'He turned on me': Plymouth DA testifies he didn't fake racist emails

BOSTON — A Monday disciplinary hearing saw a former Plymouth County prosecutor question his old boss under oath.

The Board of Bar Overseers aims to prove that John E. Bradley Jr. and Karen H. O'Sullivan botched a high-profile Brockton murder case when they worked for Plymouth County District Attorney Tim Cruz. O'Sullivan is currently a prosecutor in the Bristol County DA's Office.

At the heart of the case are seven arguably racist emails allegedly exchanged by Bradley and O'Sullivan. A judge cited those emails in throwing out the conviction of Frances Choy for murdering her parents via arson. She was freed after 17 years in prison, and recently won a multi-million dollar civil rights settlement.

Bradley claims his enemies in the district attorney's office faked the emails.

The judge in Monday's hearing asked Cruz if he altered or fabricated any of the seven emails, or directed anyone in his office to do so.

"Absolutely not," the DA said to both questions.

Why the bad blood between Bradley and Cruz?

Monday's was the 12th hearing in the disciplinary process, with at least one more to come. The Board of Bar Overseers, an independent board set up by the state's top court, may impose penalties like taking away an attorney's license.

Cruz took the stand for about 30 minutes in a Monday hearing at the The Board of Bar Overseers' offices in South Station. Testimony from both Cruz and, later, from Bradley, shed light on a long-running beef between the two men.

"We were certainly not getting along," Cruz said of the run-up to his firing Bradley in 2012.

Cruz said that he and Bradley stopped talking to each other because of Bradley's behavior in the office.

"We used to be friends years ago," Cruz testified, "and for whatever reason he turned on me."

'The truth has been revealed' Brockton woman freed after 17 years in prison after prosecutors' racist emails discovered

Cruz said that Bradley eventually began sending "nasty emails" and doing things in the office the DA considered insubordinate.

Bradley confirmed that he and Cruz used to be friends. He said they went to several sporting events together, such as Red Sox, Bruins and Boston College football games.

Bradley pointed to a deterioration in their relationship after he gave the Boston Globe investigative team data for a 2012 series about "judge shopping" in driving under the influence cases. A report to the Supreme Judicial Court found that DUI defendants were acquitted at much higher rates when the cases went to judges versus those heard by a jury. In Plymouth County, judges found defendants not guilty 86% of the time versus juries acquitting only 56% of such cases between 2005 and 2010.

"The upshot of it was over time, not only did things not get better, they got worse and that's what led to the personal friction between Mr. Cruz and myself," Bradley said.

The bad blood continued after Cruz fired Bradley. First, Bradley settled a wrongful termination case against Cruz in exchange for $248,000. Later, Bradley challenged Cruz in the 2018 election. Bradley, a Democrat, lost 57% to 43% to the long-serving Republican amid allegations Bradley did not live in Plymouth County.

Dig deeper Prosecutors face discipline for Frances Choy's tossed Brockton murder, arson convictions

What are the allegations against the former prosecutors?

Bradley and O'Sullivan are accused of not only the allegedly racist emails, but also failing to disclose a missing person's report and police log entry to Frances Choy's defense team. Further, the board claims Bradley misled jurors in a closing argument.

"I did make a mistake in my closing argument to provide context," Bradley said Tuesday to the Board of Bar Overseers committee. He told jurors that Frances Choy's cousin Kenny Choy was facing a charge of possession of drugs in a school zone. He actually faced a less serious charge. "I want to emphasize that my unintentional mistake worked not to my advantage, but to my detriment."

The committee includes one person who is not a lawyer. He asked if Cruz or his senior staff would ever assign someone to look at trial files to make sure the ADA turned over all the evidence to the defense. The DA said he doesn't recall that ever happening.

One further disciplinary hearing is scheduled for May 31, according to the Board of Bar Overseers calendar. The committee may impose discipline or recommend the Supreme Judicial Court do so.

Send your news tips to reporter Chris Helms by email at CHelms@enterprisenews.com or connect on X at @HelmsNews.

This article originally appeared on The Enterprise: DA Tim Cruz testifies he didn't fake racist emails about Brockton case