Bill Baroni with members of his original legal team in September

Todd South reports for North Jersey.com:

Three new attorneys have joined the criminal defense team for Governor Christie’s former deputy chief of staff Bill Baroni, who was convicted in November along with another of the governor’s top officials on charges of conspiracy, wire fraud and civil rights violations in the 2013 George Washington Bridge lane closure scandal.

Attorneys Mayling C. Blanco, Carlos Francisco Ortiz and Stephen M. Orlofsky, of the Princeton office of Blank Rome law firm, filed paperwork in federal court Thursday to represent Baroni.

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Trial attorney Michael Baldassare will continue as co-counsel. He declined to comment on the case. The newly listed attorneys did not reply to requests for comment.

The three new attorneys includes Orlofsky, a former federal judge, and are from one of the largest law firms in the United States with more than 500 offices.

Baroni and co-defendant Bridget Anne Kelly face sentencing for their convictions on Feb. 21. Both have asked U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton for a new trial. Their attorneys have claimed that improper jury instructions and other issues should result in a new trial.

But federal prosecutors this week responded to the defense team’s claims, saying none rise to the level needed to grant a new trial.