A Manhattan judge has transferred former US Sen. Al D’Amato’s divorce case to Nassau County over the objections of estranged wife Katuria Smith, who claims the retired politician has influence over the Long Island courts.
“I’ve heard, but I don’t know at this point what the senator’s sway on the elected officials is,” said Manhattan Judge Matthew Cooper. “He hasn’t been senator for decades.”
The former New York Republican senator, now 80, served in Congress from 1981 to 1999.
“We have a very, very unfair situation in Nassau County,” insisted Thomas Liotti, a lawyer for Smith, 52.
Liotti had previously lost a motion to remove Nassau County Justice Joseph Lorintz from a pending custody case involving the couple’s two children, ages 8 and 10.
Liotti believes that Justice Lorintz is biased.