Criminal Law

June 25, 2009

A Boston Criminal Defense Lawyer Discusses Student Arrests And The Resulting Effects On A Student’s Future (Part Two)

As promised, our weekly “Attorney Sam’s Take” discussion completes our examination of how involvement in the criminal justice system effects students.

We have discussed how, beyond the obvious, the arrest of a juvenile student in Massachusetts can seriously effect that student’s future plans. We have also mentioned how the earliest consultation with an experienced criminal defense attorney is vital in order to best attempt to prevent, or at least minimize, damage.

Of course, not all students are juveniles. Some are already adults. There are a few big differences. Remember how I wrote about the Juvenile System’s concerns being primarily rehabilitative? Well, such is not the case with adults. Further, while a juvenile’s prior record is often disregarded…no such luck for the adult.

The result of these differences?

Harsher realities.

Let’s take an example.

Last Thursday, 18-year-old Kyle R. (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) had a bit of trouble with the Taunton police. It seems he is being accused of driving drunk (aka OUI). Well, maybe a little more. He also faces charges of driving so as to endanger, carrying a dangerous weapon, (a spring-loaded folding knife) and violating the terms of a juvenile operator’s driving license.

“What brought the lad to the attention of the law?”, you ask.

Well, the police say it was his driving his car into a speed limit sign and a fire hydrant just after 1:00 a.m.
Continue reading

June 24, 2009

Boston-Area University Employees Plead Guilty To Larceny From School

by Altman & Altman

Well, this one cuts alittle close to home; I went to Tufts. Of course, I graduated undergrad there a long time ago. Long before I was a Boston criminal defense attorney. Long before the alleged white collar criminal activities to which Josephine N. (hereinafter, “Defendant 1”) and Raymond R. (hereinafter, “Defendant 2”) have now pleaded guilty. The pair were fairly high up on the funding ladder for the University at the time of their alleged misdeeds. Now, they have fallen off that ladder and landed in state prison.

Last week, Defendant 1, the director of Tufts’ Office of Student Activities from 1996 to 2007, and Defendant 2, the budget and fiscal coordinator for the Office of Student Activities from 2001 to 2007, pleaded guilty to multiple counts of larceny in Woburn Superior Court. According to the Commonwealth, Defendant 1 had stolen $37,576 and Defendant 2 had pilfered $604,873. The two had been indicted on July 1st by a Middlesex Grand Jury for counts of larceny over $250.

Yes, those would be felony charges. Each defendant was sentenced to two years to two years and one day to be followed by five years of probation as well as full restitution of the funds they have admitted to stealing.

“These two employees abused the access that they were given by the University to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars that was meant to help students,” District Attorney Leone said. “We want to thank Tufts University for referring this case to our office as soon as they uncovered this scheme and then working cooperatively with us to conduct a full investigation.”
Continue reading

June 23, 2009

Massachusetts Former Hero Is Arrested And Pleads Guilty To Federal Charges Of Child Porn

by Altman & Altman

The criminal prosecution seems to have ended for John R., of Vermont, (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) and his lawyer. On June 8th, he pleaded guilty to charges, the investigation of which reflects some important information to those who assume themselves beyond suspicion.

After all, the Defendant had been something of a celebrity. Now in his 60’s, he had had helped found a gay rights group in Provincetown in the early 1990’s. In 1989, he helped form the Provincetown chapter of ACT UP, a group that described itself as diverse and nonpartisan, and committed to direct action to end the AIDS crisis. He also served on a working group to combat hate crimes.

And now?

Now he has been convicted in the cyber-crime of possessing and distributing child pornography.

To make the charges against him seem even more unlikely, they are not even the result of a local investigation. In fact, it was not even initiated within the United States.
Continue reading

June 11, 2009

A Boston Criminal Defense Lawyer Discusses Student Arrests And The Resulting Effects On A Student’s Future (Part One)

by Altman & Altman

This week, the daily Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog examined various news stories about a particular large population in the Boston area, namely, students. Whether it be graduate school, college, high school or even grammar school, a momentary, perhaps youthful, mistake can bring a postponement or even end to a lifetime of future dreams for that student and accompanying family. Now, as schools are adjourning for the summer, and graduations are upon us, our weekly Attorney Sam’s Take discussion looks directly at how the criminal justice system, and its results, can effect Massachusetts students.

There is a lot to say, so this week’s Discussion is a two-parter, which will continue into and conclude tomorrow, Friday, June 12th.

How many times have you read about a youth getting arrested and thought, “Well, it’s a kid. A juvenile. What can they do to a kid…spank him?”

Well, no. Spanking has been off the criminal justice books for many a decade.

