Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog

January 21, 2010

The Search And Seizure Of Two Massachusetts Drug Suspects (Part Three)

For the last two days, the daily Boston Criminal Lawyer Blog looked at two recent matters wherein Massachusetts defendants were stopped by law enforcement in their vehicles, wherein drugs were found. During the investigations, sometimes more drugs were found at various locations…sometimes it was a href=”https://criminal.altmanllp.com/illegal-weapons-possession.html”>weapons.

Rest assured that while the police and courts treat drug possession and gun possession very seriously…the combination is extremely eye-opening to them. It is the stuff that headlines are made of.

In any event, one last issue remains unexamined. In the Marblehead matter, additional material was found in the defendant’s home.

The question arises whether we are less protected in our homes or our automobiles from police invasion into our privacy in terms of search and siezure.

This is what today’s posting, ending this three-part-series will address.
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January 20, 2010

The Search And Seizure Of Two Massachusetts Drug Suspects (Part Two)

by Altman & Altman

Yesterday, we began our examination of the arrest and sentencing of a Geraldo S., 32 of Marblehead (hereinafter, “Defendant 1”). He recently pled guilty in a Massachusetts superior court and received a ten year sentence. We were looking at the story from a search and seizure angle.

We left off when it came time to explain the search of Defendant1’s vehicle.

As you may recall, Defendant1’s arrest took place back in 2004. To show you things have not changed very much, let’s turn the clock forward to this very weekend. On Saturday, Henry T., 21, (hereinafter, “Defendant2”) of Randolph was blessed with similar police attention.

Braintree police say that Defendant2 had been driving without his headlights on early Saturday morning. They checked their computer to get information on the vehicle and found that Defendant2’s license had been suspended.
That’s a crime in the Commonwealth.
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January 19, 2010

The Search And Seizure Of A Marblehead Drug Suspect (Part One)

by Altman & Altman

While the rest of us were celebrating freedoms that are the legacy of heroes like the late Dr. Martin Luther King yesterday, one gentleman from the North of Boston was adjusting to the trade of his need of a defense attorney for a ten year term of imprisonment in Massachusetts prison.

Of course, he has already served approximately six of those years awaiting trial.

Geraldo S., 32, of Marblehead (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) was found to be in possession of a kilo of cocaine after a traffic stop in 2004. On Friday, he pled guilty to the reduced charge of trafficking over 100 grams of cocaine . This was the result of a plea bargain with the prosecution. Had a deal not been struck, the court would have had no choice but to sentence him to at least fifteen years in the event of a conviction.

Key to the plea bargain was a confession made to law enforcement.

The Defendant’s most recent criminal justice woes were the result of an investigation by the Marblehead police. Part of the investigation involved the fact that, apparently, the Defendant was known by several different names.
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January 17, 2010

Massachusetts Doctor Charged with Health Care Fraud

by Altman & Altman

In Boston on Thursday, Massachusetts Dr. Scott Reuben was charged with one count of health care fraud. Reuben used to serve as the chief of acute pain at Baystate Medical Center. Reuben has agreed to plead guilty and pay $420,000 in restitution.

According to federal court records, the Longmeadow physician falsified medical research. He is accused of falsifying findings he presented in at least 21 published studies. For example, the charge against him claims that Reuben actually never tested anyone (he told them he had tested 200 people) when he presented findings to Pfizer about the use of Celebrex in multimodal therapy. The pharmaceutical company had given him a $74,000 research grant.

Reuben faces up to 10-years in prison. However, because of the plea agreement he will likely receive a significantly lighter penalty.

Health Care Fraud
Healthcare fraud is a white collar crime. A person charged with Massachusetts health care fraud is usually a medical professional accused of profiting illegally by submitting allegedly dishonest medical claims. These are serious allegations and our Boston white collar crime law firm has seen cases where someone is wrongly charged with health care fraud because investigators misinterpreted the information and falsely accused someone of a crime.

