Jonathan Luna, federal prosecutor

[Pepper]

It's been nearly a year since Jonathan Luna was found dead under suspicious circumstances. Are there any new developments, or is his death still a mystery?

http://www.cnn.com/2003/LAW/12/04/missing.prosecutor.ap/

[deputylinda]

Pepper, i was just wondering about this case last week....there are very strange circumstances involved and i think there is a cover-up going on. glad you brought it up because someone wants it to go away.

[SoccerMom]

Pepper, i was just wondering about this case last week....there are very strange circumstances involved and i think there is a cover-up going on. glad you brought it up because someone wants it to go away.


Luna was found in the area where I live, and it's very bizarre. I've followed it because it was so strange and stuck out. Why did he got to the Philadelphia area that night? Who was the second person seen in the car with him? Could he have stabbed himself that many times? It doesn't seem possible, but that is the latest thing I read in our newspaper not too long ago. THe whole thing is just weird.

[Patticake]

I've been following it too and hadn't heard much so I googled his name. At least one article states that they think he committed suicide. Very strange.

I also wonder why the family has not made a bigger issue out of his death.


:(

[ShowerSinger]

www.thewbalchannel.com/news/396916/detail.htmlSorry, but this link just disappeared. Nothing really new, except it did say there were no holes found in his clothing, despite the numerous stab wounds to the body. Oh, and also, that Luna had hired an attorney of his own before his demise. Maybe someone else can link this. Very, very strange.

[poco]

Luna was found in the area where I live, and it's very bizarre. I've followed it because it was so strange and stuck out. Why did he got to the Philadelphia area that night? Who was the second person seen in the car with him? Could he have stabbed himself that many times? It doesn't seem possible, but that is the latest thing I read in our newspaper not too long ago. THe whole thing is just weird.

I was very interested in this case, too, at the very beginning. Can't believe it has been a whole year!!! Hey soccermom - where do you live? I'm from Lancaster and will be coming up to spend the holidays with family!

[messiecake]

Ive thought about this case too! Very strange how something so big just dissapeared huh? Its made me wonder why and if maybe its connected to something still under investigation!

[CeeJay]

So they're suggesting that he stabbed himself 36 times but had no holes in his clothes? I assume when they say "stab wounds" they were deep enough to draw blood even though they indicate many of them were "superficial". So I don't see how he could have done that without tearing or making puncture holes in his clothes. Are they also suggesting then that he undressed, stabbed himself and then redressed? Or lifted his shirt to stab himself? That makes no sense.

[Malini2001]

I live in Baltimore, MD. It was disclosed a few months ago that Luna hired a lawyer to look after his interests in regard to his job. Apparently, he feared he would be fired. He had confided that to someone who did not want to be named. Other prosecutors seemed to know about it. The US prosecutor is kind of a loose cannon, publicity seeking type - he resigned just a few days ago. He now admits that Luna job was in jeapordy but didn't disclose it at the time to protect his family.

Luna was involved in a robbery case in 2002 where $36,000 in cash disappeared between the courtroom and the secure evidence vault. It was stated in newspapers last year that he had either applied for a loan and cancelled it around the time the money disappeared, or had recently gotten a loan and paid it off. I'm not sure how much truth is in the newspapers, but he may have had a debt problem.

One of the most unusual points of this is that there is a 2 hr gap between the time he stopped at a rest stop and when he entered the NJ turnpike. I think he met up with somebody. But he stopped at a gas station after that and nobody saw anyone with him. I'm wondering if he was picking up prostitutes.

[cppweb]

They are making it go away because he probably embarrassed the dept. The feds dont like to admit wrong doings by their own people. The Feds are not americans in my view but nothing more than modern day Nazi's

[Tom]

Does anyone know if Luna had drugs or alcohol in his system at the time of his death?

Very unusual that the case has completely fallen out of the public eye.:cool:

[mysteriew]

Eyewitness News has learned that the U.S. inspector general will not intervene in the FBI investigation into the death of federal prosecutor Jonathan Luna, who was found stabbed 36 times in a Pennsylvania ditch on December 4th, 2003.

In a letter to Pennsylvania representative Mark Cohen, U.S. inspector general Glenn Fines says, "The Jonathan Luna case is an open matter being investigated by the FBI and we do not believe it would be appropriate for the OIG to intervene."

Cohen challenges the FBI's suicide and random murder theories. He wants a review of the way agents are handling the Luna case, their relationship with an informant who was being prosecuted for murder by Luna, allegations Luna may have been under pressure to cut the suspect a deal and whether someone connected to one of Luna's cases may have played a role in his death.

The inspector general's decision is no surprise to local attorneys, who say Cohen's letter raises the serious and troubling question of why a federal prosecutor's death investigation is still unsolved. William Buie, a former congressional liaison now in private practice, believes Cohen is on the right track. "It may seem like a stretch that the Pennsylvania gentleman is making from the Legislature. But for people working on the inside, [Cohen] is making a very good inquiry," said Buie.
http://wjz.com/topstories/local_story_347215619.html

[mysteriew]

A federal prosecutor whose 2003 death remains unsolved was asked to take a lie detector test as part of an investigation into the disappearance of about $36,000 in evidence shortly before he was found stabbed and drowned in Pennsylvania, The Washington Post reported Tuesday.

Some investigators believe the looming polygraph test supports the theory that Jonathan P. Luna, a 38-year-old prosecutor in Baltimore, took his own life, the Post reported, citing unidentified sources familiar with the investigation.

FBI spokesman Barry Maddox said investigators are considering the possibility that Luna's death was suicide, a random act of violence or premeditated murder.

