Jackson Free Press

An attorney for former mayoral bodyguard Michael Recio has asked the Department of Justice to reconsider its prosecution of the Jackson police officer. In May, federal prosecutors will try for the second time to convict Recio and Mayor Frank Melton on civil rights charges related to the 2006 destruction of a private house on Ridgeway Street. Recio and Melton were acquitted on state charges for the incident in 2007. Their first federal trial for the demolition ended in a hung jury last month.

Attorney Cynthia Stewart filed a notice (PDF) yesterday of her intent to seek a dismissal of Recio's indictment. Stewart included a copy of a letter (PDF) she sent to Loretta King, acting Assistant Attorney General with DOJ's Civil Rights Division, in which she argued that there was not a "substantial federal interest" to justify successive prosecutions of Recio. Any justification the government has for prosecuting Melton should not apply to Recio, she asserted. Stewart requested a meeting with King to explain her argument.

"Assuming that there is a federal interest with respect to Officer Recio, it has been demonstrably vindicated by two prior trials and a third pending trial and all that goes with that," Stewart added.

Stewart also claimed that the government's repeated prosecutions are taking a financial toll on her client.

"He draws only the base pay which is barely above the poverty line, has a wife and three
children, and is three months behind on his house payments," Stewart said. "Foreclosure is next"

Annual base pay for a Jackson police officer is $30,000, according to the JPD Personnel Office.

"How much revenge is necessary to satisfy the tenuous federal interest in Officer Recio?" Stewart asked.

Stewart previously filed a motion (PDF) seeking to force the disclosure of any internal documents related to the government's decision to prosecute Recio. Prosecutors filed a response (PDF) dismissing Stewart's request as "an impermissible fishing expedition." Judge Dan Jordan has not ruled on Stewart's motion.

Stewart has also asked government attorneys to produce cell phone records for Marcus Wright, the mayor's other former bodyguard, who testified for the prosecution as part of a plea deal.

Previous Comments

ID

145352

Comment

Yeah, good luck with those motions. I guess Recio's having to fork over all that overtime / assistant chief money he made, eh? Maybe he should have--ya know--upheld the law.

Author

Brian C Johnson

Date

2009-03-31T21:42:53-06:00