MICHAEL VIRTANEN,Associated Press Writer

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — The Republican-dominated faction claiming control of the New York Senate says a Democrat-appointed legislative staffer doctored the original, official minutes of the session three weeks ago to delete the GOP-staged coup to seize the majority.

In court papers, the faction claims the change was criminal, making it appropriate for a judge to intervene in the three-week-old power struggle and order the record corrected. That would officially show dissident Democrat Pedro Espada of the Bronx as Senate president, put in charge by his Republican allies.

"There was a vote. The majority voted to elect Espada," said John Ciampoli, his lawyer. "There's an official record, and one of the issues really is if the record was illegally altered.