Arrested: July 26, 2001, on federal charges of using an interstate facility to entice a minor to engage in sexual activity.
Charged: Sept. 10 with six counts each of first-degree sexual assault, risk of injury to a minor and conspiracy to commit sexual assault.
The Turning Point: The FBI was investigating municipal corruption -- a probe it labeled "Operation LandPhil" -- when it stumbled upon phone calls in which Giordano set up meetings with a prostitute, her daughter and her niece. Neither Giordano nor anyone else has been charged with corruption. FBI agents heard many discussions with Giordano and a prostitute about "the girls," prosecutors said. The prostitute was known to investigators because Giordano had represented her in court. The agents assumed "girls" was a euphemism for other prostitutes. They found out several months later that the "girls" actually were children -- the 8-year-old daughter and 10-year-old niece of the prostitute, according to court records.
FBI Launches Probe: FBI agents confronted Giordano in July 2001. Agents said in pretrial hearings that Giordano agreed to work with them on the corruption investigation, which involved city contractors, in hopes the government would not charge him with abusing the girls. Giordano cooperated for three days, wearing a listening device and meeting with people who were part of the corruption probe. During that time, the FBI kept Giordano in a New Haven hotel. Even his wife did not know where he was until the last day.