DiRosa's Criminal Trial Delayed Until June

A scheduled to begin next week in a federal court in Maine has been delayed until June so that federal prosecutors can have more time to gather evidence against DiRosa.

DiRosa, who served as mayor of Manchester from from 1987 to 1989, entered a plea of not guilty for one count of wire fraud in November of 2011, after being charged with allegedly convincing a Kennebunk retiree to invest $600,000 into a bogus resort in Hungry.

DiRosa's trial was scheduled to begin Tuesday, March 6, at the U.S. District Court in Portland, ME, but prosecutors asked the court for a continuance because they are still awaiting evidence requested from law enforcement authorities in Hungary and Austria. U.S. District Judge George Z. Singal has agreed to continue the case until June 4, 2012. 

This will be the third time that federal prosecutors have moved for a continuance in DiRosa's case, the first on Nov. 15, 2011, and the second on Jan. 17, 2012. Federal prosecutors said that Hungarian authorities have been uncommunicative to their requests for evidence in the case. 

Glastonbury resident Thomas Renison is also charged in the case. Both men have been free on a $50,000 bond. Renison's trial date has not been scheduled.