DA: Long Beach Juror Solicited Bribe

A Long Beach juror in a medical malpractice suit was arrested and charged with soliciting a bribe from a plaintiff Tuesday.

Deonarine Persaud, 53, promised to sway his fellow jurors to find in favor of the plaintiff in return for 5 percent of the financial award, Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice announced on May 17.

According to Rice, Persaud, a sworn juror in a civil medical malpractice trial being tried in Nassau County Supreme Court, called the plaintiff in the trial on May 14 and indicated that he had crucial information about the defendant in the civil trial.

During the phone call, Persaud spoke to the plaintiff’s mother and made arrangements to meet with the plaintiff’s father the following day, but he did not disclose that he was a juror in the trial. The plaintiff’s parents notified their daughter’s civil lawyer about the phone call.

The next day, May 15, Persaud met with the plaintiff’s father at a Home Depot in Freeport, and the plaintiff’s father recognized Persaud as one of the jurors. Persaud told the father that he would assure the family a verdict in their favor in exchange for 5 percent of the verdict amount. 

The plaintiff’s father and her attorney relayed this information to the judge on Monday. The judge contacted the District Attorney’s Office, and after an investigation Persaud was arrested on his return to court Tuesday morning.  

Persaud was charged with bribe receiving by a juror, a Class D felony, and first-degree misdemeanor misconduct by a juror. He is represented by the Legal Aid Society of Nassau County and is due in court on May 19. If convicted, he faces up to seven years in prison.

“Juror misconduct undermines the constitutional rights of plaintiffs and defendants and threatens the sanctity of our justice system,” Rice said.