SAN DIEGO, Calif. – The federal judge presiding over the criminal fraud case against former U.S. Border Patrol union president T.J. Bonner cannot introduce as evidence pornographic images found on electronic equipment seized from Bonner’s home.
U.S. District Judge William Q. Hayes’ ruling bucks a trend among both prosecutors and defense attorneys: blaming criminal behavior on a fondness for porn.
Bonner served as president of the National Border Patrol Council for nearly two decades. He was voted out in March 2011 amid a flurry of accusations about misappropriated funds. In 2012, Bonner was indicted on criminal conspiracy and wire fraud charges after investigators concluded he bilked the union out of hundreds of thousands of dollars in wages, travel and miscellaneous expenses.
Among the items seized during the investigation were four computers, 20 hard drives, eight floppy discs, a smartphone and two flash drives, all of which were products of a March 20, 2012, raid on Bonner’s home in Campo, Calif. According to internal affairs investigators for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency, the devices contained archives of time- and date-stamped pornography proving Bonner was not engaged in official business at the times and dates indicated on reimbursement vouchers he submitted. Instead, prosecutors claim, the former union chief illegally used union funds to entertain a mistress, attend sporting events and indulge an appetite for online adult entertainment.
Judge Hayes found the prosecution’s argument unconvincing, ruling investigators overstepped the scope of the search warrant they obtained the day before the raid, thereby violating Bonner’s Fourth Amendment protection against unlawful search and seizure. The warrant granted permission to seize day planners, calendars, phone records, receipts and “other items relating to [Bonner’s] activities and whereabouts.”
“A fair reading of the warrant did not include authorization to seize any item in [Bonner’s] residence with a date and time stamp or authorization to seize photographic images marked with a date and time stamp,” the judge ruled in his order suppressing the porn.
Prosecutors have asked the judge to reconsider his ruling but say the case will proceed even without the dirty pictures. U.S. Attorney Mark Conover indicated his team has enough other evidence — including travel vouchers, credit card receipts and wage reimbursement reports — to prove the charges.
Bonner’s attorney plans to challenge the rest of the evidence, as well. He has asked the judge to suppress everything seized by Border Patrol investigators on the grounds federal law does not authorize the agency to conduct criminal investigations.
[SIZE=1]Image: T.J. Bonner[/SIZE]
