Posted on 06/17/2003 1:26:46 PM PDT by OutSpot
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) - An FBI scientist pleaded guilty Tuesday to giving false testimony in a pretrial hearing involving a man convicted of killing a college football player. Through her lawyer, Kathleen Lundy, who did not attend the hearing, pleaded guilty to false swearing and was fined $250. At the urging of the prosecutor, Lundy was spared the maximum 90-day jail sentence. "She's already lost her job and paid severely, through the loss of her job and her reputation," Prosecutor Tom Smith said. "In my mind, that was sufficient." Lundy testified in about 80 other cases across the nation. Smith said it would be "rank speculation" to say whether or not Lundy's guilty plea would bring those other cases into question. Lundy served as an expert witness who used chemical comparisons to link lead bullets to suspects. She testified against Shane Ragland, who was convicted last year of gunning down Kentucky football player Trent DiGiuro in 1994. During a pretrial hearing, Lundy said a company melted its own bullet lead until 1996, when the company actually had stopped in 1986. She corrected her testimony during the trial and told her supervisors in Washington that she had lied. In January, Circuit Judge Thomas Clark said Lundy's false testimony would not have altered the course of the case. Federal authorities decided not to prosecute her, but Kentucky prosecutors brought a charge of false swearing. In a sworn affidavit to Justice Department officials, Lundy wrote: "I cannot explain why I made the original error in my testimony ... nor why, knowing that the testimony was false, I failed to correct it at the time. I was stressed out by this case and work in general." FBI spokesman Ed Cogswell said he couldn't confirm if Lundy had lost her job at the agency, as Smith had said. AP-ES-06-17-03 1445EDT
The “Premier Law Enforcement Institution” is once again caught with flat out lying in court!
The Last FBI LIE was uncovered last month "Key McVeigh Witness Criticized FBI Lab"
This makes me sick!
My thoughts exactly. IMO LEOs should face the exact same reciprocal sentence that citizens do. It would end a lot of this nonsense.
Seems rogue feds never get really punished!
Until they quietly re-hire her after the controversy dies down. Meanwhile she's free to get another LEO job -- with the outstanding credential that she "does what it takes"...
May the name Lon Horiuchi never be forgotten!
Never forget Ruby Ridge!
You are aware of the circumstances under which J. Edgar Hoover found it necessary to found the FBI Crime Laboratory, aren't you? Their very earliset existance was brought about by a FBI desperate need to cover up their own wrongdoing and probable criminality.
-archy-/-
Through her lawyer, Kathleen Lundy, who did not attend the hearing, pleaded guilty to false swearing and was fined $250. At the urging of the prosecutor, Lundy was spared the maximum 90-day jail sentence. Whew, I'd hate to see this person exposed to a real penalty.
"She's already lost her job (oh yeah, check the last sentence of this article) and paid severely, through the loss of her job and her reputation," Prosecutor Tom Smith said. "In my mind, that was sufficient." And isn't that guideline we always go by when crimes are committed? LMAO Sheesh! Imagine, her rep took a hit. Oh the humanities...
Lundy testified in about 80 other cases across the nation. Smith said it would be "rank speculation" to say whether or not Lundy's guilty plea would bring those other cases into question. And of course when a witness testifies at a trial, the attornies NEVER challenge based on former perjuries in court. Holy cow, this article covers a vast morality free zone.
Lundy served as an expert witness who used chemical comparisons to link lead bullets to suspects. She testified against Shane Ragland, who was convicted last year of gunning down Kentucky football player Trent DiGiuro in 1994. Well it seems significant to me if she tied the perp to the crime. For crying out loud, who wouldn't?
During a pretrial hearing, Lundy said a company melted its own bullet lead until 1996, when the company actually had stopped in 1986. She corrected her testimony during the trial and told her supervisors in Washington that she had lied. But it was only a decade... sniff, sniff...
In January, Circuit Judge Thomas Clark said Lundy's false testimony would not have altered the course of the case. Federal authorities decided not to prosecute her, but Kentucky prosecutors brought a charge of false swearing. If she tied this man to the victim in pretrial, it's possible he would never have stood trial if not for her. How can you state she didn't affect his guilty verdict?
In a sworn affidavit to Justice Department officials, Lundy wrote: "I cannot explain why I made the original error in my testimony ... nor why, knowing that the testimony was false, I failed to correct it at the time. I was stressed out by this case and work in general." This person knowingly made a false statement in a murder case, possibly a capital murder case.
FBI spokesman Ed Cogswell said he couldn't confirm if Lundy had lost her job at the agency, as Smith had said. So anotherwords a known perjurer in a murder case, a possible capital murder case, may still be on the job. Un F---ing Believable!
AP-ES-06-17-03 1445EDT
This article is troubling, to say the least.
Hon. Thomas Smith
Commonwealth's Attorney
310 West Irvine St.
P.O. Box 717
Richmond, KY 40476-0717
Phone: (859) 624-4728 or 4714
Fax: (859) 624-4726
The FBI agents are too busy leaking Hatfield's resumé to the press in order to further demonize a "person of interest."
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