FreeTonyViola.com published court filings by The Federal Bureau of Investigation stating that it was unaware of FBI records in its own records system for a decade.  The FBI also asked a federal judge to vacate previous rulings in its favor in Tony Viola’s case because those decisions were based upon on false statements in sworn affidavits. The litigation over documents and evidence commenced after Viola’s criminal trials, which were prosecuted by a multi-jurisdictional Mortgage Fraud Task Force.  Viola was convicted in federal court but acquitted on identical charges at a subsequent trial after presenting evidence provided by a whistleblower inside the Task Force.

According to the FBI, it only became aware of evidence in its own records system “when it received those records” from the U.S. Attorney’s Office and “discovered that they had not been processed ... The FBI investigated why the records were not initially processed and found that, when it had initially searched for and gathered records, it had inadvertently failed to obtain all portions of the responsive records. … The FBI intends to process the additional records” totaling nearly 10,000 pages “expeditiously,” Viola v. Department of Justice, Case: 18-2573, Third Circuit, Document: 99 Page: 2.  Earlier in the same litigation, Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Colville informed the federal judiciary that the Executive Offices for United States Attorneys made false statements in affidavits and discovered additional records that were previously withheld, and that he “regrets those inaccuracies and the resulting inconvenience,” September 27, 2019 letter to Judge Susan P. Baxter.

“Whether through sheer incompetence or as part of a cover up, the FBI’s admissions should be investigated by the Department of Justice’s Inspector General and by Congress without further delay,” said Tony Viola.  “These admissions add to a long record of missing exculpatory evidence in criminal cases prosecuted by the Task Force, and call into question the integrity of these proceedings.  I encourage everyone to consult the FreeTonyViola.com Evidence Locker or the federal court’s Pacer system to read these court filings for yourself.”

ABOUT FREETONYVIOLA.COM:  FreeTonyViola.com’s mission is to shine a bright spotlight on the ‘win at all costs’ tactics, prosecutorial overreach and misconduct the United States Department of Justice employs when prosecuting American citizens.  Tony Viola is currently on house arrest, serving a twelve-and-a-half year prison sentence for conspiracy to commit mortgage fraud. He was investigated by the Cuyahoga County Mortgage Fraud Task Force, a multi-jurisdictional task force comprised of state, local and federal agencies, and prosecuted in parallel federal and state cases. He lost the federal case but won the subsequent state trial.  The website, originally created to solicit leads for Tony’s investigative team, has evolved into a tool to keep the public informed about critical developments in his case, and to share information that could potentially assist others who have been wrongfully ensnared by our criminal justice system.  For additional information, visit http://www.FreeTonyViola.com; friend us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tony.viola.9212; or follow us on Twitter @TonyViola