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DEFENSE LAWYERS LOOKING LIKE THE ONLY WINNERS IN TRAGIC CASE

The acquittal of four police officers in the closely watched Amadou Diallo trial will be a boon to the careers of the four lead defense lawyers, legal experts said yesterday.

“It’s definitely a boost if you can successfully represent someone in a high-profile criminal trial,” said Manhattan criminal defense lawyer Dino Lombardi.

Within hours after the decision was handed down in Albany, the names of John Patten, Stephen Worth, Steven Brounstein and James Culleton were splashed across newspapers and national television as the men who succeeded in freeing their clients in a tough case that was a political football.

“I think the area where it will help them the most is within the police department,” said Brooklyn criminal defense lawyer Arthur Aidala, adding that other cops who face legal trouble “may well flock to them.”

“They should all be very proud of their efforts,” Aidala said.

Legal observers have said Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson’s relatively weak case was overwhelmed by the cops’ testimony.

While the legal triumph left the entire defense team visibly elated, court observers noted the case was probably the toughest challenge for lawyers Patten and Worth.

The two lawyers — who both represented accused cops in the first Abner Louima police-torture trial — were fighting for officers Sean Carroll and Edward McMellon, the cops considered most culpable in the Diallo shooting because they were closest to him.

Patten, who startled jurors during his closing arguments with loud clapping to convey the sound of rapid gunfire, had the difficult task of convincing the panel that Carroll shouted “Gun!” before the barrage of bullets.

Ultimately, the acquittal was likely most meaningful to McMellon’s lawyer, Worth — who represented former cop Charles Schwarz in the Louima case.

Worth was fired from that case after Schwarz was convicted last year of holding Louima down while fellow cop Justin Volpe sodomized him.

“I’m sure [Worth] was the most relieved and the most ecstatic,” Aidala said. “People have been second-guessing his actions in the Louima case, and it’s very easy to Monday-morning quarterback. The fact that he was able to get this acquittal gives him a form of redemption.”

Lombardi agreed, saying, “I think perhaps this goes a long way toward damping down … criticism of Stephen Worth.”