Criminal Law

June 13, 2011

A Boston Criminal Defense Attorney Analyzes Massachusetts Evidence And Juries

Today, Boston’s federal court has a jury that has begun deliberations. It is the jury which has been sitting through the Sal DiMasi corruption trial. They will review the evidence. They will review the law.

Many of the factual issues are in dispute between the various defense attorneys and the Assistant United States Attorney. They have all suggested points of view as to these disputes. Is what the attorneys have presented to the jury simply spin?

Maybe. Or maybe the arguments were the most important part of the deliberations, although they contained neither judicial instructions or evidence in and of themselves.

Attorney Sam’s Take On The Analysis Of Evidence Perception(Part 2 Of 2)

Way back when, when I was a Brooklyn prosecutor, I found myself frustrated by the courtroom setting. This was particularly true when trying felony drug cases.
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June 9, 2011

Sal DiMasi Corruption Trial In Boston Federal Court Is Close To Going To Jury

by Samuel Goldberg

We have been talking about juries and their deliberations. Sal DiMasi will be sitting in the hot seat as a Boston federal jury determines his fate next week. As you may have heard, the judge has handed down to the attorneys a draft of the jury instructions he intends to give when he charges the jury. It is the last chance for the attorneys to influence what the jury hears during the trial. Once they deliver their closing arguments, the judge charges the jury and it is all in the juror’s hands.

It is an uncomfortable place for a trial lawyer to be. Believe me, I have been there countless times. There is nothing more you can do…but wait, relive how things went and, most of all, guess what is on the jury’s collective mind.

What images did they take into the jury room? How much did they understand the law as the judge gave it. How much do you want them to have understood that law? Most of all, what perception of reality did the jury take back to that jury room with them?

And the last chance for the white collar crime attorneys to influence that sense of reality is the next 24 hours. The presiding judge, the Honorable Judge Wolf, has handed down potential jury instructions and has indicated that he will wait until the attorneys give their closing arguments (tomorrow) to finalize the instructions.

And then…the choice is the jury’s. The court has indicated that, “I’m going to instruct the jury that they have to consider each defendant, and they can choose to convict one of them, two of them, none of them, or all three.”

That much is clear. However, other issues with regard to the instructions are not so clear. For example, the defense lawyers want the court to tell the jurors that in order to convict DiMasi, they must find that he hatched a kickback scheme and directed payments to be made to associates in exchange for his help – a threshold that they say prosecutors have failed to prove.

Prosecutors, however, say they need to prove only that DiMasi was a willing and knowing participant in what they allege was a conspiracy to help a Burlington software company win state contracts in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars in kickbacks.

And so, while finalizing closing arguments, the fight for instructions has been on. The court heard argument from all sides today. While potential instructions have been handed down, nobody will know what the court will actually tell the jurors until he actually gives the charge.

And so, as the trial nears its end, the pressure is on the lawyers to find the right words in this final attempt to give the jury the most important thing which will effect the outcome of the trial.
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June 7, 2011

A Boston Former Police Officer Serves Time In Federal White Collar Case

by Samuel Goldberg

Hey, anybody out there remember Boston’s own Eliezer Gonzalez?

Mr. Gonzalez, formerly a Boston police officer and hereinafter the “Defendant” has brought to a close his federal criminal case. His case involved white collar crime.

The Defendant was accused of faking injuries and fraudulently collecting injury leave pay. According to federal prosecutors, the defendant had collected about $173,000 in injury leave pay and had filed for accidental disability retirement after supposedly suffering on-the-job injuries in 2007.

Unfortunately for the Defendant, he was seen going to the L Street Bathhouse, salsa dancing, and traveling abroad without difficulty during said leave.

And so it was that the Defendant found him charged with fraud. Yesterday, he received a year and three months in federal prison after pleading guilty to 34 counts of mail fraud.

