One of the unanswered questions that remain after Assemblyman Bill Nojay's suicide on Friday: What is contained in the sealed federal complaint against him?
It's believed Nojay was to appear in federal court Friday, where a complaint would be unsealed allegedly charging him with fraud.
Nojay was not only a state assemblyman running for re-election when he killed himself Friday morning near his family's burial plot at Riverside Cemetery, he was also an attorney, businessman and volunteer with non-profit organizations. Since that complaint is sealed, the public may never know what the charges are that were pending against Nojay. Defense attorney Jon Getz, who handles many cases in federal court, says it will be unsealed if others are implicated.
"Since it was sealed, the government certainly will not unseal it. The question is whether or not a party, whether it be the media or some entity or a person who thinks they may have interest in this, in making a motion to unseal it. And it's a very specific motion that needs to be made, so it's a good question. An average citizen, I think, would have a lot more trouble getting it unsealed," Getz said.
Any alleged victim, according to Getz, could also try to get that complaint unsealed. In this case, Carlton "Bud" DeWolff is the alleged victim. According to DeWolff's attorney Curt Dehm, DeWolff and Nojay had a long, positive relationship. Dehm confirmed Nojay set-up an escrow account for DeWolff many years ago, but doesn't know the status of that account today. Getz says any victim would have to show the court reason's why the complaint should be unsealed in order to move forward.
"A complaint or an indictment is just a charging document," Getz said. "It's just a document that says this is what happened. But many times, especially in the federal system, the government will have a great amount of detail in that complaint to substantiate their allegations."
Dehm said DeWolff had no involvement in any alleged fraudulant activitiy regarding this escrow account or Nojay. Dehm said neither he, nor DeWolff, had any knowlege of Nojay's Friday court appearance.