SDNY COURTHOUSE, July 26 – A case about roosters, in which the US has sought thecivil forfeiture of birds, is flying around in theU.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. SDNY Judge Sidney Stein in sentencing Thomas Carrano on December 13, 2019 said "Mr. Carrano may not possess, acquire, buy or sell or own any live roosters, chickens, hens, or any form of game fowl during his three years of supervised release."
But since then the government has release fowl they seized - and their progeny - to Gina Carrano. And in a July 19 letter to SDNY Magistrate Judge Gabriel W. Gorenstein, Thomas Carrano's lawyer Steven L. Kessley said that "at least 28 of the Carranos' birds - more than a quarter - have died while in the custody of the government's agents." Thomas Carrono is imprisoned upstate, but his lawyer says he "will be transferred to a halfway house in the Rochester area in October." So he seeks transfer of the case from the SDNY - where a Hector Crux mailed him birds from The Bronx - to the Western District. As of 7 pm on July 26, the docket has no answer. Watch this site.
Earlier on July 26 Glenn Blicht, president of International Longshoremen's Association Local 1964 in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey, was presented on honest services fraud charges before SDNY Magistrate Stewart Aaron. He wore a yellow t-shirt and had retained counsel, who tried to hand his passport to Assistant US Attorney Maureen Comey, filling in for AUSA Michael Neff, last seen at two dark web prosecutions on July 26).
Blicht was released on $100,000 bond and free to travel in the tri-state area. According to the Complaint: "From 2009 through the present, BLICHT served as an officer of the Union, including as its president for many years. In that role, BLICHT had a duty to act in the best interests of the Union and its members, including by avoiding personal financial conflicts of interest with the Union. Nevertheless, BLICHT demanded and received cash payments from the Employer, which employed a number of members of the Union. In exchange for these bribes, BLICHT declined to file arbitration claims on behalf of Union members. In total, BLICHT received at least approximately $150,000 in bribes from the Employer over approximately 10 years. In communications, a number of which were recorded, BLICHT repeatedly referred to the bribe payments as “tickets,” in which each ticket equaled a $1,000 bribe. BLICHT instructed an official of the Employer (the “Official”) as to the number of “tickets” to pay BLICHT each time. Indeed, during the past year, the Official met with BLICHT several times and paid him bribes on approximately three occasions, at the direction of law enforcement. Each of these meetings was recorded." Inner City Press, which was present in the Mag Court on July 26, will continue to cover this case.
After being arrested and taken off a Qatar Airways flight at JFK airport, Delowar Mohammed Hossain was presented on July 26 before U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Magistrate Stewart Aaron, charged with one count of attempted provision of material support for terrorism. He was adjudged eligible for free counsel as was assigned experienced Federal Defender Amy Gallicchio.
The US government sought, and got, detention, without prejudice to a later application for release on bond. The preliminary hearing was set 30 days out, for August 26. When someone asked about plea bargaining the answer was, It's a bit earlier for that, isn't it? Inner City Press will have more on this case, which has been assigned the number 19-mj-6978 (although that, even after the presentment, came up in PACER as "case not found").
While many even most cases in the Magistrates Court of the U.S.are sealed or have no case number given, on July 17 before Magistrate Judge Kevin N. Fox, things got more dramatic. In a case that, hours after the defendants were ordered released on bail remained listed as "sealed," Munif Ahmed stands accused of conspiracy to distribute large quantities ofdrugs from China and with telling the now cooperating witness, "Don't f*ck with me."
The government argued that Ahmed is a risk to flee to Yemen; his Criminal Justice Act lawyer said no, blood clots in his legs prevent him from flying. Then there was the matter of where Mr. Ahmed lives - on Anderson Avenue in the Bronx with his uncle or in the store on West 168th Street which he lists on his ID. This was ascribed to not having an interpreter during the interview with pre trial services.
Ahmed was ordered released on a $250,000 bond with $30,000 in cash or property. His co-defendant who called "Mr Lazzaro" before turning himself in must put up $40,000 cash. He drive Uber; Inner City Press predicts he or Mr. Lazzaro or his associate will move to relax the conditions of release to extend beyond the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. Watch this site.