According to the Post, three shrink-wrapped stacks of $20 bills from a bank robbery case that Luna helped prosecute in 2002 disappeared. In the weeks before his death, Luna postponed his polygraph examination at least once, citing his workload, the newspaper said.

One source told the Post that investigators discovered after Luna's death that more than $10,000 came into his possession shortly after the evidence from the robbery case disappeared. The source said investigators could not determine conclusively how Luna obtained the money.

Many people who are thought to have had access to the missing cash, including building custodians and the assistant U.S. attorney who prosecuted the case with Luna in 2002, took polygraph tests, the Post reported.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051220/ap_on_re_us/slain_prosecutor

[Paradise]

There was just something in the paper today about him...it's pretty much the same thing in the previous post.

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c222/Niffa2003/Luna.jpg

[concernedperson]

This reminds me of a case in my little hometown. The son of a prominent architect was co-habiting with a stripper from Houston. Oops, she is dead. They called it a suicide. She had 4 small caliber wounds to her chest. Now, if you were commtting suicide wouldn't you want to suffer less? Additionally, after he was cleared of any wrong doing he fled to California.

Why, would you ask? Because local drug dealers were after him. I even know where he is so why don't they? Coverups are so common it is scary.

[michelle]

I am from maryland and i was thinking about this case the other day to see what has been going on, its a strange one...

[LButler]

There is no way someone stabs themselves to death to commit suicide. I think pulling the trigger on a gun KNOWING that it would be instantaneous would be hard enough, but to stab yourself over and over until what? You pass out from blood loss, then bleed to death, you finally hit a vital organ, you think you have enough blood flowing to die? NO WAY!!

[mysteriew]

A Department of Justice inspector general report obtained by The Sun found "credible evidence of serious misconduct" by agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Baltimore division who investigated the death of federal prosecutor Jonathan P. Luna two years ago.

The previously undisclosed report gives new insight into the frenzied first days of the unsolved Luna investigation - with FBI agents delving into the private life and mysterious death of the assistant U.S. attorney discovered dead Dec. 4, 2003, with 36 stab wounds, lying in a remote Pennsylvania creek.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-te.md.fbi08jan08,1,5905146.story?coll=bal-local-headlines

[strach304]

There is no way someone stabs themselves to death to commit suicide. I think pulling the trigger on a gun KNOWING that it would be instantaneous would be hard enough, but to stab yourself over and over until what? You pass out from blood loss, then bleed to death, you finally hit a vital organ, you think you have enough blood flowing to die? NO WAY!!

I agree and cause of death was drowning in a small depth of water as well if I remember the details correctly. This story grabbed my attention right away when first reported because I am from Baltimore so I do know that there is a possibility he was corrupt but I haven't seen any proof of that after all this time. The details of blood in the backseat of his car and 30 some puncture wounds etc, were details I recall from the first reports and at that time no mention of a possible suicide so to hear that now I find the idea absolutely ridiculous. None of the stab wounds were fatal so what'd he do stick his face in the water and drown as well as drove that far to do it? If they did find evidence of corruption you can bet several someone's are covering up for their own sake. This man was murdered I am sure but why I don't know, seems if it was personal like an affair or something like was already looked into we'd know about it.

[mysteriew]

uh, Strach I believe that one of the issues is there is some money that was evidence in a court case. He was the last one kniown to have possession of it. The money came up missing. He was supposed to have taken a lie detector test for it, but rescheduled the test. Then he disappeared.

[sneezy]

From abc27:
Attorney, P.I. Ask for Inquest in Prosecutor's Death
Posted: February 26, 2007 11:58 AM EST
URL: http://www.abc27.com/news/stories//400659.html (http://www.abc27.com/news/stories/0207/400659.html)

http://216.250.230.16/law_generic2_0301.gifLANCASTER, Pa. (AP) - A private investigator and a family attorney are trying to force the Lancaster County coroner to conduct an inquest into the mysterious death of a federal prosecutor more than three years ago.

Private investigator Ed Martino and attorney Jim Clymer filed a petition earlier this month, contending that the coroner, G. Gary Kirchner, wrongly declined to conduct an inquest into the death in 2003 of 38-year-old Jonathan Luna.

Coroner's office attorney Neil Albert argues that the law does not require Kirchner to conduct inquests.

Luna was found dead in a stream on December 4th, 2003. His car was hanging over the stream bank, still running, and investigators found blood on the floor of the back seat.

Authorities say Luna, who was an assistant US attorney, had left his office in the Baltimore federal courthouse shortly after 11:30 the night before.

--



(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[PSUfan]

http://local.lancasteronline.com/4/207180

Luna case far from forgotten
Unsolved death of federal prosecutor here in 2003 attracts more attention.

By HELEN COLWELL ADAMS, Staff writer
Sunday News
Published: Jul 22, 2007 12:16 AM EST
LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa - In May, a Lancaster County Court judge rejected efforts to force an inquest into the 2003 death of federal prosecutor Jonathan Luna.

Yet under the surface, activity in the case is bubbling, some of which Luna's advocates don't want to talk about.

A television network is looking into the story.

U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter's office is asking questions.

[Taximom]

Dateline is covering this case tonight. 7pm e.s.t. NBC

[Pdoe]

The Baltimore Sun ran a lengthy story on this case today:

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/baltimore_city/bal-md.luna30nov30,0,7328941,full.story

Not much new information but still an interesting summary of the case

[littlehorn]

I always wondered if there was some involvement in the Ray Gricar disappearance. Similar circumstances but they never found Ray.