By Steve Neavling
Federal prosecutors have agreed to drop criminal charges against prominent Miami defense attorney David Macey, accused of orchestrating a bribery conspiracy involving two former U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration supervisors, the Associated Press reports.
The charges will be dismissed in a year if Macey does not break any laws, under a deferred prosecution agreement announced Thursday in Manhattan federal court.
Prosecutors did not explain the abrupt reversal, but U.S. District Judge Jennifer H. Rearden called it an “extraordinary opportunity” for Macey to avoid trial, crediting his experienced legal team.
“I feel great. I’m elated,” Macey said, smiling as he left the courthouse and hugged his attorneys.
The deal appears to end a yearslong investigation into corruption inside the DEA that has already led to convictions of two former agents. The probe expanded to target Miami’s so-called “white powder bar,” elite defense lawyers who strike surrender deals for Latin American drug traffickers by turning them into government cooperators.
Macey, 54, a former state prosecutor, was charged in February with providing cash and gifts, including Yankees-Red Sox tickets and a condo down payment, to retired DEA supervisor Manny Recio and veteran agent John Costanzo in exchange for sensitive information. Authorities said the leaks jeopardized investigations.
Macey’s attorneys acknowledged payments and purchases totaling $73,000 ended up with the agents but argued no favors were sought.
“The indictment fails to allege any quid pro quo,” they wrote in a motion to dismiss earlier this month. “It instead describes, at best, a formless arrangement of alleged payments as quids (many entirely unlinked to Mr. Macey) and so-called ‘requests’ as quos with no apparent connection between them.”
As part of the agreement, Macey admitted his financial ties to Costanzo “created at minimum a risk of perceived conflicts of interests.” In a statement through his attorney, Shawn Crowley, he said he was grateful the “government looked at the facts and determined justice would not be served by continuing this prosecution.”
The reasons the case collapsed remain unclear. The lead prosecutor, Sheb Swett, has since left the U.S. Attorney’s Office, and a key informant who recorded conversations with Recio and another Miami lawyer was himself indicted in Tampa in an alleged scheme to extort cocaine traffickers.
