10/5/05 - Posted from the Daily Record newsroom
Trial date set for Parsippany man accused of shining a laser at aircraft
David W. Banach, the Parsippany man charged under the federal Patriot Act for allegedly shining a hand-held laser at two aircrafts last winter, is scheduled to go on trial Nov. 28 in Newark.
Jury selection in the nationally-publicized case is expected to start Nov. 21, the deputy clerk for U.S. District Judge John Lifland said on Wednesday.
Banach, 38, faces up to 20 years in prison on one count under Section 1993 of the Patriot Act, which prohibits "terrorist attacks and other acts of violence against mass transportation systems"-- though prosecutors concede he is not a terrorist.
He also faces up to 10 years in prison on two counts of making false statements to law enforcement officers after federal, state and local authorities stormed his home on New Year's Eve and interrogated him.
Banach, who was indicted in March, has pleaded innocent to all charges.
"We're looking forward to presenting his defense," Ashley Witney, assistant to Banach's attorney, Gina Mendola Longarzo, said on Wednesday afternoon.
A spokesman for U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie did not immediately return a phone call.
Lifland, in a ruling Sept. 15, denied Longarzo's motion to throw out the main charge. The judge said that while the Patriot Act was adopted in response to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, nothing in its language or legislative history in Congress appeared to prohibit its use against non-terrorist defendants.
Lawrence S. Lustberg of Chatham, who filed a defense brief on behalf of the Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers of New Jersey, argued in court three weeks ago that Banach was at worst guilty of a "prank" that should have been addressed under state laws against criminal mischief.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Gramiccioni countered that only the law's language, not what prompted it, was relevant. He noted that the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO, was adopted in response to organized crime but later was used to prosecute a wide range of criminal defendants.
Authorities claim that Banach pointed a green, hand-held laser into a charter aircraft that was en route to Teterboro Airport on Dec. 29, temporarily blinding both pilots.
Two days later, one of the pilots returned to the same skies in a Port Authority helicopter with law enforcement officers to try to locate the laser's source.
While circling overhead, the helicopter was struck with a similar laser beam, authorities said. A crew member shined a spotlight on Banach's house and authorities stormed the home.
Longarzo has said that Banach and one of his daughters were directing the laser pointer into the sky that night, and they didn't realize that it posed any hazard to aircraft.
Prior to his arrest, Banach lived a very quiet life, friends and family said at a $100-a-plate fundraiser for his legal defense in July. He was content to go fishing on weekends, help out with his daughters' Girl Scout activities and collect various gadgets.
Everything changed, they said, with his arrest and the national news it generated. Banach, a fiber optic cable installer, said he had been unable to find work.
