A May 13 hearing was scheduled Monday to further consider defense motions to delay the federal corruption case of former state Sen. Ron Calderon and his brother.
The trial is tentatively set to begin Aug. 11, but defense attorney Mark Geragos indicated during a status conference today that he wanted more time to prepare.
The Montebello Democrat was indicted last year in Los Angeles on 24 charges, including accepting $80,000 in bribes. His brother, former Assemblyman Tom Calderon, is charged with money laundering.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas M. Miller indicated in a court filing last week that a superseding indictment containing additional criminal charges could be forthcoming.
During the hearing, Geragos suggested that Tom Calderon’s attorney, Shepard Kopp, would shortly file a severance motion, asking that U.S. District Judge Christina A. Snyder consider separating the brothers’ trials.
The sibling defendants attended the hearing, but remained in the audience and did not sit with their attorneys at the defense table.
Prosecutors previously stated that the case involves 330,000 pages of evidence, including tapes and transcripts for about 2,200 meetings and phone calls.
The ex-senator has pleaded not guilty to accepting cash bribes, trips and dinners in exchange for pushing workers’ compensation legislation and a film industry tax credit scheme that was actually an FBI sting.
Thomas Calderon, 60, a former lawmaker-turned-lobbyist, has pleaded not guilty to laundering bribes through a tax-exempt group and consulting company he operates.
Ron Calderon, 57, was suspended from the Senate in March 2014, and his term in office ended in November.
—Staff and wire reports