South Florida Criminal Attorneys Blog

Staten Island Man Accepts Guilty Plea for Manslaughter

October 13, 2013 | Michael B. Cohen, P.A.

In Staten Island, the Arlington Terrace apartment complex in the Mariners Harbor section of the borough has a long history of violent events associated with its past. On July 1, 2012, Genard Droughn, a resident of North Carolina kept the housing development’s reputation intact. Droughn was originally from the neighborhood but moved away in 2010. However, he often made trips back to visit members of his family.

Just as a jury was about to be assembled in the murder trial against him, Droughn agreed to a guilty plea of first-degree manslaughter in state Supreme Court, St. George, for the killing of Brian Norwood who was found dead in his car at 55 Holland Ave. Norwood and his girlfriend were apparently sleeping in the gold Nissan Altima, when Droughn shot him three times in the parking lot of the apartment complex. A source close to the investigation said Norwood was visiting the resident of the complex, and she had accidentally locked them out of her apartment. The source also mentioned that it was Norwood’s first time visiting Staten Island. Norwood was the father of three children and also left behind an aggregate of seven brothers and sisters.

The police found the victim’s body at around 7:40 in the morning. He was shot in the chest, back, and left arm, according to the same source. He was later pronounced dead after being taken to West Brighton’s Richmond University Medical Center.

There was no evidence that Droughn and Norwood even knew each other and the motive for the murder still remains a mystery. An unspecified law enforcement official said that they were looking into the possibility that the shooting may have been a circumstance of mistaken identity.

However, Mr. Norwood himself was not a model citizen. According to police sources, Norwood had an extensive rap sheet with at least11 arrests in New Jersey including charges of weapon possession and assault, to shoplifting and being in possession of counterfeit Compact Disks. The same source described him as a productive armed robber in his own hometown. “He’s sort of a drifter now, not really staying in one place,” said a another law enforcement official. He sustained at least three felony convictions according to public records. One of which was for a drug offense in 1999, another for aggravated assault in 1994, and most recently in 2007, a conviction for making terrorist threats as well as aggravated assault.

It took law enforcement less than a week to track down and arrest Droughn who fled to Charlotte, North Carolina where he was apprehended in a townhouse, where he lives with his two children and their mother. He was visiting relatives who lived on Staten Island during the time that he shot and killed Norwood.

A neighbor, Caroline Narducci, who was questioned about the latest incident, said “I’m tired of all this nonsense with the shootings. I didn’t see anything, but all I know is that some mother had to wake up on a Sunday morning and find out her son was killed.” Narducci’s apartment faced the crime scene.

An assortment of factors influenced the offer of the plea deal, primarily that the murder weapon wasn’t found. Ballistics demonstrated that it was a.40-caliber handgun. “The certainty of a verdict when weighed against the evidentiary difficulties and uncertainty of a trial, led to this being the best possible outcome in this case.” stated District Attorney Daniel Donovan. Although when a spokesman from Donovan’s office was questioned on the topic of problems with proof, he declined to comment further.

Droughn’s attorney stated that the negotiated sentence and plea was “a fair disposition considering all of the facts and circumstances of the case.”

Based on the terms of the plea agreement, Droughn will serve thirteen years in prison. At the end of that term he will submit to an additional period of five-years of supervised release. He will be sentenced later this week on Oct. 9.

As previously mentioned, the neighborhood itself has been a focal point of many violent episodes throughout the years. Last September, Samyah Bailey, was shot in the left eye by a fragment of a stray bullet. She was 22 months old at the time of the incident. In September 2010 Jerome Mitchell, 23, suffered gunshot wounds when he was shot in the lobby of the same building where this most recent shooting took place; 55 Holland Ave., and in November 2009 Jermaine Dickerson, 37 was also killed within the confines of the complex; similarly in a parking lot.

Marissa Alexander Serving 20-Year Sentence in Failed Stand Your Ground Defense

October 10, 2013 | Michael B. Cohen, P.A.

A case that gained National attention due to two controversial issues; the first, Florida’s stand your ground law which has been under recent scrutiny and the other, Florida’s 10-20-Life gun law statute remains in the headlines.

In the recent George Zimmerman acquittal the stand your ground defense wasn’t raised in the actual trial, but it is believed by some that the jury’s concluding decision was founded on the Judge not providing clear instructions before their deliberations began. This theory demonstrates that some members of the jury may have been led to believe that the law did apply, affecting their final decision of not guilty, with the statute in mind.

In the Marissa Alexander case, the statute was invoked, but the results of a jury that took only 12 minutes to decide her fate returned a guilty verdict, which led to the imposition of a twenty-year sentence under Florida’s 10-20-Life gun law.

A plea bargain of three years in prison was offered by the State Attorney’s Office but Alexander was sure that if a jury heard her story, she would undeniably be acquitted. However, after the court case that was decided in May of last year concluded, the outcome did not go her way.

