Suit: K-9 team back-dated certificate for litigation

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Federal prosecutors knowingly produced a forged document during discovery in a forfeiture case, a lawyer has alleged in seeking to dismiss the case.

The document was a “back-dated certification of the narcotics K-9 team” that had scanned $123,000 worth of shrink-wrapped currency after TSA agents seized it last September at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, according to the motion, filed July 18 in U.S. District Court in Baltimore.

What appeared to be a certificate for the K-9 team of Maryland Transportation Authority Cpl. Joseph Lambert and dog Falco was actually drawn up on a home computer by a subordinate of Lambert’s, attorney C. Justin Brown argued in the motion.

The falsified document was pointed out by the MdTA’s head trainer of K-9 teams in a deposition earlier this month, according to the motion.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Stefan Casella, in a signed letter accompanying the certificate, referred to it as “a reproduction of the original,” the filing said.

Marcia Murphy, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office, said in an email “there was no intent to deceive anyone” and that the office is investigating the false document allegations. Casella, who is currently on long-term family medical leave, remains assigned to the case, Murphy said.

Rebecca L. Freeberger, a spokeswoman for MdTA, said the agency does not comment on pending litigation but that it “takes these allegations seriously and a thorough investigation is underway.”

The money was found in a suitcase belonging to Jerry Lee Banks, who denied drug allegations and said the money belonged to his wife and business partner, Samantha, for use in a potential real estate transaction, according to the filing. Samantha Banks claimed the currency as her property; neither has been charged criminally in connection with the seized money.

The TSA turned over the money to the MdTA police, which called on Lambert and Falco to scan the currency, according to court filings. Falco “alerted,” indicating that he detected drugs, and the money was seized by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, according to court filings.

Prosecutors gave Brown the alleged forged K-9 certification in April in response to his discovery request but did not provide any supporting documentation, according the motion to dismiss.

Last month, prosecutors acknowledged in a letter they could not find any supporting documents, the motion adds.

That’s because the document was fake, according to the July 9 deposition of MdTA Senior Officer Michael McNerney, the head trainer of the agency’s K-9 team. McNerney testified another officer used his home computer to make the certificate for Lambert, his supervisor. McNerney said he told supervisors as well as prosecutors about the fraud, but Brown wrote in his motion it is not surprising no one acted on McNerney’s claims.

“The officers at [MdTA], and ostensibly the federal prosecutors, knew how bad it would look at trial if Lambert could not produce his certification,” Brown wrote. “[I]f Falco and Lambert really were certified at the time of the K-9 alert, then the government should have simply stated this and explained that the certificate could not be found.”

Brown, who filed the motion to dismiss the forfeiture action on behalf of Samantha Banks, also asked Judge James K. Bredar to “impose appropriate sanctions” on prosecutors.

“What matters is the lengths to which members of [MdTA] and the U.S. Attorney’s Office went to mislead the Claimant and gain an advantage in litigation,” wrote Brown, a Baltimore solo practitioner. “What matters is the institutional harm caused when officers of the court commit this type of conduct.”

Brown declined to comment on the case Tuesday afternoon beyond what was already in court filings.

Murphy, in her email, noted Falco did not find the money and only sniffed it for narcotics.

“The money is subject to forfeiture if it is from an illegal source, regardless of whether it had the odor of drugs,” she said.

Prosecutors have until Sept. 4 to respond to the motion to dismiss, according to an extension granted by Bredar last week.