SDNY COURTHOUSE, August 6 – Russ Gerson sublet a Third Avenue office that wasn't his then took the $44,000 deposits and spent it on a vacation to Florida and expensive meals. On August 6 he came up for sentencing before U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Judge J. Paul Oetken, with a publicly funded Federal Defender lawyer. It seemed strange, as the argument was made that Gerson is putting all of his resources into paying resistition. So given his publicly funded lawyer, is the public in fact the one paying restitution? The case is US v. Gerson, 17-cr-708 (JPO).
Judge Oetken allowed for the victim to speak, taking down his name. Then he sentenced Gerson to two months in prison, to start in September. Gerson has for an extension so he can attend a wedding. Sure, why not. Now the self surrender date is October 15.
As if in another world, Jhonny Santana Cartagena was brought into a narcotics conspiracy by his father, got arrested and was deported from the United States.
Then he came back and did it again.
On July 30 Judge Oetken before sentencing Santana-Cartagena on the re-entry and the new drug dealing charges asked if the father is in the Dominican Republic.
Santana-Cartagena's lawyers, from Lincoln Square Legal Services at Fordham University School of Law, said "his father is quite decisively out of the picture." Assistant US Attorney Frank J. Balsamello said his office understands that the father is back in the Dominican Republic.
But a recurrent theme in the triple sentencing was the assurances that Santana-Cartagena had given SDNY Judge Paul A. Crotty back in 2012 when he got a lenient sentence. How to take the promises that this time is it over seriously now?
Judge Oetken said since the 26 months imposed by Judge Crotty hadn't had a deterrent effect, this time is would be 42 months, withcredit for nearly two years already served. His lawyers asked that it be close to New York, and that he does NOT seek any separation order from his co-defendant. The case is USA v. Santana-Cartagena, 12-cr-310 (JPO).
O