Alexander, 31, stated that she wasn’t trying to hurt anyone when she fired what she and her family have termed a warning shot in the direction of her husband, Rico Gray, 36, and his two young boys during a fight between the two. According to her version of the story she was fighting back against a man who she claimed was habitually violent to her. She claimed that he choked and punched her on numerous occasions over the past year. It was her belief that she was sheltered by Florida’s Stand Your Ground Law when she fired a gun multiple times into the walls and ceiling where her husband stood.

The stand your ground statute sanctions extensive discretion in the use of deadly force as a defense if an individual believes that their life is in jeopardy or if they are facing the possibility of severe bodily harm.

State Attorney Angela Corey said that the case merited prosecution because the gun was fired in the direction of where two children were present and vulnerable.

Alexander was sure her version of the events were solid, but one key factor that transpired four months after she was released on bail convinced the prosecutor and may have swayed the jury not to believe her story.

After her original arrest, she was released on bail with specific instructions not to make contact with Gray whatsoever. However after her release she went to his residence getting into an argument with him which resulted in him sustaining multiple bruises including a black eye.

According to Alexander’s family, the second incident happened a few days before her newborn baby would have been dropped from the couple’s insurance policy. They maintain that Marissa travelled to Gray’s residence solely to ask him to sign forms that would have kept the policy active for the child. Her family inferred that he attacked her upon her arriving at his house that evening. They provided her medical records resulting from the incident to the Huffington Post periodical, which substantiated that she suffered minor bruising and scrapes on her arm, hand and face, as what they believed was evidence of what transpired at the scene of the incident.

Gray called the police after Alexander left his house, once the altercation had concluded.

Gray’s side of the story claimed that Alexander came over to drop off their daughter, and then asked him if she could spend the night there. When he rejected her offer, she “became enraged and began striking him on the face. Gray then raised his hands, and he yelled out to his sons to call the police,” according to the police report. The police officer that responded to the 911 call noted that Gray’s children substantiated their father’s account of the story.

When Alexander was contacted by the police that evening, she said she didn’t understand why she was being called upon and had an “alibi” for the time period in question, according to their report. Upon examination of Gray, the police found swelling on his face as well as a cut under his left eye. There were no visible injuries primarily found on Alexander but on the way back to jail she said she was feeling light-headed and subsequently became unresponsive. At that point one of the officers said that he “observed that there was a small cut under the suspect’s eye that was not there prior to her being placed in my back seat.”

Alexander was rearrested and this time charged with battery. She pleaded no contest to the new charge and has remained in prison since the new charges were added.

During Court Proceedings State attorney Corey stated that Alexander’s actions; interacting with the man she stated that she was deathly afraid of, and striking him, “didn’t show much of her being remorseful” or “being a peaceful person… “Everybody is still ignoring that she got out on bond and chose to go back over there and hit him a second time… That was kind of an indication of where putting her on probation, where you might have been able to do that before, was off the table since she disregarded a judge’s order.”

Alexander was convicted of three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and awaits appeal for the twenty-year sentence.

Civil rights leaders were quick to point out that the African-American mother of three was prosecuted principally due to her race. U.S. Representative Corrine Brown, said the sentence, was too severe and Alexander should never have been charged in the first place based on the stand your ground statute.

Elderly North Carolina Man Apprehended after Robbing Bank in Great Neck, NY

October 7, 2013 | Michael B. Cohen, P.A.

Dressed in a green shirt, blue pants, and white sneakers Raymond Young walked into a Great Neck, NY Chase bank branch on Middle Neck Road at 9:30 in the morning brandishing a handgun and “verbally demanded money from a teller,” police said. His trendy ensemble was topped off with a light-colored baseball cap.

What Mr. Young didn’t anticipate when he chose to rob that particular bank was that a Lake Success police officer would happen to be in the bank and witness the entire armed robbery. So when Young fled the bank with an undisclosed amount of cash, he already had the deck stacked against his possibility of escape.

Equipped with eye-witness identification by the officer, the Kings Point police were able to look back at surveillance video that was taken at the time of the holdup as well as having still photos including a direct shot of the perpetrator. They also performed a license plate “read” on the suspected vehicle using special equipment (Automatic number plate recognition, ALPR), which identified the suspect. The information was then released by the Kings Point department to the Nassau County Police and all other local area police agencies along with all photos and details of the heist.

Just after 7 p.m. the surveillance equipment alerted police that the suspect vehicle had entered the village, according to Kings Point Department Commissioner Jack Miller.

Coincidentally, it was a Lake Success police officer that made the actual arrest. Police Sgt. Thomas Alter told the Great Neck Record that the information relayed from the Kings Point Police Department as well as the visual sighting by their own officer was responsible for Mr. Young’s apprehension. His car was noticed by a Lake Success police officer, displaying the identified license plate, at the intersection of the Northern State Parkway and Lakeville Road where he quickly pulled over the alleged thief, arrested him, and took him into custody.

