FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FRIDAY, MAY 10, 2002 WWW.USDOJ.GOV CRM (202) 514-2007 TDD (202) 514-1888 WASHINGTON, D.C.- The Department of Justice announced that Benny Bailey of Denver, Colorado, formerly a Deputy United States Marshal for the District of Colorado, pleaded guilty today to one count of perjury for lying about his relationship with an alternate juror in the U.S. v. Timothy James McVeigh case.
Bailey was charged on Feb. 26, 2002 in a two-count indictment alleging both false statements and perjury. The false statements count will be dismissed at the time of sentencing, and Bailey faces up to five years in prison and a fine of not more than $250,000.
According to the facts admitted to in connection with the plea of guilty, until Bailey's recent retirement, he had been a Supervisory Deputy United States Marshal with the United States Marshal's Service (USMS) performing court security services for the United States District Court in Denver, Colorado. During 1997, the defendant was one of the USMS employees responsible for transportation, security, and other matters in connection with the jury chosen to hear evidence in the Timothy McVeigh murder trial (United States v. Timothy James McVeigh, Criminal Action No. 96-CR-68), presided over by the Honorable Richard P. Matsch.
In 1998, anonymous allegations were received charging that during the course of the McVeigh trial there had been an intimate relationship between Bailey and an alternate juror in the case. On Dec. 1, 1998, United States District Judge Richard Matsch convened a hearing in his chambers in Denver, Colorado, to determine whether there was any basis for further investigation into the purported relationship between Bailey and the alternate juror in question. Bailey, who was placed under oath, made several false statements concerning the nature and extent of his contacts with the alternate juror.
An investigation by Department's Office of Inspector General into the allegations found that Bailey did have an intimate relationship with the alternate juror in question, but that the relationship began after the penalty phase of the McVeigh trial had concluded. The investigation uncovered no evidence of improper contacts with the McVeigh jury during either the trial or jury deliberations.
Moreover, the alternate juror in question did not deliberate or participate in the verdict in any way. The full results of this investigation were provided to the Court, as well as to McVeigh and his counsel. Prior to McVeigh's execution, after reviewing these results, the Court determined that there were no grounds for concluding that the verdict in the McVeigh case had been improperly influenced or affected.
The case was investigated by the Department's Office of the Inspector General, and was prosecuted by Peter Ainsworth, Peter Zeidenberg and Monika Bickert of the Public Integrity Section of the United States Department of Justice. 02-280
Source: US Department of Justice