United States v. Riggi, No. 06-1280-cr (2d Cir. September 4, 2008) (Jacobs, Calabresi, Sack, CJJ) Defendants Vitabile, Abramo and Schifilliti were all long-time members of the Decavalcante crime family. Vitabile was consignliere for thirty-five years, Abramo had been a captain since the late 1980’s and Schifilliti had held that same title since 1991. They were … Read more
United States v. Yannotti, No. 06-5571-cr (2d Cir. September 4, 2008) (Katzmann, Parker, Raggi, CJJ) Michael Yannotti was one of several Gambino crime family members accused of multiple violent acts – including extortion, loansharking and murder. After a jury trial, he was convicted of a RICO conspiracy, although the only predicates that the jury could … Read more
United States v. Santos, No. 06-0833-cr (2d Cir. September 2, 2008) (McLaughlin, Sack, Livingston, CJJ) In 2000, Santos was hired by a big Columbian drug dealer to kill two men who had stolen drug proceeds from him. Santos had meetings with an intermediary, Medina, in which Medina answered Santos’ questions about the nature of the … Read more
United States v. Stein, no. 07-3042-cr (2d Cir. August 28, 2008) (Jacobs, Feinberg, Hall, CJJ) This case arose from a 2004 investigation into KPMG’s suspected creation and sale of illegal tax shelters. Although KPMG’s counsel recommended a “cooperative approach” in its dealings with the government, the firm still, initially, promised to pay the attorneys’ fees … Read more
United States v. Kozeny, No. 07-3107-cr (2d Cir. August 29, 2008) (Sack, Katzmann, Hall, CJJ) In 2002 and 2003, the government believed that Frederic Bourke was involved in a scheme to bribe senior government officials in Azerbaijan in connection with the privatization of that nation’s state-run oil company. During the investigation, the government made treaty … Read more
United States v. Amato, No. 06-5600-cr (2d Cir. August 21, 2008) (Cardamone, Miner, Pooler, CJJ) The defendants were the principals of a consulting firm that was purchased by EDS, a much larger company. Their compensation included an incentive plan that promised large bonuses if they helped their clients, financial services firms, avoid losses caused by … Read more
United States v. Mundy, No. 06-1190-cr (2d Cir. August 21, 2008) (Kearse, Leval, Cabranes, CJJ). In this decision, the court all but eliminates the “flight as consciousness of guilt” jury instruction from Second Circuit jurisprudence. The facts here were somewhat unusual because it was the the defendant who sought the instruction with respect to a … Read more
United States v. Hamilton, No. 06-2933-cr (2d Cir. August 15, 2008) (Leval, Sotomayor, Katzmann, CJJ) Hamilton was convicted of participating in a marijuana conspiracy. He raised a host of issues on appeal, and prevailed on his claim that the district court erroneously concluded that he lacked standing to challenge a search. The Fourth Amendment Issue … Read more
United States v. Ventry, No. 06-3104-pr (2d Cir. August 15, 2008) (Cabranes, Wesley, CJJ, Castel, DJ). In this appeal from the denial of a 2255 motion, the circuit faulted the district court’s finding that Ventry’s counsel did not suffer from a conflict of interest. It remanded the case for further proceedings to determine the nature … Read more
United States v. Darden, No. 06-4567-cr (2d Cir. August 15, 2008) (Cardamone, Pooler, CJJ, Keenan, DJ) Under the Armed Career Criminal Act, 18 U.S.C. § 924(e) (“ACCA”), a felon-in-possession of a firearm or ammunition faces a fifteen-year mandatory minimum sentence (the maximum is life) if he has at least three prior convictions for felony crimes … Read more