As Yogi Berra said, it's deja vu all over again.
In a federal courtroom Tuesday in Central Islip, an attorney for David H. Brooks--the multi-millionaire now charged with mega counts of crimes--was arguing that Brooks' personal wealth could be used to securely detain him at home instead of at a government jail.
The U.S. attorney's office opposed the move. It all sounded familiar. In fact, it was an extremely similar debate to what went on earlier this year over the Sabhnanis, the Muttontown couple accused of enslaving two of their domestic workers. To add to the coincidence, the Sabnanis are currently the subjects of a high profile trial in the same building. After many weeks and hearings, they were released to home detention. There has been some sparring over those arrangements since their release, but they remain in effect.
The judge in the Brooks case, U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert, said the two parties should keep talking and present a compromise plan to her Friday.
To read about the debate in the Sabhnani case and the ultimate resolution, go to:
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-bzslav0605,0,1513271.story?coll=ny-top-headlines
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/nassau/ny-bzslav0821-story,0,1106345.story
--Noel Rubinton