A trial schedule could soon be set in the case involving Quogue Village Mayor George Motz, who was indicted last month on charges that he “cherry picked” profitable accounts for his Manhattan-based investment firm and then altered documents to impede the ensuing criminal investigation.

Mr. Motz, 66, and his attorney, G. Robert Gage, are expected to appear in federal court in Central Islip at noon this Friday, in front of U.S. District Judge Arthur Spatt for a status conference. The conferences, which are pre-trial meetings, are used to discuss how a case is proceeding and to set a tentative schedule for future court dates.

On Friday, Judge Spatt could also set an initial trial date for Mr. Motz, who is the president and chief executive officer of Melhado, Flynn & Associates, according to a spokesman for the U.S. District Attorney’s Office.

In August, Mr. Motz was indicted on one count of security fraud and one count of document alteration, both felonies, on charges that he illegally earned more than $1.4 million for the investment company from November 2000 until June 2005.

Mr. Motz, who pleaded not guilty to both charges during his arraignment on August 28, could face up to 45 years in prison if convicted on all counts. He was released after posting $500,000 bond.

The indictment charges that Mr. Motz “engaged in a fraudulent scheme in which he retroactively allocated profitable trades to MFA’s proprietary account,” while allotting unprofitable trades to clients’ accounts. The indictment goes on to explain that Mr. Motz would wait until the end of the day to see which accounts were profitable before deciding to allot them to MFA’s propriety account or to the accounts of other clients.

The charges are unrelated to Mr. Motz’s work as mayor of Quogue Village. Mr. Motz, who has served as mayor since 2002 and is married to Quogue Village Justice Kittric Motz, has previously stated that he has no intention of stepping down from his elected post.

Vera Chinese