Allegations against a medical professional charged with health care fraud can include:

• Obtaining unnecessary prescriptions and selling them for profit • Billing for medical services never provided • Filing more than one claim for the same service
• Changing service descriptions, provider names, member names, and dates on claims • Billing for a service that isn’t covered as if it were covered • Changing medical records • Incorrectly reporting a medical procedure or a diagnosis to obtain a larger payment • Using staff members that aren’t licensed • Waiving co-payments • Prescribing treatments that are not necessary
Dr. Scott Reuben, former chief of acute pain at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, pleads guilty to health-care fraud, Masslive.com, January 14, 2010
Doc accused of healthcare fraud, TopNews, January 16, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Health Care Fraud, Cornell.edu
White Collar Crimes, Justia Continue reading

January 15, 2010

Attorney Sam’s Take – How You Resolve Your Gun, Drug Or Assault Case In Massachusetts

by Altman & Altman

Ok, so you have gotten over the shock of being charged with a crime. You have gone to court in Boston a couple of times for a couple of court dates that feel accomplished nothing. Finally, you ask your attorney when this will all end.

You get that sad but true answer…”it depends”.

Many things in the criminal justice system depend on what happens as the case progresses. This is not a science wherein there is an exact formula for how things go. You may have already witnessed this as you have gone to court and seen different people get different bail and sentence decisions although charged with the same crime(s).

You probably already know that, if a case is not otherwise disposed of beforehand, the case is resolved at trial. I am going to assume you know what that is. After the verdict, one of two things happen. Either the verdict was “not guilty” and the nightmare is over, or it is “guilty” and there is a sentencing hearing. Depending on the convictions, that sentencing may or may not result in the defendant going home.
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January 15, 2010

Lynn Suspect in 2000 Massachusetts Sex Crime Case Pleads Not Guilty to Attempted Rape of Minor Charge

by Altman & Altman

A 41-year-old man who has been on Lynn authorities’ 10 Most Wanted List for allegedly trying to rape a 13-year-old girl a decade ago has pleaded not guilty to charges of indecent assault and battery on a child under age 14 and assault with intent to rape a child. Victor Cruz was apprehended in October 2009 for the 2000 Massachusetts sex crime. His arraignment was on Wednesday. His bail is $1 million.

Cruz is accused of trying to have sex with his live-in girlfriend’s daughter. The alleged victim was 13 at the time. The girl’s mother told him to leave their home following the allegations. He left the country and lived in the Dominican Republic for more than nine years.

However, federal authorities found him and made him return to the US last year so he could be charged with the alleged sex crime. Cruz’s Massachusetts criminal defense lawyer is disputing the girl’s account of what happened. He says there is no forensic evidence and the alleged victim’s accounts of what happened have not been consistent.

If convicted of indecent assault and battery, Cruz could be sentenced to up to 10 years in state prison. A conviction for the attempted rape assault charge could land him in prison for up to 20 years.

Assault with intent to rape a child
Under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 265 Section 24, assault with intent to rape a child is a serious offense. The prosecutor must prove that the defendant committed an assault that made the alleged victim subject to battery regardless of whether or not the physical harm was actual or intentional.

Indecent assault and battery on a child under age 14
Under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 265 Section 13B, the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the alleged victim was in fact under age 14, the defendant purposefully made actual physical contact with a victim’s private part(s), and the contact was indecent, offensive or harmful, and unjustified.

Bail set at $1M for Lynn ‘Most Wanted’ rape attempt suspect, TheDailyItemofLynn, January 14, 2010

Related Web Resources:
Massachusetts General Laws

Massachusetts Law about Sex
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January 14, 2010

Boston AG Is Accused Of Mishandling Grand Jury Investigation And Bail Issues In Rape Case

by Altman & Altman

The game of politics is afoot again in the Boston area! This means that, as the race for the late Senator Kennedy’s seat comes to the wire, it is time for whatever mud can be thrown upon one’s opponent . Often, the accusations involve the criminal justice system. That’s where I come in. Today we look at accusations involving a 2005 rape case and Attorney General Martha Coakley.

