| Three
Defendant Fraud Case Has Trials Severed
For Health Not Brutonization, Ralston Sept
12
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon Maxwell
Book
BBC
- Guardian
UK - Honduras
- ESPN
SDNY COURTHOUSE,
Feb 15 – Roger Ralston,
Christopher Wright and Steven
Hooper face a joint wire fraud
conspiracy trial on May
12.
On February 18, U.S. District
Court for the Southern
District of New York Judge Jed
S. Rakoff held a lengthy
in-person oral argument. Inner
City Press went and covered
it.
Among the
issues raised is whether the
trials should be severed.
Hooper proffered to the US
Attorney's Office for some 18
hours and almost got a
cooperator's deal. Now,
counsel for Ralston argues,
Hooper's information could
never be effectively
"Bruton-ized" at trial.
[See, Bruton
v. US, 391 U.S. 123
(1968)]
Hooper's counsel countered,
why not a bench trial for him,
with stipulated facts? Judge
Rakoff said it would not be a
problem for him, but asked the
government. Assistant US
Attorney Jessica K. Feinstein
said they will "take it under
advisement."
On March
15, severance was granted --
but not on the Brutonization
grounds, but due to a serious
health problem for Ralston due
to a recent accident.
Hooper and Wright
will be put on trial on April
25; Ralston will follow on
September 12.
The case is
US v. Ralston, et al.,
19-cr-774 (Rakoff)
***
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