Pocono News Section

Defense attorneys removed from murder trial

Defense attorneys removed from murder trial - Wednesday, July 9, 2008 at 4:41PM EST

Wednesday, Jul 9, 2008 @ 04:41pm EST

The two top defense attorneys in a high profile Luzerne County murder trial have been removed.

It happened today in Luzerne County Court.

The lawyers represented accused killers Joseph Kerekes and Harlow Cuadra.

They're accused of killing a rival gay porn producer in Dallas Township .

Attorney's Mark Buffalino and Paul Galante left the Luzerne County Courthouse after they were removed.

We asked Buffalino, “Are you disappointed that you're off the case?”

Buffalino said, “I can't talk about this because of the gag order.”

We asked Galante for his comment, and he said he couldn’t comment because of the gag order issued on the trial.

Wednesday afternoon, a judge removed them from the trial of Joseph Kerekes and Harlow Cuadra.

The judge said there was a conflict of interest.

Buffalino and Galante are with the same law firm.

It could have presented a problem if Kerekes and Cuadra took the stand, and blamed each other for murder.

Police say Kerekes and Cuadra killed gay porn producer Bryan Kocis.

They allegedly stabbed him in his Dallas Township home, and set it in fire in January 2007.

If convicted, Kerekes and Cuadra are eligible for the death penalty.

Something prosecutors say they'll pursue.

Now the pre-trial phase is continued to a future date.

Kerekes and Cuadra each have two additional lawyers besides Buffalino and Galante.

Those lawyers will decide if they're prepared to move forward before the trial starts.

The Luzerne County judge on this case will appoint two new attorneys.

The trial is supposed to start September 2nd.