The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v. Aristedes Otero, Appellant

The People of the State of New York, Respondent, v Aristedes Otero, Appellant. [722 NYS2d 875] [MAJORITY] —Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Martin Rettinger, J.), rendered December 2, 1999, convicting defendant, upon his plea of guilty, of attempted robbery in the second degree, and sentencing him, as a persistent violent felony offender, to a term of 12 years to life, unanimously affirmed. The court properly exercised its discretion in denying defendant’s motion to withdraw his guilty plea without appointing new counsel. Counsel’s comments, at the court’s invitation, in defense of his own performance did not create a conflict of interest affecting the adequacy of defendant’s representation (see, Cuyler v Sullivan, 446 US 335, 348-350) because defendant’s routine attorney-coercion claim was both facially meritless and negated by the plea allocution (see, People v Jenkins, 176 AD2d 597, lv denied 79 NY2d 858). In view of the meritless nature of the motion ab initio, counsel’s statements could not have influenced the court’s decision (see, People v Hart, 253 AD2d 667, lv denied 92 NY2d 1032; compare, Guzman v Sabourin, 124 F Supp 2d 828, 835-836). Concur— Nardelli, J. P., Mazzarelli, Ellerin, Saxe and Buckley, JJ.