Juror arrested in bribe-for-verdict plot

Christopher Wigand had no idea who he would be meeting at a Freeport Home Depot store on Saturday, or what the person was going to tell him, his lawyer said.

The anonymous caller had said only that he had important information about a trial under way in Mineola in which Wigand's 23-year-old daughter Bridget was the plaintiff.

But when Wigand saw the man in the store, he recognized him immediately as a juror in his daughter's case, his lawyer said. Wigand knew that it was totally improper for him, or anyone else in the medical malpractice trial, to have contact with a juror.

Deonarine Persaud told Wigand that he could guarantee a verdict in his daughter's favor, for a price -- 5 percent of whatever money was awarded, John Wisell, the plaintiff's lawyer in the case said.

By Tuesday morning, Persaud had been arrested and charged with receiving a bribe and juror misconduct.

"Jury service is one of the bedrocks of our democracy," Nassau District Attorney Kathleen Rice said Wednesday. "People need to understand that they can't abuse the system this way."

Persaud is represented by the Nassau County Legal Aid Society, which does not comment on individual cases. He could not be reached Wednesday.

After Wigand reported the incident to Wisell, the two spoke to the judge on the case, State Supreme Court Justice Dana Winslow, who immediately called the district attorney, Wisell and Winslow said. From there, a drama unfolded much like a courtroom pot-boiler.

"It is, to say the least, unusual," Winslow said of the saga.

On Monday morning, Winslow convened the case in which Bridget Wigand was accusing a Garden City doctor of giving her an unnecessary tonsillectomy in 2005. Then one of the attorneys feigned illness, and Winslow sent the jury home, he said.

After jurors were gone, Winslow quietly declared a mistrial. He then called the seven jurors who were not suspected of wrongdoing, and told them that the case was over, he said.

On Tuesday afternoon, Persaud, who still believed the case was continuing, called Christopher Wigand to follow up on his offer. This time, prosecutors taped the conversation, Winslow said.

On Tuesday morning, Persaud reported to the Supreme Court's Central Jury Room in Mineola and was called into a smaller jury room. There, district attorney's investigators arrested him, Winslow said.

Persaud, who has pleaded not guilty and is free on $50,000 bail, is next due in court Thursday morning.