Opinion
October 22, 1992
Appeal from the Supreme Court, Bronx County (Ira Globerman, J.).
Trial counsel's decision not to move for a severance was an effective trial strategy that resulted in the dismissal of three out of five counts, including an acquittal on the top count of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the first degree. There was no irreconcilable conflict between the defenses presented by the codefendants requiring severance under the rationale of People v Mahboubian ( 74 N.Y.2d 174), nor was defendant unduly prejudiced or his defense discernably compromised by the introduction of evidence relating solely to the codefendant (cf., People v Castro-Restrepo, 169 A.D.2d 454, lv denied 77 N.Y.2d 993).
It therefore cannot be said upon this record that defendant received "less than meaningful representation" (People v Rivera, 71 N.Y.2d 705, 708).
Concur — Carro, J.P., Milonas, Ellerin and Asch, JJ.