In October, 2005, 31 year-old Somerville Police Officer Keith W. (hereinafter, the “Defendant”) was said to have raped his 23-month-old niece with a hot object, most likely a curling iron. The case was presented to a Middlesex grand jury which was overseen by Coakley. That grand jury did not take action against the Defendant. Thereafter, the child’s mother filed applications for criminal complaints in the case and it was then that the grand jury indicted the Defendant.

When the Defendant was before the court, the prosecution recommended that the Defendant not be held on bail, but released on personal recognizance. He remained free until December 2007, when he was found guilty.

Now, political opponents, both old and new, are taking the pulpit to decry Coakley’s handling of the case and making the typical cry of “too soft on crime”.
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January 12, 2010

Massachusetts Traffic Stop Becomes Fourth Assault And Battery Claim Against One Police Officer

by Altman & Altman

Today we discuss yet another tale wherein Massachusetts law enforcement officials are in need of a criminal defense attorney. It involves recent accusations against four such officers and an event arising out of a suspected racially motivated apprehension from this past November.

Well, it is not so much the fact of the apprehension that has raised suspicion, but the method of it. You see, Melvin J. (hereinafter, the “Passenger”) was a guest in a particular motor vehicle that police stopped. While not the driver, police say he acted suspiciously. So, the officers ordered him to get out of the car. He did as ordered…and kept going. He ran away from the scene.

The officers, apparently having lost interest in the driver of the car and whatever traffic violation they thought they had witnessed, chased after him. They say that when they chased him, he violently resisted and tried to grab one officer’s gun.

That’s a big “no-no” for law enforcement. It does, however, seem to give a perceived license for officers to do things they otherwise wouldn’t.
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January 9, 2010

Juvenile Crime: Second Minor Pleads Guilty to Attack of 13-Year-Old Girl Shown on YouTube

by Altman & Altman

Another teenager has pleaded guilty to charges she attacked a 13-year-old girl. The assault was shot on video and posted on YouTube.

Footage shows two girls shouting at and hitting another teen while other students stand by, cheering and laughing. The attack was allegedly planned in advance. The 3-minute video was removed from YouTube after the victim’s mother complained that it was posted on the site.

In December, one of the juveniles pleaded guilty to aggravated battery. She will receive her sentencing this month. The second teen pleaded guilty to a charge of mob action. Prosecutors had initially charged her with aggravated battery. Her criminal defense attorney noted that his client is very remorseful and that this is a one-time incident.

Massachusetts Juvenile Crimes
Teenagers make mistakes and sometimes those errors in judgment can land them in juvenile court. If this happens, it is important to retain an experienced Boston juvenile crimes lawyer who can protect your child’s legal rights and achieve the best outcome possible. A Massachusetts criminal defense lawyer can defend your son or daughter against the charges or negotiate a plea agreement that can decrease detention time or lead to less harsh punishments. There may be grounds for dropping or reducing the charges.

You want to do everything possible to make sure that your child’s future opportunities are not compromised by a conviction.

Second Girl Pleads Guilty to YouTube Attack, NBCChicago.com, January 8, 2010
1 girl pleads guilty in Lombard attack posted on YouTube, Chicago Tribune, December 10, 2009
Related Web Resources:
Juvenile Court Department, Massachusetts Court System
The Juvenile Court System, Massachusetts Bar Association Continue reading

January 7, 2010

Massachusetts law enforcement official pleads guilty in federal white collar investigation

by Altman & Altman

For those of you who still hold fast to the fantasy that law enforcement never lies, prepare for a shock. Of course, this case does not feature law enforcement lying to convict a defendant. Instead, it is a Massachusetts law enforcement official lying to federal law enforcement who needs a criminal defense attorney.

Arlindo R., a 37-year-old former Stoughton police detective, (hereinafter, the “Defendant), admitted in federal court yesterday that he lied to FBI agents during an ongoing investigation into corruption in the police department and had promised to help authorities in their probe.

The Defendant pleaded guilty in US District Court in Boston to one count of making false statements last July 13. Agents had asked whether he knew of Stoughton police officers receiving stolen gift cards and other items from an informant secretly cooperating with the FBI. According to the government, the Defendant had been among the recipients.
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