James L. Santelle the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin announced today the indictment in the Northern District of Illinois of Attorney Beau B. Brindley (age: 36) and Marina Collazo (age: 30) of Chicago in connection with a scheme to present perjured testimony in the 2009 trial of United States v. Alexander Vasquez, in federal district court in Chicago.

Although the crime is alleged to have occurred in Chicago, the United States Attorney’s Office there has recused itself in the matter and it has been transferred to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, in Milwaukee. However, all legal proceedings in this case will take place in Chicago.

The indictment is based upon allegations that Mr. Brindley, a Chicago criminal defense attorney, caused Ms. Collazo to commit perjury in the trial of Mr. Vasquez, a Brindley client. The indictment contains five counts:

• Count One charges both defendants with a conspiracy to obstruct justice through the presentation of false testimony, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371. The maximum possible penalty for this offense is a fine of not more than $250,000, imprisonment for not more than five years, or both, plus a mandatory $100 special assessment and up to three years of supervised release to follow any term of incarceration.
• Counts Two through Four charge both defendants with perjury, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1623(a). The maximum possible penalty for each of those counts is a fine of not more than $250,000, imprisonment for not more than five years, or both, plus a mandatory $100 special assessment and up to three years of supervised release to follow any term of incarceration.
• Count Five charges Mr. Brindley with obstruction of justice, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1512(c)(2). The maximum possible penalty for this offense is a fine of not more than $250,000, imprisonment for not more than 20 years, or both, plus a mandatory $100 special assessment and up to three years of supervised release to follow any term of incarceration.

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Michael J. Chmelar and Mel S. Johnson.

The public is cautioned that an indictment is merely an accusation and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.