ATLANTA (AP) — Glock Inc.'s former executive was convicted of swiping a pistol and stealing millions of dollars from the gun maker, but his still firing parting shots against the prosecutors who tried him.
Paul Jannuzzo filed a scathing motion urging a Cobb County judge to remove the local district attorney's office from the case and appoint an independent prosecutor to handle his sentencing next week. He says prosecutors abdicated their duty by relying too heavily on Glock's internal investigation.
"The prosecution essentially outsourced the case to Glock, assisting Glock in pursuing its own interests," said the motion by Jannuzzo, who faces up to 30 years in prison. "The prosecution is so invested in obtaining a conviction for Glock that it has no capacity to fairly evaluate this case."
Cobb County District Attorney Pat Head said Junnuzzo was "just crying because he lost."
Jannuzzo, the company's ex-general counsel, was convicted of theft and racketeering charges last month after a two-week trial. Prosecutors said he and Peter Manown, a former Glock vice president, pilfered more than $5 million using fake bank accounts, fabricated loan documents and forged signatures of company founder Gaston Glock.
Manown told the company founder nine years ago that he and Jannuzzo stole the money, and was sentenced to 10 years of probation after pleading guilty to three counts of theft. He was the government's star witness at Jannuzzo's trial.
Prosecutors didn't charge either of the men with any wrongdoing until Glock turned over the details of its internal investigation in 2007 to authorities in Cobb County, where Glock's U.S. headquarters are located. Soon after, Manown pleaded guilty and agreed to be interviewed by a prosecutor and a Glock attorney.
Glock's involvement in the case is at the root of Jannuzzo's complaint. He claims the prosecutor who interviewed Manown essentially turned the proceedings over to Glock's private attorney, and accuses the district attorney of blindly accepting evidence gathered through the private investigation.
His attorneys also filed an affidavit by the founder's son, Robert Glock, who claimed Jannuzzo tried to give back a .45 caliber custom-made semi-automatic pistol that led to the theft charge. Robert Glock said when he told his father Jannuzzo wanted to return the weapon, his father said "he would take care of the request."
"This is further evidence of a prosecution interested solely in a conviction at any costs," Jannuzzo's lawyers said.
Head said his office conducted a thorough investigation, noting that it's not uncommon for private companies to help develop leads.
"What he's saying is absolutely not true," said Head. "We haven't outsourced anything. It's a common practice in shoplifting cases and white collar cases to use information from the company to help."