DA wants jail time for amputee in assault

Prosecutors in Manhattan want the millionaire amputee who won a $19 million excessive force verdict against Nassau police in 2010 for running over his leg to serve a year in jail for punching a woman, his lawyer said Tuesday.

Thomas Hartmann, 43, who won the record award in Brooklyn federal court over a 2004 incident in which cops ran him down with a cruiser to arrest him, was convicted last month of assault for striking Sophia Kandelaki outside an East Side restaurant.

His sentencing was postponed Tuesday until Feb. 15. Defense lawyer Joseph Tacopina revealed that the Manhattan district attorney was asking for a year in jail -- the maximum -- on the misdemeanor assault charge, and Tacopina asked for more time to respond.

Hartmann, a former construction worker, had a record and was being sought for violating an order of protection against his ex-wife when he lost his leg while being apprehended in 2004. He is a former resident of Long Beach and now lives in Manhattan.

Tacopina said he would argue to Criminal Court Judge Robert Mandelbaum that Hartmann's prior record was more than 10 years old, that he had given lots of money to charity since settling his case with Nassau for $15 million, and that because of problems with his prosthetic leg his health could be at risk in jail.

"We're hoping he can stay out altogether," Tacopina said.

The office of Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance refused to discuss its recommended sentence.

Kandelaki testified at the trial that she had to get stitches after being struck by Hartmann. Tacopina argued that she was trying to grab money from his pockets.