James O'Rourke

jorourke@lohud.com

NEW YORK – A Nyack lawyer and a Yonkers paralegal are among those charged with bribing a court official to steer suspects in criminal cases toward seeking legal aid from their practices.

Dwane Smith, 56, of Nyack, a Manhattan-based attorney whose website lists criminal law among his specialties, is accused of paying a New York City Criminal Justice Agency employee between $200 and $1,000 for each referral, according to New York County District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance.

Vance said Smith's bribes took place numerous times between August 2013 and this month and varied in amount depending upon the case.

Jose Nunez, 47, is a paralegal from Yonkers. According to Vance, Nunez often received text messages from the court employee regarding a suspect's arrest information. He could be placed in contact with the suspects, persuading them to use the services of Jae Lee or Benjamin Yu, two lawyers from New York City who also have been charged in the scheme.

Nunez, who worked for Lee and Yu, is accused of paying the employee the same $200 to $1,000 bribes on behalf of his employers for at least the last year.

"The criminal justice system should be built on an even playing field — not one where insiders abuse their positions for profit," Vance said in a statement.

Smith has been charged with second-degree bribery, four counts of third-degree bribery, fourth-degree conspiracy and five counts of second-degree rewarding official misconduct, all felonies. A message left at his office was not immediately returned Tuesday. No working number for his home could be found.

Nunez was charged with two counts of second-degree bribery, 14 counts of third-degree bribery, fourth-degree conspiracy and 14 counts of second-degree rewarding official misconduct. He did not immediately return a message seeking comment.

Twitter: @JORourkeT800