Opinion
June 25, 1992
Appeal from the County Court of Columbia County (Zittell, J.).
Defendant claims that County Court should have held a hearing concerning the sufficiency of his plea allocution. He bases this claim on a letter written to the court subsequent to his plea in which he asserts his innocence and expresses his dissatisfaction with counsel. Initially, we note that insofar as defendant never specifically moved prior to sentencing or made a postverdict motion to vacate the judgment of conviction, appellate review of the plea allocution is precluded (see, People v. Lopez, 71 N.Y.2d 662). In any event, at no time during the plea did defendant make any claims with respect to his innocence (see, People v. Howard, 138 A.D.2d 525) or assert any dissatisfaction with counsel (cf., People v. Martin, 168 A.D.2d 794). The minutes of the plea reveal that it was knowingly and voluntarily made and defendant admitted during the allocution the necessary elements of the charged crime (see, People v. Morris, 107 A.D.2d 973). Furthermore, at sentencing County Court expressed its concern over the statements made in the letter and at three separate points in the proceeding informed defendant that he could request new counsel and seek to vacate his plea, to which defendant repeatedly replied in the negative. Insofar as the court gave defendant ample opportunity to substantiate his claims, the failure to conduct an evidentiary hearing was not improper (see, People v. Zuk, 130 A.D.2d 886, lv denied 70 N.Y.2d 659). Defendant's remaining contentions have been considered and rejected as lacking in merit.
Mikoll, J.P., Yesawich Jr., Mercure, Crew III and Casey, JJ., concur. Ordered that the judgment is affirmed.