Justice Department to Drop Final Charge Against Richard Convertino

Ben Kostyack

Published On: December 9th, 2007

The Associated Press reported that the United States Department of Justice has asked a federal judge to drop the final charge against former federal prosecutor Richard Convertino.

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U.S. TO DROP CHARGE AGAINST EX-PROSECUTOR

By COREY WILLIAMS, Associated Press Writer

The Justice Department has asked a federal judge to drop the final charge against a former federal prosecutor acquitted of holding evidence from the defense in a major terrorism trial.

In documents filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Detroit, the government asked that an obstruction of justice charge from a 2003 drug case be dismissed. Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Convertino had been accused of lying to a federal judge in that case.

It is the last of four federal charges against Convertino, who along with Harry Smith III was acquitted in October of withholding evidence from the defense during the nation’s first major terrorism trial after the Sept. 11 attacks.

Convertino had won convictions in 2003 against two North African men accused of operating a “sleeper” terrorist cell. But government prosecutors argued that he and Smith, a former State Department investigator, hid evidence from defense attorneys in the terrorism trial.

October’s not-guilty verdict and a federal judge’s refusal to testify in the obstruction of justice case contributed to the government’s decision not to pursue the final charge, according to court documents.

A Justice Department spokesman said Saturday the government had no comment on the dismissal request.

Convertino’s defense attorney said they are gratified by the decision, which still has to be ruled on by U.S. District Judge Arthur Tarnow.

“Our position is that these charges never should have been brought,” William M. Sullivan Jr. said.

Convertino’s whistleblower lawsuit filed in 2004 against former U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft and other officials now can proceed, Sullivan said.

Convertino accused the government of “mismanaging the war on terror” and violating the federal Privacy Act by leaking information involving him. He has said the government’s case against him was in retaliation for his lawsuit.