WEST NEW YORK -- West New York Mayor Felix Roque and his son are set to start their trial on Sept. 12 on charges of allegedly hacking into an anti-Roque website.

A NJ.com story said on Tuesday that federal prosecutors sent a letter to District Court Judge Kevin McNulty saying that the defense may try to show that the charges were political payback, but that any such information is inappropriate and meant to cloud the issue.

“These arguments would be improper, irrelevant, and create a danger of misleading the jury, confusing the issues, and wasting time,” NJ.com quotes the letter as saying.

The complaint against the Roques says that on Feb. 6, 2012, they tried to get information from the website and harass its backers.