TAMPA - Grand jury transcripts in the botched case of a couple once considered suspects in their baby's 1997 disappearance should be made public, a federal judge ruled today.
U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday lifted an earlier stay on the release of transcripts in the case of Steven and Marlene Aisenberg, but delayed it until May 14 to give prosecutors time to appeal his decision.
Steve Cole, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office, said the Justice Department will take the lead in deciding whether the government will continue to fight the release of the transcripts.
Federal prosecutors had argued that releasing the transcripts will compromise the ongoing investigation into the disappearance of the Aisenberg's 5-month-old daughter, Sabrina.
Merryday disagreed, noting that the Aisenbergs were the government's only targets in an investigation that has produced "no meaningful leads ... and absolutely no results."
"The Aisenbergs are prejudiced by the continued secrecy of the proceedings of the grand jury that indicted them vexatiously, frivolously, or in bad faith," Merryday wrote.
The Aisenbergs' attorney, Todd Foster, did not immediately return a message left at his office.
After Sabrina's November 1997 disappearance, Hillsborough County sheriff's investigators suspected the couple and got a judge's permission to put listening devices in the Aisenbergs' kitchen and bathroom. Two years later, a grand jury indicted the couple on charges of conspiracy and making false statements.
But a federal judge found the tapes mostly inaudible, and they were thrown out as evidence when it was determined that detectives lied to get permission to bug the home.
In January, Merryday ordered the government to pay $2.87 million to the couple to cover legal expenses.
The Aisenbergs, who now live in Bethesda, Md., are waiting on DNA tests to determine if a child discovered recently living with a family in Pontiac, Ill., is their missing daughter.
