LI man convicted of jury tampering

An Atlantic Beach man was found guilty Wednesday of tampering with the jury of a high-profile trial last year in which a Garden City mother of four was convicted of trying to hire a hit man to kill her estranged husband.

Frank Trapani, 23, who was dating the daughter of the murder-for-hire defendant, Susan Williams, during her November 2010 trial, could face up to a year in prison when he is sentenced Dec. 13.

Williams, 45, is serving 8 1/3 to 25 years in prison.

Prosecutors said Trapani, who attended Williams' trial with her daughter Alexis, saw a juror he was acquainted with, Brian McGee. Trapani winked at McGee from his seat in the courtroom, a spokesman for Nassau District Attorney Kathleen Rice said.

Trapani later phoned McGee and told him that Williams had been "set up" and that he didn't want to see her serve any more time in jail, the spokesman said.

Trapani later told Williams' lawyer, John Carman of Garden City, that he had contacted McGee, the spokesman said. Carman immediately notified Nassau County Court Judge Norman St. George, the spokesman said. St. George dismissed McGee from the jury.

Trapani's lawyer, Marc Gann of Mineola, could not be reached Wednesday.

"Impartial juries are the backbone of our nation's criminal justice system, and Mr. Trapani attempted to subvert that system," Rice said.

Williams was convicted Nov. 15 of second-degree conspiracy and second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument.

She put a $500 deposit down on what was described as a $20,000 job to kill Peter Williams, 46, with whom she was going through a bitter divorce. The supposed hit man was actually an undercover detective.