Big-shot Kerik witness? Aponte, who led mob-tied firm, may be called

Big-shot Kerik witness? Aponte, who led mob-tied firm, may be called

top state Senate aide who headed a mob-linked company isa possible witness in Bernard Kerik's upcoming corruption trial, the Daily News has learned.

Among the revelations about Senate Secretary Angelo Aponte that may emerge is his effort to get the city to buy property owned by a mob associate who had been barred from bidding on city jobs.

Aponte set up the deal while he was CEO of Interstate Materials Corp., the reputedly mob-linked New Jersey company prosecutors say paid for a $225,000 renovation of Kerik's Bronx apartment.

"We have not been informed one way or the other" whether Aponte will be called as a witness, said his lawyer David Lehr.

Last fall, Aponte oversaw thetransition team for then-Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith (D-Queens), who named him the $190,000-a-year secretary of the Senate. His potential role in the Kerik trial was unknown until last week, when prosecutors unsealed papers outlining their case.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/10/26/2009-10-26_bigshot_kerik_witness_state_aide_who_led_mobtied_firm_may_be_called.html