Gregory Rosen Quoted in The New York Times on Reflecting Pool Vandalism Indictment

Rogers Joseph O’Donnell, PC shareholder Gregory P. Rosen was quoted in a July 2 New York Times article on the indictment of a former Olympic canoeist accused of vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C. The Times article examines the case against David Carter Hearn, who faces a felony charge of destruction of government property after U.S. Park Police accused him of pulling up a section of the pool’s liner during its recent refurbishment.

A former federal prosecutor, Rosen questioned the legal basis for the charge. Malicious destruction of property “has never meant just touching things,” Rosen told the Times. He noted that the offense requires either intent to cause harm or wanton conduct, and damage resulting from an accident or curiosity does not qualify.

In Rosen’s view, the indictment does not square with decades of precedent. 

“We’ll have to see what evidence the grand jury heard, but on the publicly known facts, this indictment collides with 50 years of binding precedent from the D.C. Court of Appeals,” he notes. “It has reversed convictions on facts far more aggressive than briefly handling a strip of coating that was already peeling on its own. It’s hard to see what law-enforcement interest is served by a felony trial whose central factual dispute is whether the pool was falling apart before anyone touched it.”

Before joining RJO, Rosen served as an assistant U.S. attorney. He now represents clients in criminal and regulatory matters involving the False Claims Act, particularly in government contracts, procurement and federal fund recipient fraud. He also handles high-stakes financial and regulatory investigations, among other matters.