SDNY COURTHOUSE, July 29 – While many even most cases in the Magistrates Court of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York are sealed or have no case number given, on July 9 before Magistrate Judge Henry B. Pitman things hit a new level of murkiness. At the end of the day two drug co defendants were brought it, "No case number assigned."
One, Hugo Witter, quickly got bail with even his GSP bracelet to be "revisited" in two months. The other,o case number assignedNo case number assigned Gilbert Oliver was ordered detained pending trial even as his (retained) lawyer argued that the transaction at issue had been set up by Witter and a confidential informant. Sure, there remained the matter of the four guns, the cocaine and $140,000 in cash.
Twenty days later on July 29 with a new retained lawyer Guy Oksenhendler Gilbert Oliver was brought back into Magistrates Court and made a second argument for bail to Magistrate Judge Ona T. Wang, who noted that the ostensible equity in the Brooklyn property being offered had shrunk from $500,000 to $100,000. This new retained lawyer tried to blame the old CJA one for having tried to get bail.
But bail was denied again. The prosecutor Sarah Nortazavi asked, during the lull, if this would be appealed to Part I. If it is, Inner City Press will aim to be there.,
Earlier on July 9 on an indictment for loansharking, at first the government said the boss of the conspiracy was recorded making threats for the repayment of the "loan."
Then, after Judge Pitman was said this defendant was detained, it was said that there is no recording of that threat, only two witnesses both of whom are cooperators. Judge Pitman reversed himself and allowed the loansharking boss to be freed on bond, with a signature by his sister who is a part-time professor at NYU. The loansharking muscleman with a relative working at Columbia University but only at a coffee serving franchise, was detained.
Back on July 3, a murder defendant was brought through, charged with the killing in 2818 Bronx Park East of Shaquille Malcolm. The defendant's last name - no case number was given - was Hopkins, with all Speedy Trial Act time excluded until September 5. The charging document, even as shown to the defense, was missing the third count. One CJA lawyer stood in for another. And so it goes in the SDNY.
