A judge went toe-to-toe Monday with a lawyer for the accused stalker of Yankees GM Brian Cashman over claims the jurist has undisclosed ties to the Bronx Bombers.
“It has come to our attention that a family member of this court is actually a consultant for the New York Yankees,” Lawrence LaBrew, lawyer for Louise Neathway, revealed during a Manhattan court hearing.
Looking pointedly at state Supreme Court Justice Jill Konviser, he added, “We have serious concerns here as to whether Ms. Neathway can get a fair trial in this courtroom — and maybe in this county.”
The lawyer did not divulge the purported family connection to Cashman’s ball club, but Konviser’s husband, William Levine, is one of the city’s top orthopedic specialists.
LaBrew’s claim clearly struck a nerve.
“You seem to be putting the cart before the horse,” Konviser snapped, noting that the trial hadn’t even begun.
“The Constitution means something in this country,” LaBrew shot back.
That was enough for the judge, who called foul.
“I don’t really like the way you are speaking to me,” Konviser said. “[Defendants] will always have a fair trial in this part.
“I’ve heard enough from you today,’’ she warned LaBrew. “Your tone is inappropriate and bordering on contemptuous.”
Konviser could not be reached for comment. Her husband did not respond to a message left at his office or an e-mail.
The judge, who took over the case last summer, is in the midst of preliminary hearings for Neathway’s trial on charges she lied on a housing application to score below-market rent at her Tribeca apartment.
Neathway got more than $50,000 in rent breaks on her one-bedroom Leonard Street pad, prosecutors allege.
The case sprung from the investigation into her alleged stalking of Cashman, a case that will be tried after the housing case.
Konviser’s well-respected husband is vice chair of the Orthopedic Surgery department at Columbia University and head team physician for Columbia’s 31 varsity teams.
One of his colleagues at Columbia is Dr. Christopher Ahmad — the Yankees’ head team physician.
Sources said Levine consults on cases for the baseball team.
Neathway’s lawyers are expected to file an application for a change of judge or venue as early as next week.