Judge blasts improper subpoenas in mob linked case
Don't blame the paralegal.
A federal judge slammed prosecutors for their "disappointing" and "glib" response to his concerns about the Brooklyn U.S. Attorney's office issuing improper subpoenas in the case of a mobbed-up restaurant serving as a front for drug trafficking.
Judge Raymond Dearie ruled in favor of the government in denying a motion to suppress evidence obtained from the subpoenas, but he didn't mince words in expressing his displeasure with the prosecutors' rather cavalier suggestion that "support staff" was to blame for including unlawful language in the subpoenas.
"The Court is, frankly, bemused by the government's rather glib explanation that the violations were simply 'inadvertent' and 'unintentional,'" Dearie wrote.
Lawyers for Gregorio and Eleonora Gigliotti, and their son Angelo, had brought the issue to the judge's attention that a subpoena issued to their accountant had commanded him not to disclose to anyone that the feds had seized a document — which is improper. The prosecutors later admitted that a total of three subpoenas contained the improper warning.
The Gigliottis, who owned the Cucino a Modo Mio restaurant in Corona, Queens, are alleged to have ties to mobsters in Italy.
But the prosecutors apparently ignored Dearie's demand to come clean about the scope of the problem and what remedial action is being taken.
The judge, who was once himself the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, warned that he is not convinced that adequate steps have been taken to make sure there's no repeat of the violation. "The government proceeds at its peril," Dearie stated ominously.
The Gigliottis, who owned the Cucino a Modo Mio restaurant in Corona, Queens, are alleged to have ties to mobsters in Italy.
"Judge Dearie recognized and emphasized that scales of Justice are evenly balanced — the government is fully bound by the same rules as the defense," said lawyer Gerald McMahon, who represents Angelo Gigliotti. "Given this published opinion, prosecutors are now on notice this better not happen again."
A spokeswoman for the Brooklyn U.S. Attorney's office declined to comment.
A federal judge slammed prosecutors for their "disappointing" and "glib" response to his concerns about the Brooklyn U.S. Attorney's office issuing improper subpoenas in the case of a mobbed-up restaurant serving as a front for drug trafficking.
Judge Raymond Dearie ruled in favor of the government in denying a motion to suppress evidence obtained from the subpoenas, but he didn't mince words in expressing his displeasure with the prosecutors' rather cavalier suggestion that "support staff" was to blame for including unlawful language in the subpoenas.
"The Court is, frankly, bemused by the government's rather glib explanation that the violations were simply 'inadvertent' and 'unintentional,'" Dearie wrote.
Lawyers for Gregorio and Eleonora Gigliotti, and their son Angelo, had brought the issue to the judge's attention that a subpoena issued to their accountant had commanded him not to disclose to anyone that the feds had seized a document — which is improper. The prosecutors later admitted that a total of three subpoenas contained the improper warning.
The Gigliottis, who owned the Cucino a Modo Mio restaurant in Corona, Queens, are alleged to have ties to mobsters in Italy.
But the prosecutors apparently ignored Dearie's demand to come clean about the scope of the problem and what remedial action is being taken.
The judge, who was once himself the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, warned that he is not convinced that adequate steps have been taken to make sure there's no repeat of the violation. "The government proceeds at its peril," Dearie stated ominously.
The Gigliottis, who owned the Cucino a Modo Mio restaurant in Corona, Queens, are alleged to have ties to mobsters in Italy.
"Judge Dearie recognized and emphasized that scales of Justice are evenly balanced — the government is fully bound by the same rules as the defense," said lawyer Gerald McMahon, who represents Angelo Gigliotti. "Given this published opinion, prosecutors are now on notice this better not happen again."
A spokeswoman for the Brooklyn U.S. Attorney's office declined to comment.
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn/judge-blasts-prosecutors-improper-subpoenas-mob-case-article-1.2479053
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