Prosecutor, Agent Indicted in Detroit

Misconduct Is Alleged in Terrorism Case

Ex-prosecutor Richard G. Convertino has sued Justice. (Paul Sancya - AP)

A former federal prosecutor and a State Department security officer were indicted yesterday on charges that they lied during a bungled terrorism trial in Detroit and then sought to cover up their deceptions once the case began to fall apart.

Former assistant U.S. attorney Richard G. Convertino, 45, and State Department special agent Harry R. Smith III, 49, were charged with conspiracy, obstruction of justice and making false statements in connection with the 2003 prosecution, according to an indictment handed up by a federal grand jury in Detroit.

The charges mark the latest embarrassment for the government in a case that was once hailed by former attorney general John D. Ashcroft as one of the most important terrorism prosecutions since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. It disintegrated after a federal judge ordered an investigation of Convertino's conduct.

Legal experts said yesterday that an indictment of a prosecutor for improper conduct in a federal courtroom is extraordinarily rare, if not unprecedented, in modern times.

"The charge is essentially that he prosecuted too aggressively and crossed the line," said Stephen Gillers, a New York University law professor who specializes in legal ethics. "This is simply astonishing."

Convertino also is charged with presenting false information at a sentencing hearing in a separate drug case to gain a light prison term for an informant.

He resigned from the Justice Department last year and has filed a civil suit alleging that he was the target of a smear campaign by the Justice Department that resulted in the exposure of a valuable counterterrorism informant.

Convertino led the prosecution of Karim Koubriti and three other North African immigrants, who were alleged to be part of a "sleeper operational combat cell." The government gained three convictions -- including two on terrorism charges -- but they were dismissed in 2004 after the Justice Department announced it had uncovered serious prosecutorial misconduct.

A report by a special Justice Department attorney assigned to review the case found that the prosecution had failed to turn over dozens of pieces of evidence to the defense. The "pattern of mistakes and oversights," along with possible misconduct, was so egregious that the government had little choice but to withdraw its case, his report said.

William Sullivan, Convertino's attorney in the criminal case, said in a prepared statement yesterday that the indictment is "another example of government reprisal" against Convertino for his lawsuit. A federal judge in Washington threw out part of Convertino's lawsuit in October, and delayed the rest to await the outcome of the grand jury inquiry in Detroit.

"Rick Convertino is a highly decorated and veteran former prosecutor who over a period of many years acted to preserve the safety of his community," Sullivan said. "We will demonstrate that the indictment is manifestly false."

One of Smith's attorneys, Matthew Leitman of Troy, Mich., said his client is a "dedicated public servant" falsely accused of wrongdoing. "We do not believe the charges are warranted, and we look forward to vigorously defending him in court," he said.