When the law bows to size

Riverhead, New York: It was a beautiful day for drive-through justice at the courthouse.

Under a cloudless sky on Thursday, the court stenographer sat in a padded office chair. The defendant, Bernard Musumeci, 44, sat in the passenger seat of his grey Ford F-350 truck, the window down. And the judge, wearing no jacket over his black robe, marked the court appearance amid a backdrop of pine trees.

"The record should reflect that this arraignment is taking place in the parking lot of the courthouse," said state Supreme Court Justice Robert W. Doyle, adding, "because of the severe weight problem this defendant has".

In what legal observers in Suffolk County say is possibly a first, Musumeci, who stands 6-foot-1 and weighs about 500 pounds, was arraigned in the employee parking lot after his attorney told Doyle it was impossible for his client to walk into the building and ride the elevator up to Doyle's third-floor courtroom.

Musumeci pleaded not guilty. He turned himself in to the Suffolk County district attorney's office last fall after a two-month investigation. Prosecutors said he was selling knockoff Gibson Les Paul guitars through Oakdale Music, his shop, and on eBay. Police said they confiscated 35 guitars at Musumeci's shop and home that, on close inspection, showed they were made in China. The authentic guitars would have fetched $90,000 (Dh330,728), authorities said.

He was charged with defrauding Nashville-based Gibson Guitar Corp, prosecutors said.

Musumeci faces charges of second-degree trademark counterfeiting and criminal simulation, both felonies. If convicted, he faces up to 4 years in prison on each count. He was released with no bail after the 10-minute proceeding.