Jury Gets Case Against Ex-Prosecutor
Justice Department lawyers told jurors in closing arguments yesterday that former federal prosecutor Richard Convertino withheld evidence from the defense in a high-profile terrorism case because he wanted to win.
Justice Department lawyer Eileen Gleason said Convertino and a co-defendant “crossed over the line from upholding the law to violating it,” the New York Times reports.
Jurors are deliberating today, the Detroit News reports.
The defense contends Convertino’s failure to turn over evidence to the defense was an honest mistake by an “overwhelmed” prosecutor, ABAJournal.com noted yesterday.
Defense lawyer William Sullivan looked as if he was trying to avoid tears in his closing, the Times says. He told jurors his client was working aggressively to protect the community from what he thought was a legitimate terrorist threat.
Convertino is accused of failing to turn over photos of a hospital that would have undercut the reliability of a sketch used against the four defendants.
