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By Matthew Russell Lee, @SDNYLIVE

SDNY COURTHOUSE, August 30 -- Antoine Blount was indicted in 2012 for robbing Citibank and Bank of America branches on Fifth Avenue and 57th Street in Manhattan and the "use of a dangerous weapons and device." Now on August 30, 2019 he appeared on alleged Violations of Supervised Release before his long time US District Court for the Southern District of New York Judge Richard J. Sullivan, facing remand to prison.

  The proceeding began with now-Circuit Judge Sullivan inquiring into Blount's long time Federal Defender Mark B. Gombiner, a skilled litigator for example in a recent Fatico hearing before SDNY Judge Valerie E. Caproni.

  Gombiner's FD colleague Christopher A. Flood recounted that Gombiner rushed into his office ten minutes before the hearing - his glasses were broken and he was now "feeling his way down lower Broadway" looking for a glasses repair place. Moments later Flood told Judge Sullivan urging that he not proceed to remand with Blount's actual counsel Gombiner not present.

  For a time it seemed Judge Sullivan would do it anyway. Probation had urged remand, but now said after conferring with Assistant US Attorney Edward B. Diskant it urged that "Your Honor strongly advise Mr. Blount" to comply.

  Judge Sullivan replied that he had already strongly advised Blount. He pointed to violations including a positive drug test in August. Blount said he had warned that his urine might be dirty.
 
  "But that was in July," Judge Sullivan said.

   Blount indicated that things stay around because he doesn't drink much water, "I like soda."

  Eventually, in light of a proceeding in September before a DC judge whom Judge Sullivan said he had contacted, Judge Sullivan said he will expect a report from Probation on September 30. Inner City Press, on August 30 the only media in that courtroom and later that of SDNY Judge Vernon S. Broderick, will continue to follow these cases.

Ten days ago before Judge Sullivan a jury returned guilty verdicts on drugs and gun charges on August 20 against Ernest Murphy, one of 15 defendants in a Brooklyn-based narcotics conspiracy case brought by the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

   It came after some electronic and laboratory evidence was suppressed by Circuit Judge Richard J. Sullivan, who rather than re-assigning has kept many of his criminal cases in the SDNY.

  Murphy's two Criminal Justice Act lawyers, Patrick Joyce and Robert Moore, complained to Judge Sullivan on the eve of trial that they had only then been given 16 gigabytes of audio and video recordings and lab tests on crack cocaine.

  Rather than delay the trial, Judge Sullivan ordered much of it suppressed. During the five day trial the government still had a number of NYPD lab technicians testimony, and played wiretaps of cell phone calls and calls from Riker's Island, whose location in The Bronx was cited as a basis for venue in the SDNY.

  In the intercepted calls, there was discussion of cooking, packaging and selling crack cocaine. Several times reference was made to bringing firearms to protect turf. A government slang expert witness said that "Shaquille" jersey meant .32 caliber pistol.

  After the jury got the case, they asked to examine the drugs. Judge Sullivan declined to send the crack and ecstacy pills into the jury room. Instead the juror came out and passed them hand to hand, in evidence bags, in the jury box.

 On the second day of deliberations the jury through the Court Security Officer passed a note that they wanted all audio recordings and transcripts. Judge Sullivan sent them in a thumb drive and three binders, as well as a menu to order lunch.

  But barely an hour later, the jury returned with its guilty verdicts. Judge Sullivan polled them, sent December 6 as the sentencing date - Murphy faces a minimum of 15 years in prison and perhaps more - then joined the jurors for their lunch. The case is US v. Ernest Murphy, 18-cr-373 (Sullivan).

  The US Attorney's Office, which had sent senior AUSA Michael D. Maimin over to try to put out the fire occasioned by the late discovery, must have breathed a sigh of relief. Inner City Press will continue to cover this case - and, we hope, Judge Sullivan's sentencing in another case he kept, US v. Rodriguez (05-cr-221), which the government is asking, under seal, to have sealed. Watch this site.

  Judge Sullivan several times during the trial pointedly noted that it is an open courtroom, a strength of our system, anyone can just walk in -- except for US v. Rodriguez, apparently, on which Inner City Press will have more, as well as on the differences between the SDNY's and EDNY's boiler plate plea agreement letters. Watch this site - and see also @InnerCityPress and the new @SDNYLIVE.

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