Defense attorney for former Camden Mayor Milton Milan has asked the trial judge to set aside two of his convictions and one count on which the jury was deadlocked.

In a three-paragraph letter filed Wednesday, Richard Coughlin asked U.S. District Judge Joel Pisano to vacate convictions on one count of wire fraud and one count of using interstate facilities to solicit or accept a bribe. He also is asking Pisano to dismiss a wire fraud count on which a jury could not reach a verdict.

All of the counts involve Milan's acceptance of payments or gifts of vacations and dinners from organized crime figures in return for promises to endorse companies with mob ties when they sought city contracts.

Milan will be sentenced June 15.

In jail since his conviction on Dec. 22, the former mayor could be sentenced to about five years in prison. The term will be based on sentencing guidelines that consider the nature of the offense, any financial loss to his victims and his personal history.

Neither Coughlin nor Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Futcher would comment on the pending motion. They said it would be argued during the sentencing hearing.

Today, Milan's former partner in a contracting business, Gholam H. ``Joseph'' Darakhshan, will be sentenced on charges of money structuring and wire fraud.

While Darakhshan and Milan owned Atlas Contracting, a Camden firm that rehabilitated properties in the city, Milan had borrowed $65,000 in cash from a known drug dealer. They divided the cash into smaller amounts to avoid federal IRS regulations, depositing the money in separate accounts used to secure a needed performance bond.

Darakhshan pleaded guilty to violating the IRS regulations and to faking a burglary at the company's office, reporting theft of business equipment, including computers, to the insurance carrier.

Darakhshan testified against Milan during his trial last fall as part of a plea agreement. The agreement does not include a recommended sentence.