DRUG CONVICTION OVERTURNED

Prosecutors falsely withheld data in 1999 Puertas case, judge
rules

A judge threw out the 1999 drug conviction of a Clarkston businessman
Monday, saying prosecutors improperly withheld information from
defense attorneys that showed their case had serious flaws.

Joseph Puertas, 73, will get a new trial because prosecutors violated
his constitutional rights when they withheld a police report that
showed investigators had doubts about the evidence against him,
Oakland County Circuit Judge Colleen O'Brien ruled. O'Brien also threw
out the conviction of codefendant James Talley.

Had defense attorneys known about the report, the outcome of the trial
might have been different, O'Brien noted.

Puertas' attorney, Robyn Frankel, called the judge's decision
"courageous."

"If defense attorneys had known about that report before trial, it
would have changed the entire face of the case, because it sheds
incredible doubt on the nature of the criminal investigation," Frankel
said. "It doesn't just establish reasonable doubt, it establishes huge
doubt about my client's guilt."

Prosecutors said they would ask the judge to reconsider her decision,
and if that failed, they'd go to a higher court.

"It should not be forgotten that a unanimous jury found both
defendants guilty," said Chief Assistant Prosecutor John O'Brien.
"However, in the event we are required to re-litigate the case, we are
confident we can convict Puertas again."

In November, a jury convicted Puertas and Talley of drug trafficking.
The case against Puertas was based largely on a single informant,
Joseph Sweeney, a cocaine addict who testified he bought drugs from
Puertas on six occasions in late 1997 at a bowling alley owned by the
Puertas family in Orion Township.

But no drugs were found during raids on Puertas' home, his family's
homes, businesses and the bowling alley. However, police discovered
more than $1 million in cash in the family's safes. They hope to keep
that money, plus another $3 million in family assets, under the
state's drug forfeiture laws.

One undercover officer later admitted he falsified a report saying he
was on surveillance when he wasn't on duty. And no one saw drugs
exchange hands between Puertas and Sweeney, nor does a drug deal show
up on surveillance tapes made by police.

An internal investigation by the State Police on how the drug officers
handled the case showed the key drug investigator, Kenneth
Quisenberry, went to his superiors before trial and urged they try to
avoid a trial because "some of the information within the
investigation was not really the way things were observed."

And the head of the Sheriff's Department Narcotics Enforcement Team,
Mark Menghini, told the State Police he thought Quisenberry had
conducted a sloppy investigation and that Sweeney "was not very good."

The drug purchases, Menghini said, were conducted by Sweeney with "no
undercover involvement."

Jurors never heard about the State Police report, although prosecutors
were aware of the findings.

Puertas has been free on bond since February, after the Michigan Court
of Appeals ruled he should remain free while appealing his conviction.
The Michigan Supreme Court ruled twice that he should be returned to
prison, but a federal judge continued his bond.

The overturning of Puertas' conviction makes it more likely he will
remain free pending a new trial.

A separate civil trial, to determine if police and prosecutors can
keep the seized assets as drug proceeds, is set for July.