70-year old Raymond Young, from Memphis, Tennessee, was charged with first-degree criminal use of a firearm, and robbery, first-degree. The elderly man was arraigned in First District Court in Hempstead by Judge Eric Bjorneby who ordered him held without bail.

Commissioner Miller crowed to the Great Neck Record, a local newspaper, that Young’s arrest was greatly aided by his department, citing that they have a total of 19 cameras positioned in tactical areas throughout the village as well as at all entrances to the Long Island North Shore town. Kings Point is located on the Great Neck Peninsula in the Town of North Hempstead in Nassau County.

He pointed out that there are 19 cameras of this type in the village, such as the main camera on East Shore Road at the site of the Jewish Center (Chabad), and the one also on East Shore Road near the entrance to the village. He stressed that only a select group of Kings Point officers have total access to these camera in real time, but the department has the ability to always check the recorded videos and view any individuals that have come into or exited the community at any time during the course of each day.

Miller also said that the Village has plans to expand their surveillance system in due course to include a total of 44 license-plate readers at nineteen intersections within the confines of the Village which is a little more than three square miles in size. The proposal received worries from civil liberties activists in addition to local residents who were concerned about the cost of the elaborate system. However, this past June, a $1,140,000 bond offering was approved by the village for the expansion of the system.

Brooklyn, NY Man Arrested on Bank Robbery Charges in New Jersey

October 6, 2013 | Michael B. Cohen, P.A.

A resident of Brooklyn, New York who was at one time listed on the FBI’s 10 most wanted fugitive list was arrested in April in association with another bank robbery. He had just completed a 25-year sentence in Federal prison roughly two weeks prior to this occurrence for his conviction in a rash of more than two dozen bank robberies in the late 1980’s. His primary court appearance in this new case will be on May 15.

John Edward Stevens, 62, of Brooklyn, New York was arrested on April 16, after he entered a TD Bank located on Ramapo Valley Road in Bergen County, Oakland, New Jersey. He was waving a handgun and allowed all the customers to leave the bank, before removing cash from the tellers’ area from multiple cash drawers. Before going for the money, he first displayed a black handgun to one of the bank managers that was sitting at his desk at the time. After gathering up the loot he left on foot and was spotted by police about 20 minutes later in neighboring Waldwick just after 10:30 a.m. Employees of the bank affirmed that the man matching his description captured by the police was indeed the perpetrator. The Oakland Police Department received the 9-1-1 call at 10:03 a.m.

In a search of his “stolen” car, police found a bag displaying the TD bank’s logo filled with approximately $4,000 in cash. They also found a black handgun that was identified by some of the employees as a match for the weapon he was brandishing in the bank, minutes prior to his apprehension.

The arrest was credited to members of both the Waldwick and Ho-Ho-Kus Police at approximately 10:40 a.m.

He is now charged with one count of bank robbery, which if convicted can produce a new sentence of up to 20 more years behind bars.

Stevens was first arrested for bank robbery charges on November 30, 1988 in Ohio. Cincinnati Police found him in a motel along with his girlfriend. He has previously been featured on the hit TV show America’s Most Wanted and is suspected in excess of 25 more bank robberies spanning at least eight states

It seems he was a tad more effective during his prior robberies, which earned him quite a reputation with federal authorities.

According to media reports, during his previous spree, he was acknowledged for mocking police, often boasting that “he is smarter than anyone in law enforcement.” Before his arrest in 1988, Stevens would actually call up police offices and claim that he would never be caught. He was positioned on the FBI’s “Most Wanted” list in that same year and was arrested in Cincinnati around six months after that notorious assignment.

The FBI also has charges pending against him for various offenses, including previous bank robberies. There are also additional charges imminent from several other jurisdictions which include the 10th precinct in Manhattan. In that particular case, Stevens is wanted for a recent carjacking that occurred on April 14, 2013. It is alleged that the car stolen in the New York City carjacking is the same vehicle that Stevens used, and was caught with in this latest robbery.

He is now scheduled to make his first appearance in U.S. District Court at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, in Newark, Jersey.

The press release on this posting can be read in full on the FBI’s Website by clicking here.

Florida Women Cited as Victims; in Guilty Pleas for Sex Trafficking of a Minor

October 5, 2013 | Michael B. Cohen, P.A.

They preyed on women from Florida as well as those from other states throughout the U.S. who were homeless, in financial straits, or vulnerable in similar ways. Last week, thirty-year old Jamar Marvin Simmons a/k/a “Mar”, a former fireman, pleaded guilty to charges of sex trafficking of a minor in association with a prostitution operation he set up along with Franklin Roosevelt Coit, 34. His co-defendant, pleaded guilty to the same charge in early August. Simmons was arrested on Feb. 13 and Coit was already in custody.

