In Other Media-eg New Statesman, AJE, FP, Georgia, NYT,  Azerbaijan, CSM Click here to contact us     .

By Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon

SDNY COURTHOUSE, Oct 18 – While many or 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 October 1 Magistrate Judge Kevin N. Fox processed father and son defendants accused of payments to marijuana wholesalers and having a shotgun that was then said to belong to their wife and mother present in the courtroom.

  Three hours later on PACER the case was still listed as sealed, even after Galdieri Senior walked away from 500 Pearl Street with his wife toward Foley Square, presumably back to his soda distribution business tomorrow. Inner City Press in its October 1 story asked, How long with the case be listed as sealed?

Now on October 18, only by having been in the otherwise empty Magistrates Court on the afternoon of Friday, October 18 and witnessing Magistrate Judge Stewart Aaron "turn the wheel" can Inner City Press report: the case has been assigned, like another, to Judge Jesse Furman. In PACER hours later it is still listed as "UA," Unassigned. We'll have more on this.

   Earlier Judge Fox processed three of four defendants in a sealed indictment for the "Hobbs Act" robbery of a marijuana dealer and imposed home detention on all of them.

Brandon Seegers a/k/a Billz is said to work off the books, Thursday through Sunday. Denzell Funderburk a/k/a Zell is not currently working but Fox would like him to look for work.

Jaleel Rivers a/ka/ Leel is not yet in detention, but AUSAs Michael R. Herman and Matthew J.C. Hellman asked Fox to unseal the indictment. He did. When asked to set a control date, he said to ask the District Judge to whom it was assigned, who while not named in the Mag Court appears to be Chief Judge Colleen McMahon. Still more transparency is needed.  

 On September 30: Ponzi schemer dressed in New York Giants pajama pants. James T. Booth, as is rare, did not waive the public reading of the indictment against him.

It was signed, sealed, on September 27 by Judge Robert W. Lehrburger, and describes Booth telling a widow "she would have $1 million by the time she was 100 years old." Booth swindled money from a child's college fund and for the care of a disabled sibling. He's out on his own signature, though. The case is US v. Booth, 19-cr-00699 (Koeltl).

Inner City Press will stay on the case.

/font>