By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive, Patreon
SDNY COURTHOUSE, Feb 15 – The US quietly filed a criminal antitrust case against Banca IMI trader Larry D. Meyers - who quietly pled guilty and agreed to cooperate on June 27, 2019 before Judge Paul A. Engelmayer of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Inner City Press first reported.
The case involves violations with the Sherman Act with respect to American Depository Receipts. It is a quiet part of a larger case. On June 27 the representative of DOJ's Antitrust Division said Meyers would get a 5K1.1 letter if he fully cooperates.
Judge Engelmayer asked Meyers to explain what he did. Meyers, going beyond the script prepared for him by his new lawyer Mr. Alvarez, said that only a few had access to the pre-release ADRs and had become a "cozy community." He said, "We became too friendly." Not anymore...
The plea almost got delayed again because Meyers old lawyer had not yet formally withdrawn; Judge Engelmayer said a Curcio hearing might be needed then decided not. He asked Ms. Brown of DOJ if anything was needed with regard to the transcript, presumably to seal it.
We don't think that's necessary, Ms. Brown told Judge Engelmayer. So the cooperation is entirely public now, in this cozy community. Inner City Press wrote that it would continue to follow the case. And it has.
Now on February 15, 2021 - President's Day - Meyers' lawyer Casey Aerin Lucier of McGuireWoods has written to Judge Engelmayer seeking an end to probation and cancellation of the next nine months of supervision, saying DOJ does not object. Two systems of justice?
Back on 9 May 2019 DOJ Antitrust Division criminal chief James J. Fredricks signed a "Notice of Intent to File An Information" against Meyers. Through so-called "Wheel B" it was assigned to SDNY Judge Engelmayer, by Magistrate Judge Ona T. Wang.
On June 5 - it is not clear where - Meyers and his attorney Dan Portnov "waive[d] in open court prosecution by indictment and consent[ed] that the proceeding may be by information instead of by indictment."
That way, instead of through the more public Magistrates Court, Meyers' presentment was before Judge Engelmayer, with a Docket Number listed as "19-CR- [blank]," quickly released on $100,000 bond, travel restricted to the US and Ireland unlike most defendants confined to two or three US Districts.
This is the VIP aisle of indictments, with the DOJ helping to avoid any possible perp walk.
And so it was that while the week's SDNY "Civil and Criminal Proceedings Calendar" for the week of 06/17/19 listed on June 19 at 5 pm a plea before Judge Engelmayer in USA v. Meyers, 19-cr-[blank], the courtroom of Judge Engelmayer where Inner City Press had been earlier in the day on a Hobbs Act robbery trial was empty.
There was no sign on the door explaining why, as was done for example on the door of Judge Deborah Batts about Michael Avenatti. There are VIP lines, and vip lines. Watch this site - and for more, see its Patreon, here.
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