Acquitted Terror Prosecutor Seeks Legal Bill Reimbursement
A former federal prosecutor who was acquitted last fall on criminal charges that he withheld evidence favorable to four North African suspects in a high-profile 2003 Detroit terrorism trial is now seeking reimbursement of his personal defense costs.
Richard Convertino contends that the Justice Department to pursue him in criminal court was “vexatious, frivolous or in bad faith,” prompted by his objections to DOJ policy including a whistleblower suit, reports the Detroit News. Hence, the government should have to cover his defense costs, he argued in a motion filed last week in federal court in Detroit.
U.S. District Judge Arthur Tarnow hasn’t yet ruled on the issue.
As discussed in an earlier ABAJournal.com post, Convertino was acquitted in an October jury trial of charges of conspiracy, obstruction of justice and making false statements.
A co-defendant who was also acquitted in October is seeking reimbursement of defense costs from his government employer, too, according to the Detroit News article.