However, the myth that juvenile offenders cannot be damaged by the justice system, although widely believed, is not really true. Most kids, of course, do not realize that. This is why many ongoing criminal enterprises, such as drug traffickers, are often able to use juveniles to do the “dirty work” of street selling. They convince the young eager entrepreneur that “the law” cannot really touch him/her and so, while the chance for money is high, the accompanying risk is low.
Continue reading

June 8, 2009

Boston Area College Student In Trouble After Murder On Harvard University Campus

by Altman & Altman

Last week, I posted a blog about a group of do-it-yourself sleuths who tried to solve the murder mystery of fallen 21-year-old Justin C. (hereinafter, the “Deceased”) at Harvard University. The result? The investigators they hired ended up arrested instead. That posting, by the way, can be found here. Meantime, the professionals were busy at work trying to solve the murder mystery that had come to Cambridge. The police arrested Jabrai C., 20, of New York, (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) for the crime. The Defendant and his lawyer have answered “Not Guilty” to charges of murder, accessory after the fact to murder and Massachusetts possession of a firearm.

The Deceased had been shot in the basement common room in a dormitory of the Cambridge campus. It has been determined that multiple shots were fired at the scene and that there were individuals aside from the Defendant and Deceased, who were present and involved in the shooting.

The Defendant, a New York songwriter, turned himself in to the Cambridge Police, according to the District Attorney’s office of Middlesex County, and will be held without bail until his July 15th hearing. However, the DA has also announced that two female Harvard students are linked to the incident. It is suspected that they allowed those involved in the murder to gain entry to Kirkland House.

Leone declined to comment on what if any charges might be pressed against the two Harvard students, but they both were asked to leave campus and are not be allowed to graduate this month. One of the two women is Chanequa C. (hereinafter, the “Accused”)

“This is a highly educated, independent young woman who has literally been cared for since she was a teenager by Harvard-and now they have terminated her right to be on campus,” the Accused lawyer has complained. “There is no justification for it. She may have known the people involved, but you know, it’s not guilt by association in this country.”
Continue reading

June 4, 2009

The Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog Discusses The Truth About Probation Surrenders

by Altman & Altman

It is Thursday and so, as any regular reader of the daily Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog knows, it is time for another Attorney Sam’s Take discussion about an area in the law which effects those who have found themselves involved in the criminal justice system. Today we examine the truth about being on probation.

If you have not experienced it yourself or through a loved one, probationary circumstances generally come about in one of two ways. The first is, after being re-named “Defendant”, one is allowed to await trial unencumbered by steel bars.

While this type of probation generally has no extra conditions (except keeping away from the complainant if there is one), it can have conditions. The one condition it always carries, however, may seem obvious…but the consequences usually are not. This is the condition of not getting arrested, or gifted with new criminal charges, while in this “bail” posture. What many people do not realize, although the court is now required to tell them upon the continuance of the case, is that if they do pick up new charges, they can be held on the present case in custody without any bail for up to 60 days.

That’s right…I did not say “convicted”. I was talking about simply being charged. For those of you scratching your heads, sensing an inconsistency, you are correct. This would mean that you could be held in custody without any bail on a matter in which you are still presumed innocent because you have been merely accused of another crime…of which you are presumed innocent and will not even face trial for a number of months.

As I have many times explained, simply being charged is the violation. It does not matter that you have not been convicted of anything.
Continue reading

June 1, 2009

Criminal Jury Trial For Drug Sale AndManslaughter Ends; Jury Returns Verdicts Of Guilty And Not Guilty

by Altman & Altman

As last week ended, many of us were still preparing for the summer weather which seems to taunt us in the Boston area every few days. Other, less mundane, issues were consuming the thoughts of Robert L. of Gloucester (hereinafter, the “Defendant”). He and his defense lawyer were awaiting a verdict in his Homicide trial in Lawrence Superior Court.

The jury returned Friday with a mixed verdict for him. He was found to be not guilty of manslaughter, but will still be serving the next three to six years in state prison for the selling of prescription painkillers.

The case dates back to December 17, 2004, when Richard B., 38, (hereinafter, the “Deceased”) died after paramedics found him in cardiac arrest, unconscious and not breathing, in his car outside his Essex Street house. Law enforcement believed that the Deceased had overdosed on a drug known as Fentanyl which had been contained in a patch designed for slow absorption through the skin that he had apparently opened and ingested.

After more than a year of investigation, the Commonwealth decided that the Defendant, 43 at the time, had sold the Deceased, his co-worker, the drug for $50 after a Christmas party. Given the unhappy result, they not only charged him of the sale of the drug, but also with manslaughter.
Continue reading

May 27, 2009

Got Guns? A Boston Criminal Lawyer Discusses Firearms Possession In The Commonwealth

by Altman & Altman

I remember years ago, before I was a lawyer, growing up in the Boston area and hearing commercials about what happens if you are arrested for possessing a gun. “If you are caught with a gun”, I recall it saying, “you will go to jail for one year…and nobody can get you out”. The tone of the announcement made it clear that the possession of guns was behind the ever-worsening crime problem.

