Jury-Tampering Suspect Pleads Guilty to Contempt

LOS ANGELES —  A federal juror removed for suspected tampering with the jury’s deliberations just hours before Los Angeles businessman Michael R. Goland was convicted last May of making an illegal political donation pleaded guilty Wednesday to a single felony count of criminal contempt of court in a plea bargain with the government.

Barry Kuhnke, 33, of Huntington Beach, a U.S. Defense Department employee, told U.S. District Judge Edward Rafeedie that he had approached Goland and offered to fix the case because he believed Goland was being unfairly prosecuted.

Goland, rejecting the offer, instead told his attorney about it, who in turn notified U.S. District Judge Dickran Tevrizian. Tevrizian removed Kuhnke from the jury the next day.

In exchange for Kuhnke’s guilty plea, Assistant U.S. Atty. Stephen A. Mansfield told Rafeedie the government would drop a second felony count of obstruction of justice.

Rafeedie set sentencing for Oct. 4. Federal statutes set no limits for either a fine or jail time for criminal contempt, although the judge must choose between a fine and a jail term, and cannot sentence Kuhnke to both.