A Queens man who was expected to implicate a sitting city councilman on corruption charges Tuesday bolted the courthouse just before the proceeding started — leaving his lawyer in the lurch and the judge fuming.
Justice Barry Kron issued an arrest warrant for Jelani Mills, who was in court to plead guilty to crimes that involved his co-defendant, Queens Councilman Ruben Wills, but fled sometime after noon.
His blindsided attorney, Scott Davis, had no explanation for Kron on why Mills was a no-show when the case was called in Queens Supreme Court.
“He was here all morning up until a quarter after 12 or so,” Davis told the judge of the bizarre disappearance.
“I’m a little frustrated. I haven’t heard from him since this morning,” an embarrassed Davis later added.
Kron was not amused.
“It was my understanding that the district attorney is prepared to resolve this case — and it’s not going to be resolved,” Kron said, referring to the charges brought by state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.
“He was here this morning. He has no reason not to be here this afternoon. There is no excuse for it so I’m issuing a bench warrant,” Kron said.
Mills, 29, and Wills, 44, were charged in scams in which they allegedly fleeced tens of thousands of taxpayer dollars through nonprofits.
In two indictments brought over the past two years, Wills and Mills were charged with a dozen counts that include fraud, grand larceny and falsifying business records.
They’re accused of defrauding the city Campaign Finance Board by accepting public funds to pay a shell company, Micro Targeting, purportedly to provide campaign-related services for Wills’ losing 2009 race for City Council.
Mills allegedly filed the paperwork creating the company and billed Wills’ campaign $11,500 for work that was never performed.
Instead, some of the funds allegedly were funneled to a shady nonprofit, New York 4 Life, that was founded by Wills.
Wills also is charged with stealing more than $30,000 in other state taxpayer money from New York 4 Life — and using some of the cash for shopping sprees at Macy’s, Nordstrom’s and Century 21 that included the purchase of a $750 Louis Vuitton handbag.
Wills received the state funding through a pork-barrel grant obtained by ex-Queens state Sen. Shirley Huntley, who was later sentenced to prison in a separate case of public corruption. Wills had served as Huntley’s chief of staff.
Wills, a Democrat who won his seat in a 2010 special election, has denied the charges.