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Wednesday, March 27, 2024 | Back issues
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Attorney Says Glock Wrongly Had Him Jailed

(CN) - A pistol manufacturer pursued unfounded criminal charges against its former attorney, leading to the his wrongful imprisonment, a lawsuit claims.

In his complaint, Paul Jannuzzo says Glock Inc., and co-defendants Consultinvest, Inc., Robert Core and John Renzulli, engaged in "a multi-year campaign of private vindictiveness against a number of individuals formerly 'affiliated' with Glock," using its "wealth, power and influence to fund and advance the criminal prosecution of several individuals that it wanted to see locked away,"

Jannuzzo claims the company was unable to gain traction with federal officials for its manufactured criminal cases against former Glock associates, but had better luck with the Cobb County, Ga. District Attorney's office.

He says an assistant district attorney there, John Butters, who is not a party to the lawsuit, helped Glock move forward with a case against him. Core ultimately took the lead in the case with help from Renzulli, according to the complaint.

"Defendants Core and Renzulli were not sworn police officers or ministers of justice. They were not even attorneys licensed to practice law in Georgia. These defendants tampered with witnesses and evidence, withheld exculpatory evidence, and advocated positions that were clearly and directly contrary to established law," the lawsuit states. "The result was years of legal proceedings, arrest, imprisonment and associated injuries to Mr. Jannuzzo founded on a prosecution that was never supported by probable cause before his conviction was finally and conclusively reversed by the Georgia Court of Appeals."

The 59-year-old former employee claims in the lawsuit that Gaston Glock, Sr., who ran the company, showed an interest in Jannuzzo's wife, which led to a personal falling out between them in 2003. Jannuzzo and his wife Monika, who also worked for Glock, quit their jobs and Jannuzzo told Glock, Sr. "that there was substantial evidence of illegal activities within the Glock Group," according to the complaint.

The alleged illegal activities committed by Glock include sham transactions and the misappropriation of company money for Glock, Sr.'s personal benefit, according to Jannuzzo's lawsuit.

"The history of corporate acts reflecting the purported ownership of Glock, Inc. over time is a study in disrespect for corporate formalities and the corporate form. It includes backdated documents, bogus agreements, phantom capital increases, and gratuitous share transfers," the complaint states.

Glock's 2009 indictment against Jannuzzo charged the former attorney with the alleged theft of a custom pistol and supposed racketeering activity. The charges relied on an exception to the statute of limitations "because of Glock's purported lack of knowledge of the conversion offense," according to the complaint.

"With an indictment in hand, Glock - through Core and Renzulli - guided the investigation of the case and preparation for trial," the complaint states. "The entire case against Jannuzzo and evidentiary presentation was of Glock's making. Core created detailed spreadsheets scripting out each witness, the testimony he or she would provide, and supporting documents that were the roadmap for trial."

Jannuzzo was initially arrested in 2008 and was jailed from 2009 to 2013 following a trial, the lawsuit states. He was released after the Georgia Court of Appeals reversed his convictions on both counts, finding the charges time-barred.

"Only after his release from jail, through public records requests did Jannuzzo learn about defendants' machinations and scheme," the complaint states.

Jannuzzo seeks punitive damages on claims of malicious prosecution, racketeering, conspiracy, and civil rights violations.

He is represented by John Da Grosa Smith in Atlanta.

Glock sells guns in more than 100 countries and has a 65 percent market share in the United States, according to the complaint. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.

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