state Senate leader.
Notes handed up by the jurors indicated they had reached agreement on two counts and didn’t say whether they had decided to convict or acquit the former Senate majority leader.
Northern District Judge Gary L. Sharpe read the 12-member panel a prepared statement that stressed the pitfalls of a second trial, and sent them back to the jury room.
The judge’s push to get a verdict came near the end of the third day of deliberations.
Federal prosecutors say Bruno, a Rensselaer Republican, deprived taxpayers of his “honest services” by collecting $3.2 million in consulting fees over 13 years from groups with business before the state.
The judge’s charge was prompted by a tantalizing note handed up by the jury at 3 p.m.
“We have reached a unanimous verdict on two counts,” the note said. “We cannot reach a unanimous verdict on the other six counts. Do you have any added guidance on a process to more forward?”
Bruno told he reporters he was “upbeat” after the judge sent jurors back to deliberations.
“I’m feeling very upbeat, very optimistic from what I am seeing and hearing,” Bruno said.
“We are hoping and praying that this gets resolved in a very positive way, sooner rather than later.”
It was the seventh message from the jury since the trial ended last week.