The Fed’s Sleazy Tactics– The unindicted co-conspirator trick

This dirty tactic was on full display during the Enron trial when the prosecution named nearly 100 co-conspirators. Normally, these are people who the prosecution believes are involved with a crime but has not yet charted them. However, during in the Enron trial the prosecution named everyone who might have exonerating evidence as a co-conspirator, which kept the witnesses in limbo and prevented them from testifying for the defense.

The unindicted co-conspirator trick was so successful in the Enron, that we’re sure to see it used more frequently in the future. Most recently it was used in the trail of Robert Graham, formerly of General Re. The charged lawyer says that the one man who can clear him has been named as an unindicted co-conspirator and cannot testify. Unsurprisingly the prosecutors will not give him immunity to get the full story. Something is rotten when the referees have a dog in the fight:

"It is absolutely clear that Rob was acting in good faith, trying to do the right thing, sharing his concern with the No. 1 lawyer in the entire company, a man who Rob had every reason to trust and to respect," Vinegrad told jurors.

McCaffrey, who left Gen Re in 2005, was named by the government as an unindicted co-conspirator. McCaffrey says that he would have testified as a defense witness if he had been granted immunity. But prosecutors denied the request.