From 2009 through 2012, the pair misleadingly advertised positions on the Internet offering work for exotic dancers and escorts when it was actually intended for them to participate in their prostitution endeavor. The land-based portion of their business was located in the metropolitan area of Baltimore City, Maryland. According to the six-count indictment, in addition to women that answered their ad from Florida, they agreed to assist women in traveling to their state from various locations outside of Maryland. The other states specifically named in the indictment were New York, Delaware, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Texas, and South Dakota. They also solicited women from their own home state as laid out in the indictment. It further went on to point out that at least one minor female was involved in their sex for money scheme.

In addition to the two perpetrators operating what has been labeled a brothel in Baltimore City, they also rented out hotel rooms and a separate residence in the State that were also used for the services provided by the women, according to court documents.

Once each woman was under their influence, the two perpetrators photographed them in a sexually explicit manner and then posted their images on an advertising website under the category of escorts. The women’s contact information including telephone numbers were listed, displaying where the women could be contacted for the purpose of scheduling a date. Simmons and Coit received the funds of all transactions and split the money fashioned by the women’s activities. It was also stated that they used a gun with ammunition to guard the illicit operation’s properties as well as its cash receipts.

Simmons was in charge of setting the pricing for sex acts with the women and he taught the women how to arrange dates over the phone, He also advised the women how to avoid exposure to law enforcement agencies.

Coit and Simmons now face maximum sentences of five years in prison for the crime of conspiracy, as well as 10 years to life for the sex trafficking of a minor count. Enticing or coercing individuals to engage in prostitution can yield 20 years in prison and they can face 10 years in prison each for the interstate transportation for the purpose of prostitution. The charge of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking can similarly deliver a maximum term of life in prison. Additionally, Coit is also looking at up to 10 years in prison for being a convicted felon in custody of a firearm. He had been previously held on state charges.

Each will learn their fate on separate days. Coit is to be sentenced on November 1 and Simmons will realize his sentence on December 13.

The investigation was led by the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force along with 10 other separate federal and state law enforcement organizations. In Maryland, the Innocent Images National Initiative was formed in 2010 to battle exploitation and prostitution of children The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children was coordinated with the Task Force along with the Maryland State Police Child Recovery Unit that identifies missing minors that are being presented on the Internet for the purpose of prostitution.

U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein announced the guilty pleas in coordination with Commissioner Anthony W. Batts of the Baltimore Police Department and Baltimore City State’s Attorney Gregg L. Bernstein, with the steady support of the FBI’s Special Agent in Charge Stephen E. Vogt.

Judge Sentences Key Biscayne Man to 12-Years in Vehicular Homicide Case

October 1, 2013 | Michael B. Cohen, P.A.

“He showed contempt for the entire legal process. Mr. Bertonatti thinks he is above the law. He will do whatever it takes to protect himself.” That’s what the Assistant State Attorney told the Court. He directed his comments to Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Bronwyn Miller.

But Carlos Bertonatti’s friends and family members only had accolades for the up and coming pop singer, in the Court hearing that would seal his fate. He was characterized by several friends “a compassionate person who deserved mercy because he was truly sorry for a DUI accident that took the life of a bicycle rider on the Rickenbacker Causeway,” according to cbslocal.com.

Bertonatti, a handsome aspiring young singer seemed to have everything going for him. His music can be described as a soft, easy-listing, jazzy genre and his songs can still be heard on his MySpace Page.

It appears that Carlos Bertonatti partied all night, his fateful last stop at Club Space located at NE 11th Street in downtown Miami. When he finally left at 8:00 in the morning back in January, 2010, it seems he had “one for the road” buying a Red Bull with Vodka before finally leaving the popular dance club and beginning his drive home in his 2007 Volkswagen Jetta.

According to their own proud assertion; in reference to apparently always being able to get a cocktail, which is in plain view on the “About Us” page of their Website, they write “Club Space offers a “no-nonsense approach towards the customers, as well as the then-unheard of 24-hour operating permit…”
While on his way to his home in Key Biscayne, the Jetta struck and killed Christophe LeCanne on Miami’s Rickenbacker Causeway. LeCanne was in the bike lane, riding across the thoroughfare when Bertonatti’s car collided with the cyclist where he died at the scene. Bertonatti didn’t stop, and continued driving for nearly three miles before police stopped him and found LeCanne’s mangled bike lodged under his car. When accused of the tragedy, Bertonatti purportedly contended that the cops who stopped and pulled him over were joking. He then had to be forcibly restrained so a blood alcohol test could be performed, which determined that jis blood alcohol level was well in excess of the State’s legal limit.

LeCanne died of his injuries on the part of the causeway known as the Bear Cut Bridge. Witnesses told investigators that Bertonatti was driving his Jetta at close to seventy miles per hour in a zone designated at 45 miles per hour, according to the Miami New Times.

