Massachusetts Judge Indicted on Charges of Obstructing Justice by Protecting Twice-Deported Criminal
A Massachusetts trial judge and a court official have been
indicted by federal officials who say they conspired to keep immigration
agents from arresting a twice-deported drug suspect banned from
entering the U.S. until 2027.
U.S. Attorney Andrew E. Lelling accused
the judge and official of preventing an ICE agent from detaining a drug
suspect in April 2018, stating that both the judge and the suspect’s
attorney were recorded discussing how to keep the suspect away from the
agent.
The suspect, who was picked up by Newton police on drug charges, was
deported in 2003 and 2007 and was not allowed to enter the U.S. again
until 2027.
“…ICE is going to pick him up if he walks out the front door. But I
think the best thing for us to do is clear the fugitive issue, release
him on a personal [bond], and hope that he can avoid ICE… That’s the
best I can do,” the attorney allegedly said on the court recording.
The judge reportedly responded, “ICE is gonna get him? What if we detain him?”
The suspect later avoided ICE after he was released without bail and
escorted out by the court official who used his security card to open a
rear exit door for him to leave, according to federal officials.
“This case is about the rule of law,” Lelling said. “The allegations
in today’s indictment involve obstruction by a sitting judge, that is
intentional interference with the enforcement of federal law, and that
is a crime.”