Malpractice juror prompts mistrial

A juror in a Nassau County medical malpractice case was arrested Tuesday after, prosecutors say, he approached the plaintiff's family and offered to sway his fellow jurors in exchange for 5 percent of the potential verdict award.

The case ended in a mistrial as a result of his actions, prosecutors said.

Deonarine Persaud, 53, of Long Beach, was arrested by investigators Tuesday and charged with bribe receiving by a juror, a felony, and misconduct by a juror, a misdemeanor. Persaud faces up to seven years in prison. He is due back in court Thursday.

Persaud is represented by the Nassau County Legal Aid Society, which does not generally comment on individual cases.

Prosecutors said on Saturday that Persaud, a sworn juror in a civil trial in state Supreme Court in Mineola, called the plaintiff and indicated that he had crucial information about the defendant in the case. He did not disclose that he was a juror at that time, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors did not release the plaintiff's name Tuesday.

Persaud spoke to the plaintiff's mother and made arrangements to meet with the plaintiff's father on the following day, prosecutors said. The plaintiff's parents immediately notified their daughter's civil lawyer about the telephone call.

On the following day, prosecutors said, Persaud met with the plaintiff's father at a Freeport Home Depot. The plaintiff's father recognized Persaud as a juror. Persaud told the father that he would influence the rest of the jury in their favor in exchange for 5 percent of the verdict award, prosecutors said.

The plaintiff's father and her attorney on Monday relayed this information to the judge, who contacted the district attorney's office. After an investigation. Persaud was arrested when he returned to court yesterday morning.

"Juror misconduct undermines the constitutional rights of plaintiffs and defendants and threatens the sanctity of our justice system," said Nassau District Attorney Kathleen Rice in a statement.