Legal Ethics

Ex-Prosecutor Acquitted in 'Political' Case

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A federal prosecutor accused of intentionally withholding evidence that would have helped the defense in a high-profile 2003 terrorism trial has been found not guilty on all charges in a jury verdict today.

Outside the courtroom after the verdict, former assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Convertino decried the case against him as “a politically motivated prosecution that never should have been brought,” reports the Detroit News.

“Somebody must be held accountable for this,” said Convertino, 46. Both he and another defendant were acquitted by the jury on counts of conspiracy, obstruction of justice and making false statements.

The four North African men Convertino tried in the 2003 case were originally convicted of being members of a Detroit terrorism sleeper cell, but the verdict was later overturned.

Additional details of the Convertino case are discussed in an earlier ABAJournal.com post.

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