Porn murder lawyers step down
A judge in Luzerne County permitted the attorneys for convicted killer Harlow Cuadra to be removed from his case.
Attorneys Joseph D’Andrea and Paul Walker asked to be withdrawn earlier this month, and Judge Peter Paul Olszewski granted their requests during a hearing May 22. D’Andrea and Walker asked Olszewski to appoint new conflict counsel, which the judge said he’d do once the attorneys submitted all of their materials from the case.
A jury found Cuadra, 27, guilty of first-degree murder in March in the January 2007 stabbing death of Dallas Township gay-porn producer Bryan Kocis, and Olszewski sentenced him to life in prison. Cuadra’s former partner, Joseph Kerekes, 35, pleaded guilty to the murder in December and is serving a life sentence.
In court papers filed by D’Andrea and Walker in April, Cuadra appealed both the verdict and the sentence, arguing that Olszewski should have restricted some evidence from being presented during the trial.
D’Andrea and Walker said during last week’s hearing that they were only retained for the trial, not to spearhead an appeal, and that they didn’t believe Cuadra had the funds to pay them. Cuadra acknowledged this via video from the State Correctional Institution at Camp Hill, saying he doesn’t “have the means anymore” to compensate them.
Once the new lawyers are appointed, they will have to refile the appeal after they’ve reviewed the case.
Painting for MANNA
South Jersey pottery studio All Fired Up will host Rainbow Paint Weekend June 4-7 to kick off the unofficial nationwide Gay Pride Month, as well as to raise funds for Metropolitan Area Neighborhood Nutritional Alliance, a local agency that provides nutritional meals to those with life-threatening illnesses.
The “paint-your-own-pottery” studio will donate its sitting fees — $8 for adults and $6 for those under 12 — throughout the weekend to MANNA. All Fired Up, 602 Haddon Ave., Collingswood, allows guests to add their own personal touches to such pieces as plates, bowls and figurines.
Reservations are strongly recommended. For more information, call (856) 833-1330 or visit www.paintatallfiredup.com.
— Jen Colletta