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By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon
BBC - Guardian UK - Honduras - ESPN
SDNY COURTHOUSE, Feb 7 – A former pain management doctor who has been indicted for sexually abusing female patients in three states for fifteen years was offered bail conditions to be released on the evening of October 20, 2021. Inner City Press was there, and again on October 21 when he was arraigned in a yellow prison jumpsuit.
Mid-day it was announced that "Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that RICARDO CRUCIANI was arrested this morning and charged in connection with his sexual abuse of numerous pain management patients over the course of over 15 years. The Indictment unsealed today alleges that from at least in or about 2002 up to and including at least in or about 2017, CRUCIANI enticed and induced multiple victims to travel to his medical offices in New York, New York, Hopewell, New Jersey, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to subject them to unlawful sexual abuse. CRUCIANI was arrested this morning and is expected to be presented later today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Lehrburger in Manhattan federal court."
After a case in which Magistrate Judge Lehrburger granted the US Attorney's Office's request to detain in the MDC jail in Brooklyn until trial an asthmatic man from Burkina Faso, employed in food delivery, for enticing two 14-year old girls to have sex, Cruciani was brought in.
Cruciani wore a sweater and blew a kiss to a woman in the gallery, where Inner City Press was the only media.
The Assistant US Attorney said that with Cruciani's retained (self-paid) lawyer a bail package had been agreed to: a $2 million personal recognisance bond signed by three financially responsible people and secured by properties in Winwood, Pennsylvania and Jersey City, New Jersey. Cruciani worked at Mount Sinai. There is a petition online here.
On October 21 the assigned District Judge, John P. Cronan, held Cruciani's arraignment. Inner City Press live tweeted it here.
On the afternoon of January 10, this: "ORDER as to Ricardo Cruciani. As ordered by the Court on December 2, 2021, Dkt. 20, Defendant submitted his financial affidavit to the Court on January 6, 2022. Defendant's financial affidavit was accompanied by a cover letter in which Defendant requested that he be permitted to file both his affidavit and the cover letter under seal and ex parte."
In less than an hour, Inner City Press filed opposition to sealing, cc-ing Cruciani's lawyers and specifically noting upon Inner City Press' application, Michael Avenatti's financial affidavit was nearly entirely released, revealed links to PPP loans.
But on January 18 when Cruciani's lawyers put in another argument to keep his info sealed, while they cited the Avenatti decision they did not mention much less address the argument by Inner City Press, whose filing was docketed and granted in the Avenatti case. The issue of public access to an indict sex abusers filings is not only between the alleged abuser and the US Attorney's office - the public and press should be heard (and docketed).
It didn't happen on January 19. Instead, this order: "Attorney Appointment Hearing as to Ricardo Cruciani held on 1/19/2022. AUSA Jane Kim present. Defendant present, with his attorneys Frederick Sosinsky, Elizabeth Macedonio, and Mark Furman. Frederick Sosinsky, Elizabeth Macedonio, and Mark Furman were relieved as counsel and Mark Gombiner was appointed counsel pursuant to the Criminal Justice Act for Defendant. Defendant to make any further submissions on whether his financial affidavit should remain sealed and ex parte by February 2, 2022, and the Government shall file any response by February 9, 2022. The status conference scheduled for January 21, 2022 is adjourned to April 19, 2022 at 9:30 a.m."
So Cruciani now has a publicly paid Federal Defender, the same office that did not succeed in the face of Inner City Press' filing in keeping Michael Avenatti's financial affidavit sealed. Why is Cruciani's sealed? What will happen here, with Judge Cronan? As of February 7 o this, nothing - only, another protective order, by Cruciani's now free (to him) Federal Defender. Watch this site.
Inner City Press will stay on these cases. The disparity with the Burkinabe food deliveryman was not explained. (To be fair, the SDNY is generally open, see for example orders by Judges Jed S. Rakoff here and Jesse M. Furman on Avenatti, here).
This case is US v. Cruciani, 21-cr-636 (Cronan)
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