Without a plea deal in place, Bertonatti pleaded guilty to all charges with the exception of leaving the scene of an accident. He did so knowing he could face up to a maximum of thirty-seven years of incarceration. Florida State guidelines for the crime necessitate a sentence of a minimum of a little more than eleven and one half years to a maximum of thirty-seven years for a conviction.

At his sentencing hearing, one character witness after another spoke freely of the good deeds Bertonatti played in their lives.

One friend, Adrian Pena, spoke of when in April 2001 Bertonatti saved his life. He spoke of an incident when Bertonatti came to his assistance after he was attacked in front of a Coral Gables hotel. Pena said the attack took place after a fight between his ex-girlfriend and another man that was her current boyfriend at the time. “My throat was sliced ear to ear and Carlos applied a tourniquet and pressed it to my neck… He saw the condition I was in”. At that point Bertonatti’s defense attorney interjected by asking the witness “Is there any doubt that he saved your life?” Pena’s immediate reply was “There is no doubt in my mind.”

A distant cousin, Patricia Rodriguez, testified that “He’s amazing to everyone who meets him and he touches their heart. He is a good person. And he is loyal.”

In what might have been the most compelling sympathetic testimony, Bertonatti’s sister Daniela, now 25 testified that her brother was constantly at her side during three months of her rehabilitation after a failed attempt of committing suicide when she was only 14 years old. She passionately spoke, by stating that the incident took place after she was out that night drinking heavily. She ultimately hurdled herself from her parent’s balcony which was on the 9th floor of their apartment building.

Close to tears, she continued by saying, “I was shattered inside and I was dying,” She went on to add that she suffered a broken pelvis along with her ankles being crushed.

“He told me to be strong and hold on… He told me not to let go and I did not let go. My brother stayed with me. I find him to be one of the most amazing persons.”

Carlos has been living under house arrest in Key Biscayne since his family put up 10 percent of a $500,000 bond. “I think it’s been enough. Every moment he is in there and every day he is in there he’s come to terms with what has happened,” his sister said. “He feels so terribly guilty about what has happened.” She went on to say that her brother felt a “lifelong responsibility” to helping LeCanne’s widow, Sandra.

Bertonatti broke down on several occasions during his sister’s testimony
The convicted man’s music producer and close friend Chris Rodriguez continued the tribute to Bertonatti by testifying that, “There’s a magical thing about Carlos. He is talented and a great person. He has a charisma that is very rare. He’s one of those guys whose heart is always open. He will always do the right thing… This accident was so bizarre and out of character… I love him. He is part of the family.” Concluding his emotional statement, Rodriguez also broke down on the witness stand, shedding tears.

One of the most damaging illustrations that the prosecution submitted to the Court was Bertonatti’s previous driving record. It exhibited the he had already been charged with 46 hazardous infractions. Among them were speeding, running stop signs, and flying through toll booths without making payments. His license was suspended in 2009 and he was later stopped for driving without valid insurance and operating a motor vehicle without a license, according to the New Times.

In a stunning twist at his original sentencing hearing, Bertonatti’s Brother Miguel told prosecutors that he had stolen his Brother’s identity and it was actually Miguel who was responsible for a substantial amount of the driving offenses as offered by the prosecution. Bertonatti’s attorney’s stated that if those facts were indeed true the Court should be more lenient when the sentence was handed down. With that issue raised, Judge Miller postponed the hearing citing that before his testimony would be allowed, the Brother would need to be assessed by a psychologist.

But the following day, when the sentencing hearing was resumed, Miguel Bertonatti pleaded the fifth under the advice of his newly selected Court appointed attorney. The lawyer also stated that Miguel suffered from “mental health issues.”

But in spite of the emotional demonstrations by friends and family, in finality, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Bronwyn Miller sentence Bertonatti to twelve years in prison.

Judge Miller justified her decision by saying “The decisions made by Carlos Bertonatti on that date cruelly and irreparably destroyed life as it was known to the entire LeCanne family. Mr. Bertonatti’s actions extinguished the life of a loving husband, father and an outstanding human being.”

Despite all the positive testimony on Bertonatti’s behalf, a man was killed due to his negligence while driving a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol.

Reports say that the immediate LeCanne family is pleased with the ruling. “The state of Florida is very thankful for the judge’s very thoughtful and just sentence,” the Prosecutor said after the hearing concluded. “The LeCanne family obviously is touched, they’ve been waiting three years for this,” he said. He mentioned that he would be calling other LeCanne family members who live in France later in the day to let them know the final outcome.