And, then, came the other public service announcements which declared, “Guns don’t kill people, People kill people.”

And so it seemed to me that the obvious solution would be to simply send the guns to jail for a year with no hope them of getting out.

Then came my education at the hands of the Boston University School of Law, the Kings County District Attorney’s Office and, finally, my many years as a Massachusetts criminal defense attorney. Throughout these years, I have seen the gun issue from many different perspectives. All of these perspectives get a voice in the realities of the criminal justice system.

The result?

There is no one clear and simple answer as to how gun possession is handled by the courts. As with most things in the criminal justice system, it depends on the circumstances. There is no simple, issue-free gun possession case. This is why you need an experienced criminal defense attorney to guide you through the morass of potential scenarios when facing prosecution for possessing a firearm.

And that is why this week’s Attorney Sam’s Take discussion is about gun possession in Massachusetts.
Continue reading

May 26, 2009

Massachusetts Arrest Warrants Issued for Missing Clinton Attorney After She Fails to Appear in Court For Divorce Settlement Proceedings

by Altman & Altman

In Massachusetts, state and federal judges have issued arrest warrants for the capture of Cynthia Dziurgot, a Clinton attorney who has disappeared. Dziurgot, who owes her ex-husband almost a million dollars, failed to appear at bankruptcy and probate proceedings this month. Now US Marshals are looking for her. Foul play is not suspected at this time. Her lawyer says he has not heard from her for several weeks.

Dziurgot’s ex-husband, John Farnsworth, filed for divorce from her. They were married over 10 years and separated for five months. A Massachusetts judge granted their divorce in 2008. As part of the terms of their divorce settlement, Diziurgot was supposed to pay her ex-husband $650,966 plus $100,000 in legal fees. With interest, this amount has grown.

Diziurgot filed for bankruptcy protection. Last November, she was found in contempt of the judge’s order for failing to pay her ex-husband the money she owes him and was briefly sent to Framingham State Prison in December. Her attorney managed to temporarily stay the 90-day sentence. During a number of Probate Court hearings in February, Dziurgot stated that she could not afford to pay her ex-husband.

A number of creditors have also been pursuing her over her bankruptcy cases. The Clinton attorney owns an elaborate mansion that is currently in receivership. The 21-room residence is being sold for $699,900.

Dziurgot is a well-respected member of the Clinton community. She serves on Clinton Hospital’s Board of Directors and was previously named Wachusett Chamber of Commerce’s Professional of the Year.

Massachusetts Arrest Warrants
If a judge has issued an arrest warrant issued ordering police to bring you to a Massachusetts court, you should contact an experienced Boston criminal defense law firm right away to help you deal with this. Unfortunately, outstanding warrants don’t just go away and harsher penalties can start to pile up the longer you wait to take care of this matter.

Lawyer locked in nasty divorce feud on the run, Boston Herald, May 25, 2009
Truant lawyer is ordered arrested by second court, Telegram.com, May 20, 2009

Related Web Resource:
Massachusetts criminal records search, CRS Continue reading

May 24, 2009

North Of Boston Drug Bust Nets Over 500 Pounds Of Marihuana and $200,000 from Interstate Conspiracy

by Altman & Altman

You’ve heard of Costco, haven’t you? It is a very popular chain of stores that specializes in cost-cutting by purchasing in volume. You know, why buy one box of napkins when you can by 80 and get a bargain in the process? It looks like some Boston-area entrepreneurs took the idea alittle too far this week. And, in case you are wondering, no, one cannot retain attorneys in bulk…although two North Shore gentlemen may wish one could.

It was in the Costco parking lot on Route 1. It was Wednesday at noon. And it was, according to law enforcement, more than 500 pounds of marijuana that was recovered.

How much is 500 pounds? Well, you know that new law that says it is no longer a crime to have a “small amount” of marihuana for your own use? Well, this would be over 8,000 x that amount.

Probably not a simple error in measurement.

The Massachusetts State Police believes that the operation was a large-scale narcotics delivery in Danvers.

The troopers set up surveillance in the parking lot in connection with an ongoing investigation. According to the officers, Brian T., 42 of Revere (“Defendant Greeter”) arrived in a rented truck as Phillip W., 37, of Saugus (“Defendant Lookout”) acted as the lookout. Then, occupants of a tractor-trailer with Indiana license plates met with Defendant Greeter.
Continue reading