Revere Man Pleads Guilty for Refusal to Testify

BOSTON—A Revere man was convicted today for refusing to testify before a federal grand jury.

Eric Rogers, 44, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William G. Young to criminal contempt of court.

Had the case proceeded to trial, the government’s evidence would have proven that during June 2010, Rogers was subpoenaed to testify before a federal grand jury that was conducting a racketeering investigation. Rogers was given a court order providing him with statutory use immunity, but he nonetheless refused to testify. A federal judge ordered Rogers to provide testimony under the immunity order, but Rogers continued to refuse and did not provide any lawful excuse. On July 1, 2010, Rogers was held in civil contempt and ordered incarcerated until such time as he would obey the court’s order to testify. U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns issued an order holding that Rogers’ federal civil contempt incarceration would interrupt the running of a pre-existing state criminal sentence that Rogers had been serving. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit affirmed that order. Nonetheless, Rogers continued his refusal to obey the court order to testify, and when the maximum 18-month period of civil contempt was about to expire, a federal grand jury indicted Rogers for criminal contempt, the charge to which Rogers pleaded guilty to today.

Sentencing is scheduled for December 18, 2012. Rogers faces a sentence of 33 months in prison if the court adopts the joint recommendation of the parties, to be followed by three years of supervised release.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Richard DesLauriers, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation-Boston Field Division, made the announcement today. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael L. Tabak of Ortiz’s Organized Crime Strike Force Unit.