In a separate civil action resulting from the death, Sandra LeCanne the widow of Christophe LeCanne has contended that the “since convicted” Bertonatti supposedly spent hours at Club Space drinking before the accident occurred. She argued that the Club should be held liable for her husband’s death as well. This type of suit will test a Florida law that questions whether clubs and bars should be held responsible for damages that are caused by customers that are known to be inebriated, when leaving their premises. According to talkingnightlife.com, an online magazine specializing with popular night clubs in the Miami area “Bertonatti’s alcoholism was ‘well known to many of the staff employed by Club Space,’ the suit claims, and yet on the night of the accident, the club allegedly made no effort to slow his drinking.” Mrs. LeCanne has not specified what damages she will be seeking from the club.

Two Miami Residents Indicted in Ongoing Medicare Fraud Investigation

September 27, 2013 | Michael B. Cohen, P.A.

Many articles that have been posted here deal with the offense of Medicare Fraud. On October 4 of last year one of the articles posted was a story of a federal probe that spotlighted South Florida clinics dealing with Home Health care criminal abuses where the total of fraudulent Medicare billing exceeded $74 million dollars. Earlier this year another story was posted dealing with the publically owned WellCare health company that paid restitution of more than $100 Million to settle lawsuits that had alleged abuses of the False Claims Act. Although the company still operates and trades on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: WCG), a new board of directors has been put in place.

The dollar amounts are staggering and the frauds continue, and regrettably, South Florida leads the nation in these categories of criminal activities.

Last week, yet again, another indictment was unsealed and announced by numerous federal authorities including Special Agent in Charge Christopher B. Dennis of the Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General’s Office of Investigations, Miami Office. It identified two more residents of Dade County that were charged with receiving health care kickbacks, and conspiracy to defraud the United States government. They were both originally accused in a continuing investigation of a $190 million Medicare fraud.

Jose Martin Olivares, 36, and Mayelin Santoyo, 28, were both charged for their participation in the scheme. Both appeared in the indictment with one count each on the conspiracy charge and two counts each of the actual acceptance of payoffs. If convicted, they both face a maximum penalty of five years of incarceration for each of the individual counts against them.

The two were in the service of American Therapeutic Corporation (ATC) and its management company, Medlink Professional Management Group Inc. (Medlink) which perpetrated the fraud. The company was based in Miami and has been non-operational since 2011 when its owners, patient brokers, managers and doctors, as well as other individuals employed by them all pleaded guilty, or were convicted at a trial that took place in 2011. The owner of ATC was sentenced to 50 years in prison for his role in organizing and implementing the structure of the scheme to defraud Medicare.

Authorities investigating the case say that both Olivares and Santoyo acted as patient brokers for ATC which operated seven Florida mental health clinics during the time frame of Feb. 2006 through Oct. 2010.

It is alleged in the indictment that Olivares and Santoyo in their capacity delivered patients that were actually ineligible for services from the Company and then received kickbacks of cash and/or checks as their compensation. The total amount of money received by the recruiters was determined by the amount of actual days each of the conscripted individuals was under the so-called care of the ATC. It has already been ascertained that during the course of the scheme, millions of dollars in kickbacks were paid in exchange for the presentation of Medicare beneficiaries who did not qualify for PHP services. PHP services are a Partial Hospitalization Program which is a type of concentrated treatment for severe mental illness. These recruited patients took part in treatment programs that were not authentic PHPs. This allowed ATC to bill Medicare for what were actually medically unneeded services. To acquire the cash essential to support the kickbacks, the now convicted persons involved in the fraud laundered millions of dollars of outflows from Medicare, according to court documents.

The case has, and is still is being investigated by the FBI and HHS-OIG, and was under the authority of the Medicare Fraud Strike Force (MFSF).

From the time of its commencement in March 2007, the MFSF have charged in excess of 1,500 offenders who have falsely billed Medicare for more than $5 billion in false claims. The MFSF operates in nine separate locations throughout the United States. To report Medicare Fraud, visit the Web site www.medicarefraudcenter.org

To read our previous articles mentioned above, click the below links:
Medicare Fraud; Federal probe spotlights South Florida clinics
WellCare Health Care Fraud Trial Delivers Mixed Verdicts

Indictment Unsealed for 12-Year Old Murder of U.S. Diplomat by Malian National

September 23, 2013 | Michael B. Cohen, P.A.

The U.S. Attorney’s office declared a reward of $20,000 for any information that would lead to the whereabouts and subsequent arrest of Alhassane Ould Mohamed, a/k/a Cheibani, a Malian citizen who is accused of the attempted murder of a U.S. Marine staff sergeant and the murder of a U.S. diplomat who were posted in Niamey, Niger, in December 2000. Mohamed is also accused of the attempted murder of other Embassy staffers.

The indictment was unsealed in Brooklyn, New York federal court. It was announced by Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York in conjunction with a spokesman from the FBI, New York Field Office; the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Diplomatic Security, U.S. Department of State, and the Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency.