Attorney Sam’s Take On Massachusetts White Collar Crime And Mail Fraud

White collar crimes are crimes which involve unlawful, nonviolent conduct committed by business and government professionals. These crimes involve fraud, theft or other violations of trust committed in the course of one’s employment. These crimes can also be brought on behalf of various agencies in which subscribers or others in a contractual relationship commit such fraudulent acts.
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June 6, 2011

A Boston Criminal Defense Attorney Looks At Carson Beach, Police And Criminal Trials (Part 2 of 2)

by Samuel Goldberg

Last week, we discussed the recent melee that occurred at Boston’s Carson Beach.

What really transpired depends on who you ask.

If you ask the Massachusetts State Police, you will hear tales of Boston gang-related violence. You might imagine you would hear of Massachusetts weapons like guns, knives or, at least, pepper spray being used. Of course, in the aftermath, you would, however, hear the only weaponry at the location were the batons used by law enforcement.

On the other hand, the local Boston police will tell you of, at worst, multiple plain ol’ Boston assaults taking place. Simply, a bunch of fights coincidently taking place at the same time and place…until the state police came in, that is, and really shook up the place.

The donnybrook is said to have marred an otherwise perfect day for beachgoers, many of whom soldiered on with their own more civil holiday weekend festivities.

Boston EMS supervisor on scene said no injuries were reported.

Attorney Sam’s Take On Police Confusion And Trial Strategy

We have often discussed that it is a mistake to engage police officers when they come to question you. Trying to out-reason, out-shout, out-run or out-fight is a bad idea; it will only make matters worse…for you.

There are many reasons why police need to retain absolute control over a potential crime scene.
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June 1, 2011

Boston Professional Woman Needs Experienced Boston Drunk Driving Attorney

by Samuel Goldberg

Cara Della Barba is a 28-year-old finance manager at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. If you look at the photo of her in court, you would think she was one of the Boston criminal attorneys. You would not suspect that she is hereinafter referred to as the “Defendant”. But she is.

According to the Commonwealth, as described at her Dorchester District Court arraignment, she was wobbly, glassy-eyed and reeking of booze when she drove the wrong-way and drove into a state police cruiser Saturday. The prosecutor explained that the Defendant’s relationship with the truth at the time was somewhat periodic.

At first, after the accident, the trooper came to her car and told her that she had just smashed into a police car. Her alleged response? She claimed that she had not hit anything. Then, when questioned about alcohol use, she is said to have told the troopers that she had had “a lot to drink” at a friend’s party. She is said to have then begged them to simply take her home.

Apparently, they found another option. They drove her to their (police) house.

At the barracks, Defendant is accused of trying to sabotage her blood-alcohol test by halfheartedly blowing into a Breathalyzer. The troopers marked said attempt down as a “refusal” to take the test, thereby triggering an automatic loss of driver’s license.
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May 31, 2011

Boston Student Needs Experienced Criminal Defense Attorney After Bringing Marijuana And Gun To School

by Samuel Goldberg

An East Boston High student may be wondering whether honesty is truly the best policy.

The Roxbury resident is a 17-year-old young man whom we will refer to hereinafter as the “Defendant”. He came into contact with law enforcement last Thursday when he entered his school at about 12:30 p.m. through an “unauthorized” door. As he did so, the officers say they “detected the odor of marijuana”.

The officers patted him down. According to the Commonwealth, however, they needn’t have bothered. The lad is said to have confided in the officers that, “I just have a little gun”.

Well, it was cute when then First Lady Nancy Reagan said it so long ago…!

The officers say that the cooperative Defendant also told them where to find the little gun (in his bag) and to be careful because “there’s one in the pipe”. The palm-sized Saturday Night Special was found and indeed had six bullets in the magazine and one in the chamber. They also found more marijuana on the Defendant.
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May 27, 2011

Woburn Assault Sentencing For Mark Kerrigan, Justice And Hypocrisy (Part 1 of 2)

by Samuel Goldberg

Yesterday, you may have heard me criticizing the Honorable Judge S. Jane Haggerty with regard to the sentencing of Mark Kerrigan (hereinafter the “Defendant”) on the radio. As you know, the Woburn homicide trial ended with a conviction of straight Massachusetts assault and battery.

