Metro

Ex-park staffer faces up to 25 years for manslaughter conviction

A former Park’s Department worker dodged a possible 25-to-life sentence on Monday when a jury acquitted him for the murder of a co-worker, but convicted him of a lesser charge of manslaughter.

Robert Swann was found guilty in the Sept. 4, 2012 stabbing death of Ezra Black during a fight inside a garage within the Al Oerter Recreation Center in Flushing Meadows Park.

Swann maintained since his arrest that he was defending himself with a pocket knife against 31-year-old Black who was “disrespectful to everyone” and “belligerent,” according to trial testimony.

“He said, ‘I’ll see you after work’ and I saw that as a threat,” said Swann, who took the stand at his trial last week.

The Queens jury acquitted the 53-year-old of second-degree murder, third-degree criminal possession of a weapon and two counts of tampering with physical evidence.

That led Swann’s attorney, Michael Siff, to question the verdict’s consistency and requested that Queens Supreme Court Justice Ira H. Margulis order the jurors to reconsider their decision.

The judge denied Siff’s request and offered him to file motions on the matter at a later date.

All of the jurors declined to comment as they exited the courthouse.

Swann faces five to 25 years in prison at sentencing on April 28.