Obstruction of Justice and False Evidence—Former AUSA

Even former Federal prosecutors are not immune from being indicted by federal grand juries. Former Assistant US Attorney Richard G. Convertino and a Department of State Regional Security Officer—Harry Raymond Smith III—were named in an indictment charging Mr. Convertino with obstruction of justice and making false declarations in the 2003 terrorism trial United States v. Koubriti.^[1]

Mr. Convertino was the lead prosecutor in Koubriti, and it is alleged that “Convertino and Smith concealed photographs of a key site from the defendants and others at trial, and presented false testimony indicating that they were unable to obtain photographs” of the Queen Alia hospital^[2] The photographs were material to Mr. Convertino’s argument that the site, a hospital in Jordan, “closely matched a sketch found in the apartment of three of the Koubriti defendants, and that the sketch was consistent with a terrorist casing sketch. The Koubriti defendants disputed that the drawing was a terrorist casing sketch, and questioned Smith at length about the absence of photographs.”^[3]

Mr. Convertino is also charged with obstructing justice in a second trial, United States v. Doe, “in which it is alleged that Convertino presented false information in a sentencing hearing in order to obtain an unusual downward departure for a defendant, from a guidelines range of 108 to 135 months imprisonment to just eight months with credit for all of it already served.”^[4] It is alleged that Mr. Convertino misled the court about the nature and extent of the defendant’s cooperation with the government.^[5]

For his part, Mr. Convertino “promised a vigorous defense. ‘I’m going to continue to speak out and expose the corruption of this. If they think I’m going to be scared off by this, they picked the wrong guy.’”^[6] He has also sued the Department of Justice, “claiming that it has mismanaged the war on terrorism,” which has led to speculation that “the indictment may be intended to scuttle [Mr.] Convertino’s lawsuit.”^[7] The Doe case is interesting because it involved “a generous sentencing agreement with Warwan Farhat, a convicted drug dealer who became an FBI informant who spied on Metro Detroit Arabs.”^[8] Mr. Convertino’s indictment also raises questions about his other cases. A number of Detroit-area attorneys are seeking new trials for their clients who were convicted in cases handled by Mr. Convertino.^[9]

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[1] US DOJ, Former Federal Prosecutor, State Department Agent Indicted For Obstruction Of Justice And Presenting False Evidence In Terrorism Trial, Mar. 29, 2006.
[2] Id.
[3] Id.
[4] Id.
[5] Id.
[6] Ronald J. Hansen, Terror Prosecutor Indicted, Detroit News, Mar. 30, 2006.
[7] Id.
[8] Id.
[9] Paul Egan, Other Convertino Cases Likely to be Scrutinized, Detroit News, Mar. 30, 2006.