Next came yesterday’s sentencing.

As predicted, it was a morning of emotion and tension.

The Commonwealth asked for the maximum possible sentence…2 ½ years in jail.

The family and the defense requested what is known as a “split sentence” – a 6-month suspended sentence followed by a year of probation. The Defendant had already served 4 months and so would be eligible for parole immediately.

The judge? She whacked the Defendant, giving him the 2 ½ year sentence, 2 years to serve now, the rest on Massachusetts probation.

What does all this mean?
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May 23, 2011

Bridgewater Theft By Father And Son Prosecuted Despite Victim’s Forgiveness

by Samuel Goldberg

Michael Varano, 52, of Bridgewater (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) and his son are now facing criminal charges. It was a Massachusetts theft.

The victim? A local church.

According to the Commonwealth, the Defendant and his 11-year-old son are accused of a Brockton burglary at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish and stealing food from its kitchen last Friday night. In true Christian spirit, the Reverend Joseph Roeke, representing the church seeks compassion in handling the crime.

“It’s a very sad situation,” Raeke said in a phone interview. “If he had let me know he was in such dire need of food, we would have given him some food.”

Police called Raeke to identify the stolen food, which, he said, included juice boxes, cookies, and other snack foods allegedly stolen from “The Enterprise”, the church’s kitchen, located in Brockton. The food had been meant for the celebration of a new priest’s first Mass, Raeke said.

“I think we need to be praying for people who feel so desperate,” Raeke said.
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May 21, 2011

Mother Of Deceased 6-Year-Old Boy Faces Murder Charges (Part Two of Two)

by Samuel Goldberg

When we began discussing the tragic tale of Julianne McCrery (hereinafter, the “Defendant”), we concentrated on the Massachusetts outstanding warrant issues. Now, we look at the issues surrounding the apparent homicide of her little boy.

She has been arraigned on second-degree murder charges in New Hampshire for killing her child, where it is believed the actual homicide took place before the body was dumped in Maine.

The Defendant had written a book which was published in 2008, entitled Goodnight, Sleep Tight! How to Fall Asleep and Go Back to Sleep When You Wake Up. The book features numerous tips for better sleep, including suggestions about diet, relaxation, and meditation.

“I am way more freaked out about all the little things in life, and was forced to devise a plan in which to save myself from all the self-imposed static I create in times of fear.” she wrote. When she is angry about something, she wrote, thoughts “go around and around like vicious sharks.”

In a passage about her son, the Defendant wrote that he had major ear problems for eight months, and had “tantrums like you cannot imagine.” She also explained that he did better after undergoing surgery, but “still rocks one wild tantrum after another when frustrated.”

“Three is a tough age sometimes,” she wrote, affectionately calling him “my little guy.”

In another section, the Defendant briefly recalled losing the “love of her life,” and other hard times. She wrote that, “I’m strong in my faith, but sometimes at night it is still very difficult to just halt my emotional turmoil in the midst of all of it,” she wrote.
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May 16, 2011

Boston Murder, Human Trafficking, Prostitution…And Logic

by Samuel Goldberg

The mean streets of the Commonwealth were especially mean this past week and weekend.

A Bedford man was run down and killed during an alleged Burlington drunk driving crash. Further, a resident of a homeless shelter was apparently fatally stabbed near a hospital during a Boston murder. Finally, a man was shot at a Stoughton shooting.

Unfortunately, law enforcement was not on hand to prevent these Massachusetts violent crimes. After all, the police cannot be everywhere!.

However, they were on hand to keep the streets safe in Roxbury to prevent another horrible crime.

Boston police are now crowing about a courageous undercover officer who posed as a prostitute in order to nab five “johns” during a sting in Roxbury.

The intrepid female officer was stationed around Blue Hill Avenue to arouse…testosterone. As men came up to offer money for sex, they found themselves arrested for being part of the Boston sex trade, thus keeping the city streets much safer for us all.

Using the law enforcement’s sparse resources in this way makes sense to the powers that be. It somehow fits in perfectly within their frame of logic.
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