Less than three weeks before the start of his Aspen trial on 30 fraud-related charges, alleged scam artist Peter Frommer has gotten some breathing room — and, he says, a new lawyer.
At an all-day hearing yesterday, Judge James Boyd agreed to postpone Frommer’s May 27 trial date. Frommer’s current lawyer, public defender Garth McCarty, said Frommer had reached an agreement with a private defense lawyer who would represent him only if given enough time to prepare for the trial. That means no trial on May 27, no trial this summer, and probably no trial until October or November.
Frommer declined to name the attorney he is supposedly contracting with in open court.
Acknowledging the “voluminous” amount of evidence and materials involved in Frommer’s case, Judge Boyd agreed that a new attorney would need ample time to research the case, which has been hamstrung by delays since Frommer’s arrest 15 months ago.
Deputy District Attorney Gail Nichols mentioned that this was not the first time Frommer had said he was hiring his own attorney. “We don’t know if this is true or not,” Nichols noted.
McCarty is expected to withdraw from the case later this month. The public defender’s office attempted to withdraw from Frommer’s case last summer, when department director Tina Fang grew suspicious of Frommer’s finances. But McCarty was reinstated after Judge Boyd reviewed Frommer’s records.
Frommer is due in court for an appearance with his new attorney on May 27. Most of his day in court Thursday, however, was devoted to whether or not millions of dollars in unpaid civil judgments and other debts from California will be admissible at his trial.
Testimony from former friends and business associates revealed that Frommer was evicted from his beachfront Malibu, Calif., home on Dec. 1, 2006, as his finances collapsed. After that, he took up residence in Aspen, and two months later was arrested, allegedly once again for bilking investors, babysitters and shop owners.
District Attorney Nichols argued that Frommer’s California troubles revealed a pattern of fraudulent behavior. “It’s what I would call consciousness of guilt,” she argued. “He’s shutting his eyes to reality.”
Public defender McCarty countered that the California evidence would unfairly prejudice Frommer’s jury, “This very well could be the death of this case for Mr. Frommer.” he said.
Judge Boyd will rule on whether or not to admit the California evidence at a later date.
andrew@aspendailynews.com