As Cooperator
Vellon Is Sentenced Defensed
Wanted Press Ousted But Judge
Rakoff Says No
by
Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book
Substack
SDNY
COURTHOUSE,
Jan 22 – A man who absconded
from the federal Residential
Re-entry Center or halfway
house in The Bronx then
misspoke about it was set to
be sentenced on January 24,
2024 by U.S. District Court
for the Southern District of
New York Judge Jed S. Rakoff.
Inner City Press
went to cover it. The defense
lawyer asked that the Press be
excluded. Thread:
Just now a
defense lawyer asked to
exclude the Press from a (re)
sentencing og a cooperator.
Judge Rakoff said no,
specifically praising Inner
City Press "he covers this
courthouse like no other") -
so resentencing thread below/
this story.
Defense lawyer
turns to conditions at MDC
Brooklyn jail. Judge
Rakoff says, beyond what Judge
Furman wrote in US v Chavez,
it's Congress' fault for
paying federal BOP guards so
little. Defense says MDC is
"worse than Rikers"
Asst US Attorney:
This case is about materially
misleading statements. Judge
Rakoff: After his lies were
exposed, he did stop. So
he gets 2 points for
acceptance of responsibility.
AUSA: It still cost us
resources, when he said the
facility would not protect
him
AUSA: His 40
month sentence was imposed by
[now Curcuit] Judge Sullivan,
for violation of the Court's
trust. Defendant: He did that
in 2020. I apologize. I was
nervous and wanted to get back
to my family. I did 11 years
in prison.
Defendant: My defense told me-
[Lawyer touches his on
shoulder, to stop] Judge
Rakoff: If it's in your heart
to speak, please do.
Vellon: I never
had a job. Then I got one. We
pooled our money, paid our
bills. I was going through
certain things, due to my
past Defendant: In
prison I was assaulted while
using the computer. I had
third degree burns. They put
me in the box, then to a
halfway house. But then they
said they didn't know nothing
about it.
Vellon: I don't
need prison no more. You
sentence me today, they're
just going to put me back in
the box. Judge: There are
competing issues here. He did
get a job.
Judge Rakoff:
Lying is serious. Escape is
serious. I sentence you to
less than they recommend: six
months in prison, then three
years of supervised release.
Defense
lawyer: I'll do a filing with
recommendation of where his
sentence could be served to
avoid these
problems.
After the
proceeding, Inner City Press
found in the docket not only
the traces of the cooperation,
and redactions in both the
Government's and defense's
letter, but also a heartfelt
letter from Vellon himself,
including:
"being label a
cooperator in prison is really
dangerous, I been stab, cut on
the face two time's, hit with
a lock on my head. The last
assault happened at f.c.i
school [Schuylkill], i was
using the email when a known
blood gang member came from
behind me and threw 212 degree
water on the back of my neck,
I was sent to the box... I had
told staff why was I attack
and the person who did it was
sent by another gang member
which is the cousin of the
person I testified on back in
2013 in front of judge
Sullivan... I made a bad
choice and I panic, Honor."
The case
is US v. Vellon, 23-cr-605
(Rakoff)
***
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