Former mayor convicted in child molestation case

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. -- A federal jury convicted a former mayor on Tuesday of violating the civil rights of two young girls by sexually abusing them, ending a trial that was filled with lurid testimony about sexual encounters with girls.

Former Waterbury Mayor Philip Giordano, 40, faces up to life in prison.

He was also found guilty of conspiring with a prostitute who is the mother of one of the girls and an aunt of the other. In addition, jurors convicted him on 14 of 15 counts of using an interstate device -- a cell phone -- to arrange the meetings with the girls.

No verdict was returned on the remaining phone count, which prosecutors said they would dismiss.

A defense attorney said an appeal is planned.

After the verdict, Waterbury State's Attorney John Connelly said the former mayor will be arraigned Thursday on state counts of sexual assault, conspiracy to commit sexual assault and risk of injury to a minor.

Giordano testified that he had oral sex with the prostitute and said the girls might have been able to see some of the encounters -- a situation he said he found arousing.

But he denied any contact with the girls, who were 8 and 10 years old at the time.

The prostitute, who has pleaded guilty to state and federal charges, and both of the girls testified against Giordano. The girls said they had sexual encounters with Giordano in his law and City Hall offices, his home, his car and a friend's home.

Prosecutors portrayed Giordano as a corrupt liar and called his denials "insulting." Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter Jongbloed said Giordano admitted having sex with a prostitute and taking payoffs.

"He has been untruthful in the most important personal and professional commitments of his life," Jongbloed said. "He was looking out for one person, and that was himself."

The FBI was investigating municipal corruption when it stumbled upon phone calls in which Giordano set up meetings with the prostitute, her daughter and her niece.

On one of the taped conversations, Giordano talks with the prostitute while his sons can be heard in the background playing. On another call, Giordano told her, "I want one of the little girls."

On yet their last recorded conversation, Giordano warns the woman: "If my name gets mentioned, you might as well put a knife through your throat and kill yourself."

Giordano's wife, Dawn, sat through the trial showing little emotion, even when her husband admitted a string of affairs -- including a sexual encounter with a 16-year-old girl seeking a city job. She was not present when the verdict was read.

Giordano called himself a fool for cheating on his wife and said he should have spent that time with his family.

During his second day on the stand, and despite objections from his lawyer and warnings from the judge, Giordano also acknowledged receiving thousands of dollars in cash, Super Bowl tickets and expensive suits from city contractors while he was mayor.

But he said the gifts did not buy his influence.

"I did not do anything criminal," Giordano said. "The only jurisdiction for what I have done is my wife and my God."

He has not been charged with corruption.