A federal judge refused to suppress information from grand jury subpoenas improperly demanding secrecy from their recipients, but cautioned prosecutors he wouldn't rule out suppression or other consequences if they issued other wrongly worded subpoenas.

“Now that the government is unambiguously on notice of this problem and the need to correct it, continued violations could well warrant severe remedies,” Eastern District Judge Raymond Dearie wrote in U.S. v. Gigliotti, 15-cr-204.

Dearie's Dec. 23 decision arose from defense complaints over a grand jury subpoena served on an accountant in March. The Eastern District U.S. Attorney's office was investigating a transnational drug trafficking operation, with Gregorio Gigliotti, Eleonora Gigliotti and their son, Angelo, among the targets.