A judge didn’t use super powers to get a guilty plea from the crooked ex-business partner of legendary comic-book writer Stan Lee, an appeals court ruled today.
Former Hollywood agent Peter Paul — who ran a $12.6 million stock scheme after co-founding the Internet company Stan Lee Media — claims he was forced into a securities-fraud conviction by Brooklyn federal Judge Leonard Wexler.
In court papers, Paul cited comments Wexler made during a December 2004 conference, when the judge said “I’m considered lenient” when punishing defendants who plead guilty.
Wexler also warned that if Paul didn’t cop a plea, he might not get credit for the two-plus years he spent in a Brazilian jail after fleeing the United States ahead of his indictment.
In its unanimous ruling, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan noted that Paul wasn’t present for the discussion, which was held “in chambers and under seal” during a bail hearing.
“Any suggestion that Paul’s counsel was concerned about the potentially coercive effect of such statements is completely unfounded,” acting appeals Judge Paul Crotty wrote for the three-member panel.
The ruling also noted that Paul — who got 10 years in the slammer for his scam — explicitly denied being threatened or forced to plead guilty during his “change-of-plea hearing” in March 2005.