P. M. BRIEFING : Jurist Upholds Leona Conviction

A federal judge today refused to dismiss the tax evasion indictment and conviction of “Hotel Queen” Leona Helmsley after ruling that prosecutors had not misused evidence she gave under immunity to an investigating grand jury.

The ruling paves the way for Helmsley’s sentencing to proceed as scheduled on Dec. 12 in New York Federal Court.

Helmsley, who was convicted on Aug. 30 of federal income tax evasion, alleged the government improperly used testimony that she gave before a state grand jury in an unrelated case.

She had been given immunity for testifying against prestigious jewelry companies Van Cleef & Arpels and Bulgari, which were charged with violating state sales tax laws.

In an effort to get Helmsley’s federal income tax evasion indictment and conviction thrown out, her lawyers charged that prosecutors might have violated the immunity agreement. A hearing on the matter was held last month.

However, U.S. District Judge John Walker ruled today that the “substance of Mrs. Helmsley’s immunized testimony is wholly unrelated to that of the federal investigation.”