Federal grand jury indicts Joplin man on 17 counts
A former Ottawa County assistant prosecutor has been indicted on 17 counts.
Federal prosecutors in the Northern District of Oklahoma have charged 44-year-old Daniel Thomas Giraldi of Joplin with:
- Possession of Oxycodone with Intent to Distribute (Count 1);
- Possession of Clonazepam with Intent to Distribute (Count 2);
- Use of a Communication Facility in the Commission of a Drug Trafficking Felony (Counts 3-12);
- Interstate Travel to Aid Racketeering (Count 13);
- Honest Services Fraud (Counts 14-17) (superseding).
Giraldi allegedly possessed with intent to distribute Oxycodone and Clonazepam on April 19, 2022.
Giraldi and a woman also allegedly engaged in a texting conversation about Giraldi providing the woman with Xanax on April 14, 2022.
He is further charged with traveling from Missouri to Oklahoma to distribute Oxycodone and Clonazepam.
Finally, he is charged with honest services fraud.
According to the indictment, from February 2019 until April 20, 2022, Giraldi abused his official position as an Assistant District Attorney in the Ottawa County District Attorney’s Office when he secretly used his position to provide favorable official action related to certain defendants’ criminal cases in exchange for sexual acts.
Official actions included dismissing criminal charges, reducing charges and/or offering favorable plea agreements; moving court dates; reducing bond amounts and dismissing or reducing traffic infractions.
Prosecutors also alleged that Giraldi took steps to cover up his activity by communicating via untraceable physical notes, using secured messaging applications, communicating in coded language, and using the trappings of his office to perform official actions for his own gain.
The FBI is the investigative agency. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle M. McWaters is prosecuting the case.