Ex-student asks for bail hearing

Former Wharton student Alex Moskovits, who was retried and convicted on cocaine trafficking charges last month, appealed U.S. District Court Judge Clarence Newcomer's decision to revoke his bail. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristin Hayes, who argued the case for the government, said the appeals court usually rules fairly quickly on appeals concerning revoking bail. Moskovits, who is currently confined to a Fairton, N.J. prison, is awaiting his sentencing hearing, scheduled for Jan. 10, 1995. Back-up counsel for Moskovits Seth Restrepo said case law dictates Newcomer's sentencing cannot be more severe than the original sentence. He added, however, that he is not sure if that applies in this case. Restrepo said Newcomer has to look at a lot of factors before making a final decision. He added that he thinks Moskovits will file an appeal once he is sentenced. "I'm sure he plans to," Restrepo said. Moskovits was sentenced to 17 years in prison and fined $50,000 at his original trial in 1988. His sentence was reduced by two years in 1992 because of a problem with the original conviction. After spending seven years in prison on charges of drug trafficking, Moskovits won the right to a retrial after the original trial judge Louis Pollack, a University Law Professor, decided that his initial lawyers misrepresented him. Newcomer replaced Pollack, who recused himself from the case because of a possible conflict of interest. In his first trial, Moskovits, a single credit shy of completing his undergraduate degree, was charged with 22 federal drug counts, including one under the federal drug "kingpin" statute. Because of his incarceration, Moskovits could not be reached for comment.

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