| Cotto Found Guilty In SDNY
After FBI Cited Controlled Buys Now Gets 120
Months
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon
BBC
- Guardian
UK - Honduras
- ESPN
SDNY COURTHOUSE,
Nov 4 – Ervin Ortiz was
arrested as part of a
multi-defendant narcotics
conspiracy.
On May 20, U.S.
District Court for the
Southern District of New York
Judge Jed S. Rakoff held his
sentencing. Inner City Press
covered it, below.
On October 12,
2021, Judge Rakoff
denied Ortiz's pro se motion
for release: "Ervin Ortiz.
Before the Court is Ervin
Ortiz's motion for sentence
reduction under 18 U.S.C. ง
3582(c). On September 27,
2019, Ortiz pled guilty to
participating in a conspiracy
to distribute and possess with
intent to distribute 1
kilogram and more of heroin
and 33 grams and more of
cocaine, in violation of 21
U.S.C. งง 841(b)(1)(B) and
846. On May 20, 2021, the
Court imposed a
below-Guidelines sentence of
66 months in prison followed
by five years' supervised
release. On July 11, 2021,
fewer than two months after
his lenient sentence was
imposed, Ortiz filed a pro se
motion for compassionate
release....[*** See this
Memorandum Order ***]... As it
noted at the time of his
sentencing, the Court is not
unsympathetic to Ortiz's
medical conditions. However,
even if assuming arguendo has
conditions might give rise to
an "extraordinary and
compelling" reason satisfying
one of the prongs of
compassionate release, it is
clear that another of the
prongs, the applicability of
18 U.S.C. ง 3553(a), precludes
the relief that he seeks.
Ortiz was sentenced only
shortly before he filed the
present motion and he cites no
relevant change in
circumstance in the
intervening time. Indeed, in
imposing its sentence, the
Court explicitly considered
and took account of the risks
associated with the ongoing
pandemic. See Transcript of
May 20, 2021 Sentencing at 20.
Accordingly, Ortiz's motionfor
compassionate release is
denied. SO ORDERED. (Signed by
Judge Jed S. Rakoff on
10/12/2021)."
Co-defendant Eddie Cotto has
been on trial; on July 15 an
FBI Special Agent identified
him and described controlled
buys on Lexington and 110th
Street, how he would park his
car on 109th Street to
observe.
On July 21-22,
"EDDIE COTTO, a/k/a “Eddie
Diamond,” was found guilty in
Manhattan federal court
following a week-long jury
trial before U.S. District
Judge Jed S. Rakoff.
COTTO is scheduled to appear
for sentencing before Judge
Rakoff on November 3, 2021...
EDDIE COTTO was the leader of
a drug trafficking
organization that operated in
New York, New York, and
controlled drug sales of
heroin, cocaine, and fentanyl
in and around a New York City
Housing Authority building at
1760 Lexington Avenue. COTTO
supervised and coordinated the
supply of narcotics to his
co-defendants, and stored the
DTO’s narcotics in the locked
janitorial closets of the
Building. COTTO acted as
the gatekeeper of the Building
generally from the safety of a
Winnebago that COTTO parked in
the vicinity of the Building."
Winnebago no more. [And Judge
Rakoff moved on to the Sidney
Scales trial, which Inner City
Press is also covering.]
Back on June 30
the US Attorney's Office filed
its motions in limine, arguing
that evidence of Cotto's
previous drug offenses should
come in, but his conditions of
pre-trial detention should
not. We'll see - the trial ,
according to the May 14 docket
entry, is set for July 12.
On May 20 Judge
Rakoff said that while Ortiz
had not met his
responsibilities, neither had
society met its
responsibilities to Ortiz.
He said Ortiz'
crimes were not violent, and
all sprang from addiction that
was never treated. He said if
he had his druthers, some of
these drugs would be
legalized.
The sentence was
66 months. It is a
sentencing the transcript of
which is worth reading.
As is this: on
August 20, Cotto's counsel
file a motion for acquittal,
arguing that "the government
failed to present sufficient
evidence for a rational
factfinder to conclude that
the conspiracy involved 100
grams of heroin or more,"
citing US v. Pauling, 924 F.3d
649 (2d Cir. 2019).
On October 28,
the motion was denied and
sentencing will proceed:
"MEMORANDUM ORDER [181] Motion
for Acquittal as to Eddie
Cotto. Pending before the
Court is defendant Eddie
Cotto's renewed motion for a
judgment of acquittal on the
charge under 21 U.S.C. § 841
(b)(1)(B), pursuant to Rule 29
(c) of the Federal Rules of
Criminal Procedure.
Accordingly, the Court denies
defendant's renewed Rule 29
motion. Defendant's sentencing
will proceed as scheduled.
Now this: "Minute
Entry for proceedings held
before Judge Jed S. Rakoff:
Sentencing held on 11/3/2021
for Eddie Cotto (1) Count
1s,2s-5s. Present were the
defendant and his counsel,
Zachary Margulis-Ohuna, AUSA
Emily Johnson and AUSA Rebecca
Dell for the government. SENT:
On counts 1,2,3,4,5: 120
months jail, to run concurrent
on all counts, remanded. 3 yrs
SR on all counts, to run
concurrent. $500 assess. The
government's motion to impose
sanctions is denied."
The case is US v.
Cotto, et al., 18-cr-413
(Rakoff)
***
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