Jan. 17--Federal prosecutors have expanded the charges against Chicago criminal defense attorney Beau Brindley, saying he intentionally had witnesses lie from the stand in five criminal trials, submitted false statements in a grand jury proceeding and even lied to a federal judge by claiming his client was too sick to take part in his defense.
The 21-count superseding indictment made public Friday accused Brindley, 36, of perjury and obstruction of justice schemes going back to 2008. The indictment also charged for the first time his law partner, Michael Thompson, with participating in some of the alleged misconduct.
Brindley has denied wrongdoing, telling the Tribune in an August interview he was "confident that the truth will come out" when the case goes to trial. His attorney, Cynthia Giacchetti, did not respond Friday to requests for comment.
According to the charges, Brindley coached witnesses to lie under oath in cases ranging from distributing heroin to possessing illegal guns and sending interstate threats. In some cases, Brindley went so far as to write out versions of his anticipated questioning and make the client memorize the answers before he took the stand, the charges alleged.
Brindley had instructed one client, Richard Harrington, to falsely testify that a .40-caliber Smith Wesson found in his vehicle during a drug arrest did not belong to him, the indictment alleged.
Despite the testimony, a federal jury convicted Harrington, and U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve sentenced him to 22 years in prison, records show.
According to the charges, Brindley and Thompson also obstructed a 2012 grand jury investigation by pretending to represent a witness who had been called to testify, then claiming in a letter to the U.S. Attorney's Office that she would assert her Fifth Amendment rights. The falsified letter prompted prosecutors to cancel the witness's grand jury appearance, the charges alleged.
In addition, the charges alleged that Brindley filed a false status report in 2010 before St. Eve claiming that a client awaiting sentencing on child pornography charges was so sick after receiving the wrong medication at the Metropolitan Correctional Center that he was unable to participate in a crucial meeting, even leaving the room twice to vomit.
A day later -- after video evidence proved the incident never occurred -- Brindley filed a "Statement of Correction" telling the judge he'd "only glanced" at the status document after Thompson prepared it and did not realize it contained factual errors. Brindley said he "should have taken the time to actually read the document carefully, but ... did not do so," court records show.
In a decade practicing law in Chicago, the Iowa native drew attention for his impassioned advocacy of downtrodden clients and his sometimes offbeat arguments. But he also has drawn heat from judges who questioned his honesty. Last February, appellate Judge Frank Easterbrook ripped Brindley for deceiving the court during an argument, fined him $2,000 and threatened him with disbarment.
The investigation into Brindley's activities unfolded in July when the FBI raided Brindley's law office in Chicago's historic Monadnock Building across from the federal courthouse, taking client files and computer records.
Brindley was initially indicted in August on charges that alleged he coached a witness to lie in a single 2009 drug conspiracy case. That witness, Marina Collazo, pleaded guilty in November to testifying falsely, saying she did so at Brindley's behest.
The probe has had a ripple effect at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse, where Brindley has dozens of cases awaiting trial or on appeal. Following the raid, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered that each of Brindley's clients be notified of the federal investigation so they could be asked if they wanted a different attorney, a process that has been repeated after charges were handed down.
Brindley even made a recent appearance on a case in front of U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber, the same judge who he's scheduled to be arraigned before on Wednesday on his own charges, records show.
jmeisner@tribpub.com
Twitter @jmetr22b
