Boston chief judge lambastes U.S. attorney

BOSTON, Jan. 27 (UPI) -- A top federal judge in Boston has ordered the city's federal prosecutor to explain why he should not sanction one of his deputies.

Chief U.S. District Court Judge Mark Wolf ruled that an assistant U.S. attorney withheld evidence in a 2007 gun case that could have helped the defense and is asking for affidavits outlining reasons the prosecutor should not be sanctioned or even fired.

The Boston Globe said Tuesday that Wolf's 42-page rebuke was particularly sharp and listed nine other cases handled by U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan's office in which evidence was withheld.

"The egregious failure of the government to disclose plainly material exculpatory evidence in this case extends a dismal history of intentional and inadvertent violations of the government's duties to disclose in cases assigned to this court," said Wolf, himself a one-time prosecutor.

The Globe said the case involved testimony from a Boston police officer who had testified in a pretrial hearing that he had recognized the defendant prior to his arrest. In earlier interviews with prosecutors, he said nothing about recognizing the suspect.

Sullivan's office had no comment other than to say the prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanne Sullivan, was a valued member of his team.

The two Sullivans are not related, the Globe said.