UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA )
)
v. )
) Crim. No. 13-10238-DPW
DIAS KADYRBAYEV (1), )
AZAMAT TAZHAYAKOV (2), and )
ROBEL KIDANE PHILLIPOS (3), )
)
Defendants. )

REPORT TO COURT RE: OVERTURE TO STATE POLICE BY CPCS ATTORNEY

The purpose of this report is to correct the record and provide additional information
concerning the call received by the Massachusetts State Police from attorney Robert Griffin
concerning representation of individuals questioned by federal agents on April 19, 2014.
1
On
May 14, 2014, during the ongoing suppression hearing, the government informed the Court that
an FBI agent had spoken with Massachusetts State Trooper Chad Laliberte, the officer who
spoke with attorney Griffin. In addition to speaking with the trooper, FBI Special Agent
Timothy Quinn had an e-mail exchange with Laliberte concerning the call from Griffin. A copy
of the email exchange is attached hereto. In his email to Laliberte, Special Agent Quinn cut
and pasted a portion of Kadyrbayevs motion to suppress addressing Kadyrbayevs contentions
concerning the call by Attorney Griffin. He also sent Laliberte the affidavit by attorney Griffin
submitted by Kadyrbayev. Laliberte then responded to Quinns email. See attachment. Aside
from this email exchange, Quinn has had no substantive communication with Laliberte
concerning this topic.

1
The government makes this report without waiving the argument that, even assuming
arguendo that a third party had retained an attorney to represent Kadyrbayev, the defendants
Miranda waiver is nonetheless valid. See Moran v. Burbine, 475 U.S. at 416-18, 432 (1986).

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In light of the information provided by Laliberte, counsel for the government have queried
each of the federal agents who participated in interviews at the New Bedford State Police
barracks concerning what they knew about Griffins call and what they did with that knowledge.
None of those agents is aware of the substance of Lalibertes email to Special Agent Quinn. Set
forth below is a recitation of what each of those agents reported. The undersigned AUSA has
also spoken directly to Trooper Laliberte and the substance of that conversation is set forth
below. The undersigned informed Trooper Laliberte that he may need to make himself available
in the event the Court deems testimony on this issue necessary. Likewise, each of the federal
agents remains available.
Trooper Laliberte confirmed the accuracy of the substance of the portion of the attached
email written by him. He further stated that he worked overtime on April 19, 2013 and believes
he finally finished his work day between and 11:00 p.m. and midnight. He recalls that he spoke
to the attorney a few minutes before he left for the day.
The five federal agents participating in interviews that night were FBI Special Agents Farbod
Azad, Megan Dolan, Steven Schiliro, and Sarah Wood and HSI Special agent Michael Blane.
Special Agents Schiliro and Dolan have no memory concerning a call from an attorney and
believe that, prior to being asked by the undersigned, they were unaware that an attorney had
called the barracks on the night the defendants were interviewed. The following is the substance
of what Special Agents Azad, Dolan, and Blane recall regarding information that an attorney had
called the barracks:
1. Special Agent Azad recalls that, after the agents had completed the substantive portion of
the interviews of Kadyrbayev and Tazhayakov i.e. after the defendants had made all the
admissions they made that night regarding entering Tsarnaevs dorm room and removing
items a plain-clothes detective told Azad and Special Agent Blane that a man who
claimed to be an attorney for the Dartmouth students had called the barracks. The
detective told Azad that the caller could not identify the students by name. Azad did not
relay to the defendants any aspect of what the detective told him.
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2. Special Agent Dolan recalls that, on the night she interviewed Bayan Kumiskali at the
barracks, one of her fellow FBI agents told her that an attorney had called. She does not
remember which agent imparted that information, but believes it may have been Azad.
Dolan has no memory of when during the course of the evening she was told of the
attorneys call. She was never told anything about the substance of the telephone call or,
if she was told, she has no memory. She did not communicate what she learned to
Kadyrbayev or Tazhayakov (or Kumisksali).
3. Special Agent Blane stated that, at some point while Kadyrbayev and Tazahakov were at
the barracks, a plain clothes trooper told Blane that someone had called moments earlier
and a said the he represented the people being interviewed. Blane does not remember
when the trooper told him this, but remembers that it was neither early in the process of
conducting interviews nor close in time to when the agents drove the defendants home.
Blane has no memory of what the trooper reported the caller had said about the identity
of the people the caller claimed to represent. His best memory was that the trooper said
the caller referred simply to the people being interviewed. Blane did not convey
anything the trooper told him to Kadyrbayev or Tazahakov.
Respectfully submitted,

CARMEN M. ORTIZ
United States Attorney

By: /s/ John A. Capin
_________________________
J OHN A. CAPIN
B. STEPHANIE SIEGMANN
Assistant U.S. Attorneys

Certificate of Service

I hereby certify that I caused the above document to be served on counsel by hand and by
filing it electronically with the Court via the CM/ECF system on May 15, 2014.

/s/ J ohn A. Capin
____________________________
J OHN A. CAPIN
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