Lawyer Convicted of Tampering, Bribing Witness

Jury finds attorney tampered with witness
The Connecticut Republican American by Jonathan Shugarts - October 10, 2008

WATERBURY — After three days of deliberation, a jury Thursday found New Britain criminal defense attorney Robert Karanian guilty of bribery and tampering with a witness, but cleared him of a more serious larceny charge that could have sent him to prison for 20 years. The guilty verdict came as a shock to both Karanian and his attorney, Richard Brown, who said the decision seemed to contradict the evidence presented during the trial in Waterbury Superior Court. Brown said an appeal of the verdict is planned. Karanian, 56, is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 21, when he'll face up to 10 years in prison for each charge. Karanian's 28-year career also is in jeopardy, as his law license could be revoked, according to Brown.

Karanian, whose practice is based in New Britain, was arrested last year on charges he stole $12,000 from his former client, Daniel Chiulli, a convicted Rocky Hill drug dealer. Police found 7 pounds of marijuana in Chiulli's home, but through a deal arranged with prosecutors he received three years of probation for the crime. Chiulli, 41, testified that his former attorney led him to believe he needed to give Karanian $12,000 as part of that sentence and that Karanian would transfer the money as a donation to charity. Chiulli was suspicious of Karanian and secretly recorded a conversation the two shared shortly before the sentence was arranged.

According to Karanian's arrest warrant, Chiulli confronted Karanian about the money and the attorney tried to return some of it. Karanian also coached Chiulli on how to respond if investigators asked him questions about the money, according to his arrest warrant. "Here's what you say... it was a fee," Karanian can be heard saying on the recording. "I can give you something back, but I mean basically it's coming out of my pocket." That tape was played for a jury of three men and three women, who were told by Kevin Shay, a prosecutor from the Chief State's Attorney's Office, to focus on the piece of evidence when making their decision. Brown dissected Chiulli's statements to investigators during two days of testimony, trying to leave the jury with the impression that Chiulli was a schemer who couldn't be believed.

That argument may have had an impact on jurors. At about 2 p.m. on Wednesday a note was sent to Judge Jon M. Alander by the jurors, asking him if they could stop deliberating, because they had found Chiulli's testimony unreliable. Deliberations continued for an additional day, however, and a verdict was reached Thursday. "I thought the evidence was tenuous at best," Brown said. "It appeared there was reasonable doubt on all three counts." Karanian, who is married with three children, leaned forward slightly, resting his fingertips on the table in front of him as the jury foreman read the verdict. Although he had kept a calm demeanor throughout the trial, his jaw dropped slightly when the word "guilty" was spoken. "I'm shocked," Karanian said shortly after the verdict. "It seems it was contrary to the evidence."