| In SDNY Murky Mag Court Misnumbered
Murder Case Tracks To Jesus Rivera and Hot
Spoon
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Exclusive
Patreon
SDNY COURTHOUSE,
August 29 – While
many even most
cases in the
Magistrates
Court of the U.S.
District Court
for the
Southern
District of
New York are
sealed or have
case numbers
given only
later, on August
26
before
Magistrate
Judge Katherine
H. Parker
a defendant
Jose Alvarez
a/k/a Ignatio
Alvarez
was brought in
extradited
from the
Dominican
Republic
charged with the
1999 killing
of Jose Miguel
Mendez, guns
and drugs,
with the case
number twice
given as 13-cr-454.
But
that case
number is for
US v. Raul
Lebron for false
worker's
compensation
claims. After
three days of
asking, Inner
City Press on
August 29 was
informed that
the
information
about Alvarez
can be founded
under docket number
13-cr-424,
thirty case
numbers
earlier. That
case
initially
named as the
killer one
Jesus Rivera
"and other
individuals
not named."
Later, Alvarez
was named,
then
extradicted -
under the
wrong index
number on the
complaint.
We'll
have more on
that - this is
about this
cold case,
from a press
release the US
Attorney's
office never
e-mailed to
Inner City
Press and
which still on
August 29 has
annexed to it
a Complaint
with the wrong
docket number:
"ALVAREZ,
along with
other
individuals,
planned to rob
and kill Jose
Miguel Mendez
to obtain
money to
invest in a
drug robbery
in Puerto
Rico. On
the night of
the robbery
and murder,
ALVAREZ and
his
co-conspirators
ambushed
Mendez inside
an apartment
in the Bronx,
where they
restrained him
with duct
tape, burned
him, and
questioned
him.
Ultimately,
ALVAREZ and
one of his
co-conspirators
took Mendez to
a location in
Upper
Manhattan,
where Mendez
was shot in
the head,
resulting in
his death."
Rivera
pled guilty in
2015 and in an
August 26,
2015 change of
plea
proceeding
before SDNY
Magistrate
Judge James L.
Cott, AUSA
Krissoff said
that "the
coconspirators
proceeded to
bind Mendez
and burn him
with a hot
spoon in an
effort to get
Mendez to
disclose the
location of
the drug
proceeds or
drugs." Rivera
himself said
he "was aware
that the
person I was
assisting in
the robbery
possessed a
gun, that he
later used
that gun to
murder the
person being
robbed." That
would be
murder.
Jesus
Rivera was
sentenced to
270 months by
Judge Kimba M.
Woods on
January 11,
2016. What
might Alvarez
get? Is it too
late for
Rivera to cut
a deal to
testify? We'll
have more on
this. Now that
we have the
right docket
number, even
if the
complaint
remains wrong,
we will track
it.
The
13-cr-454 number
was read out
twice on
August 26 -
first when Alvarez
pleaded
guilty, then
after that
when Criminal
Justice Act
lawyer Matthew
Kluger was
appointed as
his counsel.
Inner City
Press asked in
the Mag court
- number
confirmed -
and then
elsewhere
where it has
been directed
in the SDNY,
still no
answer.
There
is a copy of
the complaint
against
Alvarez, photo
here, with
the index
number
13-cr-454,
which is
already taken
up with a closlosed
case judgment
filed October
6, 2014,
photo here.
How can this
happened on a
murder case?
The case is
assigned to
Judge Kimba
Wood, whom the
AUSA said is
unavailable
until after
Labor Day.
Inner City
Press will
have more on
this.
O
***
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