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Accused Oxy Nurse Was Freed in Mag Court Now Stands Trial With Shaky Clinic Video

By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon
BBC - Guardian UK - Honduras - The Source

SDNY COURTHOUSE, March 12 – Back on July 8, the US Attorney's Office for the SDNY announced that "Audrey Strauss, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York... announced today the unsealing of a criminal Complaint in Manhattan federal court charging PURIFICACION CRISTOBAL, a nurse practitioner who operated a medical clinic in the Bronx, New York, with illegally distributing large quantities of oxycodone.  CRISTOBAL was taken into custody this morning and is expected to be presented before Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn later today."  

  Inner City Press, which covers the SDNY, immediately called in to the CourtCall line since the Magistrates Court has been closed for months. But the case that was on was not on Cristobal / Oxy.

  First it was a Mr. Watson, no press release by SDNY, who wanted to be released on bond. Denied.  

   Then it was Mr. Scott, "in the courthouse," also detained.  

   Finally past 6:30 pm on the same line, oxy nurse Cristobal was presented. A bail package had been agreed to, and her relative was outside the courthouse to drive her home.   It may be the difference between violent crime and non violent crime.

   But Inner City Press asked, even then, why would the SDNY US Attorney's Office put out a press release about a defendant they were agreeing to free, while not putting out anything on two other defendants they managed to detain?

 On October 28, 2020 Purification Cristobal appeared before the assigned District Judge Katharine Polk Failla for a change of counsel. Peter E. Brill has discovered a conflict of interest, and said that "Dr. Cristobal has retained Julie Rendelman." That change of counsel was effectuated.

 On March 12, 2021, another change of counsel. The incoming counsel said his client is intelligent and needs a lot of attention; she complained that one attorney only met her in a park. He started talking fees and Judge Failla said, politely but firmly, that was an issue she would not get into.

Jump cut to August 23, 2022, and Cristobal is on trial before Judge Failla. Her lawyer now was telling the jurors not to hold it against her client that she speaks with an accent. That she took cash as payment is not strange, she said. Many people in the low income part of The Bronx where Cristobal operated don't have insurance, she added. And the witnesses against her are self-interested.

Judge Failla asked, Counsel, how many more do you have?

Counsel said two more minutes, then told the jurors, I'm being cut off, but --

Judge Failla said, I am not cutting you off, I only asked a question.

The jury was let go for the day.

On August 24 a shaky video in the clinic was shown, barely audible. The woman speaking ont the video was in the witness box, being asking about patients selling their pills just outside the clinic, and communication between Doctor Cristobal and Christian Ohaeri.

During the questioning, perhaps due to the layout or the glean of the COVID 19 speaking boxes, it appeared that most jurors were watching the AUSA, and not the witness.

The trial will continue.

    This case is US v. Cristobal, 20-cr-463 (Failla).

***

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