“U.S. diplomat William Bultemeier lost his life while representing his country overseas and U.S. Marine Christopher McNeely was gravely wounded trying to protect him, all during the brazen armed carjacking allegedly perpetrated by the defendant and his confederate. The sacrifice of Mr. Bultemeier and the courage of Staff Sergeant McNeely in service to their country will not be forgotten. The United States will work ceaselessly to bring those who harm our diplomats and military personnel to justice” commented the U.S. Attorney.

A grand jury in the Eastern District of New York charged Mohamed, an alleged radical Muslim with one count of murdering an internationally protected person and one count of attempting to murder an internationally protected person in a sealed indictment that was returned on September 13. The indictment was unsealed earlier last week.

The indictment specifies that in the post-dawn hours of December 23, 2000, Mohamed and a co-conspirator confronted an assemblage of employees posted at the United States Embassy in Niger as they were leaving an eatery in Niamey, the capital and largest city of the West African country. Armed with an AK-47 assault rifle and a pistol, both men advanced toward Bultemeier, a Department of Defense official, as he was attempting to enter his vehicle. The car clearly displayed diplomatic license plates specifying that it was the property of the United States Embassy. Once confronted, the assailants demanded that the Diplomat give up his keys to the SUV. Upon meeting resistance he shot Bultemeier with the pistol. Detecting the commotion, Christopher McNeely who was the Staff Sergeant for the Marine Detachment Commander for the Embassy at the time, hurried to the Diplomat’s assistance. The unidentified co-conspirator then began firing the AK-47 at McNeely, as well as Mr. Bultemeier. Both men were hit by rounds of automatic fire. Searching through the fatally injured Diplomat’s pockets Mohamed was able to retrieve Bultemeier’s keys. The defendant and his co-conspirator were then able to drive away from the scene.

Staff Sergeant McNeely, though shot several times was able to survive the onslaught of gun shots. A short time after the incident he retired from the Marine Corps holding the rank of Master Sergeant. Regrettably, Mr. Bultemeier died of his injuries caused by the attack.

Our Diplomats face constant dangers when dispatched to countries in regions with hostile intentions toward our government and our way of life. The events that transpired at Benghazi, Libya, on September 11, 2012 may be the most publicized, but numerous aggregates of diplomatic personnel face challenges and peril as they attempt to do their jobs on foreign soil each day.

U.S. Attorney Lynch conveyed her welcome appreciation to the governments of Mali, Niger, and Algeria for their significant help and support regarding the investigation. The State Department’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security in conjunction with the FBI is presently organizing with foreign law enforcement to capture the defendant who is currently at large.

FBI Assistant Director in Charge George Venizelos, who was present at the announcement of the now unsealed indictment, stated that “An attack on U.S. Government personnel, whether domestically or abroad, is an attack on the United States. The perpetrator of these crimes should always be looking over his shoulders. It is only a matter of time before he is apprehended. The FBI will continue working with its partners overseas to ensure that the defendant is captured and brought to justice.

Surveillance Video Brings New Details to Light in Case of Facebook Murder Posting

September 23, 2013 | Michael B. Cohen, P.A.

Follow Up:
In an article posted here just under ten days ago, new evidence has been uncovered in the story of Derek Medina, the man who posted a shocking image of his murdered wife on his Facebook page.

A Surveillance video was released by the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office, along with Medina’s dead wife’s diary. The video shows what might possibly have been the final seconds leading up to the alleged murder of Jennifer Alfonso, by the hand and the gun of her now imprisoned husband. After the shooting, Medina posted her photo on Facebook along with comments directly showing his involvement in the crime.

Although the video doesn’t display an uninterrupted observation of the entire alleged skirmish, Alfonso can be clearly seen in the kitchen at the onset of the filming. It does show Medina enter the room, arguing with Alfonso and then exit only to return evidently with a gun, although it is not within the line of sight of the rolling camera. He is then seen making his way into the kitchen when his head snaps back apparently when his wife Jennifer punches him. Moments after that an eruption of gunpowder can be seen flying out of the kitchen denoting the 6 to 8 shots that Medina fired at his wife based on his own confession. Next, he returns with his jacket and cell phone as he allegedly takes the picture that he posted on Facebook before putting on the jacket and placing his cell phone in his pocket as he exits their home. The video concludes presenting heavily armed police entering the townhouse through the front door; concluding the released footage of the video before they discovered Alfonso’s body which is never seen on camera but discovered slumped in the kitchen.

Medina contends that his wife grabbed a knife during the scuffle, but he was able to take it away from her and return it to a kitchen drawer. This suspected circumstance is not played out within the recording.

Since my first posting, Medina has pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder although it has been reported that prosecutors will likely seek a first-degree murder indictment when the grand jury returns.

Medina and Alfonso had a shaky relationship. After getting married in 2010 and divorcing in 2012 they remarried a few months later during the scope of those couple of years.

