The feds have given a break to two female former Bernie Madoff staffers who feared that their unflattering mug shots would prejudice a jury against them.
In papers filed in Manhattan federal court Thursday, government lawyers agreed to “crop” photos of secretary Annette Bongiorno, 65, and office worker Joann Crupi, 52, who have been charged in connection with Madoff’s Ponzi scheme.
Both had asked a federal judge to exclude the shots from trial next month because of the possibility they could hurt them at trial.
“The Government agrees to crop the booking photographs — to show only the front view, for example — to eliminate any perceived risk of prejudice,” the feds wrote.
In a filing two weeks ago Crupi’s lawyer, Eric Breslin, said his client’s “mug shot has every conceivable hallmark of a jailhouse photograph, with the possible exception that she is not holding a ball and chain.”
Both women – along with three male ex-Madoff staffers also awaiting trial on Oct. 7 – came under scrutiny last month after prosecutors revealed the Ponzi monster was enmeshed in an office love triangle with one of the defendants, but didn’t say which one.