ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Lehigh County Commissioner Zach Cole-Borghi and nine other co-defendants in an alleged interstate drug ring will have their day in court Friday morning after a Lehigh County judge ruled that they were entitled to challenge the evidence against them.
The Lehigh County District Attorney's office has charged 41 people following a three-year grand jury investigation into an alleged marijuana drug ring.
But in an unusual move, authorities have not publicly disclosed any of the underlying allegations supporting the charges in the four-and-a-half months since filing charges.
Defendants and their attorneys were only provided a presentment outlining their alleged crimes in December but cannot publicly discuss the presentment's contents, even with their families.
District Attorney Gavin Holihan has declined to explain why the investigation is surrounded in so much secrecy, saying that to do so would release sensitive information that must be protected.
Normally, a preliminary hearing in magisterial district court is the first opportunity for defendants to hear the evidence against them and for defense counsel to argue that charges should be reduced or dropped.
But prosecutors argued Thursday that they should be allowed to bypass that standard step.
2,700 pieces of evidence
In Lehigh County Court on Thursday, Chief Deputy District Attorney Craig Scheetz argued that the complexity of the case and the sheer amount of evidence collected made a preliminary hearing unmanageable.
South Whitehall Township police Detective Chadbourne Ellis testified that the grand jury examined 130 exhibits including nearly 2,700 pieces of evidence. Presenting that all in court would take about 80 hours of testimony, he said — and that wouldn't include time the defense would spend cross-examining the witnesses.
"I don't know of any case law that says court efficiency trumps defendants' rights."Todd Fiore, defense attorney
While state law dictates that preliminary hearings should proceed after a grand jury indictment, the law also allows judges to waive that if prosecutors can present good cause, Scheetz said. Given the burden a two-week preliminary hearing would present — a typical hearing may last 30 minutes or less — Scheetz argued that the hearing should be waived in the name of "judicial resources."
Instead, Scheetz said, the hearings should be bypassed. The defense would still have an opportunity to challenge the evidence in Lehigh County Court. Judge Thomas Caffrey noted that would delay the hearings at least a month, and possibly longer, given the complications of the case.
Scheetz's arguments didn't sit well with the six defense attorneys present. Several noted that prosecutors have failed to take any steps to ease the burden the hearings may have on the court system.
Authorities had not arranged to move the hearings to a larger courtroom that could better accommodate the proceedings or requested a senior judge who wouldn't have to balance lengthy proceedings with their other responsibilities.
And even if the case creates an inconvenience for the court, they said, that's hardly a priority for the accused. Seven of the 10 defendants who were in court Thursday are still jailed and have not had an opportunity to argue the evidence against them doesn't support their bail.
"I don't know of any case law that says court efficiency trumps defendants' rights," argued defense attorney Todd Fiore.
Cole-Borghi's case
Defense attorney Gary Asteak, representing Cole-Borghi, said the prosecution's argument made even less sense for his client.
Cole-Borghi is the only defendant of the 41 not charged with being part of a criminal organization. Given that, there's no need for prosecutors to tie the elected county commissioner to the other defendants, Asteak said.
After hearing two hours of testimony and argument, Caffrey agreed with the defense.
"While I believe that holding the preliminary hearings will present difficulties and take some time, I don't see an exceptional cause" for the bypass, he said.
He denied a motion by Asteak to separate Cole-Borghi's preliminary hearing from the others.
The 10 defendants who challenged the bypass have their hearing set to begin at 9 a.m. Friday in the Lehigh County Courthouse. Twenty-seven others have waived their hearings, allowing their cases to proceed directly to Lehigh County Court. Scheetz said Thursday that two other co-defendants were recently taken into custody while another two remain at large.
Scheetz declined to comment following the hearing.
The most prominent defendant is Cole-Borghi, a county commissioner from Bethlehem who started his second term in office earlier this month. He is charged with possession with the intent to deliver a pound of marijuana and possession of marijuana.
He has denied the charges and won re-election despite the accusations against him.
Following the hearing Thursday, Cole-Borghi accused prosecutors of trying to avoid his preliminary hearing because they were too lazy to do their job.
"I'm happy the judge denied the motion. I'm happy to finally challenge the lack of evidence they have against me," he said.