A major irony in this case is the context that Medina was an author of numerous e-books, one of them titled “How I saved someone’s life and marriage and family problems thru communication” which is a story where the main character saves his marriage after getting divorced and remarried to the same person. He also maintains a Website named EmotionalWriter.com. He marketed himself in numerous videos that he posted on YouTube and his e-books could be found and purchased on amazon.com

According to CBS Miami, Alfonso’s father is quoted as saying in reference to Medina posting his dead daughter’s image “It’s like self-promoting what he’s always done you know. To put my daughter nationwide on Facebook that’s unbelievable, unbelievable,”
But Medina’s father had a different story to tell saying that his son was only trying to defend himself. “They are making my son into an animal. He was scared of her all his life, all the relationship, because he always reported to me that he would get beaten by her,” said Medina Sr. “She pushed him to the point of insanity”.

In another bizarre twist some of the entries unveiled in Alfonso’s journal/diary told of her hearing “weird noises” and macabre sounds in their house and had the feeling of “being watched” as well as writing that she “always believed in zombies” discussing her concerns over reports of cannibalism relating to designer synthetic drugs denoted as “bath salts”.

In a December 27, 2012 entry she wrote: “I no [sic] he loves me and I no [sic] I love him just wished we had better ways of showing it. When we love each other its [sic] GREAT. But when we hate each other we HATE each other,”
In a May 22, 2012, entry, obviously displaying aggressive feelings toward Medina she wrote: “After little situations that me and derek [sic] have been through I find myself uncontrolably jelouse [sic], like want to murder type of deal,” says the diary. “His eyes start wondering [sic], more than once, of course my blood boiled and I wanted to rip his eyes right out of the socket, disrespect.”

She finished that day’s notes when she penned: “I just wish everybody could be happy!!”
As more details emerge it’ll be interesting to see how this case plays out. I’ll keep you informed.

To read my first post on this topic, click here.

[sic]: added immediately after a quoted word or phrase (or a longer piece of text), indicates that the quotation has been transcribed exactly as found in the original source, complete with any erroneous spelling or other nonstandard presentation Source: Wikipedia.com

Boca Raton City Worker Jailed for Aggravated Battery of Day Laborer

September 19, 2013 | Michael B. Cohen, P.A.

Donell Allison Jr., 33, of Lauderdale Lakes had a long criminal history including convictions for misdemeanor battery, and battery in a domestic violence case. He previously served nine months behind bars for his misdemeanor battery guilty plea. In that case which occurred in Jan. 2007 he was initially accused of two felony charges, one of them being aggravated battery on a pregnant woman.

Allison is an employee of the City of Boca Raton’s Recreation Services department. Last week, he was again arrested and taken into custody, accused of violently beating a day laborer causing him serious head injuries. He is now being held in the Palm Beach County Jail in lieu of $25,000 bail and has been placed on unpaid leave since the incident transpired.

But Boca Raton Assistant City Manager Michael Woika maintains that a previous criminal conviction “does not automatically disqualify” an individual from being hired by the city.

Allison apparently took exception to his lunch being handled and moved by another worker, Raul Reynoso, who is over twenty years, his senior. According to Boca Raton Police, Reynoso, 55 sustained a fractured skull, a fractured orbital bone, numerous facial lacerations and a brain hemorrhage. The arrest report also mentioned that Reynoso experienced seizures after the battering occurred.

Police say that Reynoso was routinely working at his job as a landscaper for a contractor in the employ of the city. That day he was working at the Boca Raton Library located at 400 Northwest 2nd Avenue when he was hauled into the altercation with Allison, 33.

Witnesses told police that Reynoso climbed into a city work truck after it began to rain heavily. According to the police report, Reynoso moved Allison’s lunch out of his way as he was getting into the truck. Seeing this, Allison became very agitated and pushed Reynoso, slamming him against the open driver’s side rear door.

Still apparently enraged after he pushed Reynoso out of the truck, he violently punched him in the face. He then wrapped his arms around Reynoso, placing him in a bear hug just before he slammed him head first into the sidewalk, according to police.

Reynoso, a resident of North Lauderdale was originally taken to Boca Raton Regional Hospital but the severity of his injuries caused him to be transported in a “trauma alert.” status. He was then dispatched to the Delray Beach Medical Center, where he was listed in serious condition.

After the seemingly one-sided altercation abated, the City Manager was asked for further comment in regard to his imprisoned employee. He declined to specifically contribute further reference about Allison in particular, but did say that “the city is distressed that something like this happened.”

Allison has again been accused of aggravated battery, a charge he seems to have become accustomed to. Before this latest incident he’d been arrested six times for comparable charges commencing since 2006.

One of Reynoso’s friends who visited him in the hospital said he was “in an out” of consciousness, but he was told by an attending physician that his friend was anticipated to recover. Reynoso has worked with Pacesetters, Inc. since 2011, which is a contractor for the city of Boca Raton.