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Jul 19, 2006 2:53 pm US/Eastern
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Construction Firm's Owners Charged In Kerik Probe
NEW YORK (CBS/AP) ―
The owners of a New Jersey construction firm linked to the mob pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to charges they lied to a grand jury investigating Bernard Kerik, the former police commissioner and failed nominee for Homeland Security secretary.
The perjury case against Frank and Peter DiTommaso stems from testimony earlier this year in which they denied paying for the bulk of an extensive makeover of Kerik's apartment in the Bronx when he was in charge of the city's jails.
While pleading guilty misdemeanor charges last month, Kerik admitting accepting $165,000 in gifts from the construction firm, Interstate Industrial Corp. He also admitted speaking to city regulators about Interstate, but never acknowledged a link between the renovations and his support of the company.
A call to the DiTommasos' attorney was not immediately returned.
Last year, the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement filed court papers seeking to revoke Interstate Industrial's license to work on casinos in Atlantic City. The papers cited testimony by mob turncoats that the DiTommasos were associates of the Gambino organized crime family -- an allegation the brothers have repeatedly denied.
(© 2006 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)