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

By Matthew Russell Lee

SDNY COURTHOUSE, March 20 – Plaintiffs pursuing assets of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia or FARC before Judge Andrew L. Carter in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on March 20 named the banks involved, including not only Citigroup, Safra and UBS but also BB&T, which is applying to the US Federal Reserve to buy Suntrust. The plaintiffs' lawyers described the bank accounts, condominia in the Four Seasons and luxury ships of 100 and 200 feet. Some are being pursued in Florida but also in New York. Judge Carter wanted to know the difference between the two actions. Raymond James, the financial institution, appeared to be the only answer. But on the kingpins and other banks, we'll have more. Back on March 6 in the SDNY a union official who pled guilty to insider trading last August was sentenced by Judge Alison Nathan to three month of imprisonment, apparently to be served in a half-way house in the Philadelphia area. While Judge Nathan said she'd read somewhen that Jhonatan Zoquier might go back to work for the union in an administrative position. But he says he's working construction for his uncle. He traded on inside information for a year, 17 times, with 9 trades profitable. He information was provided by Daniel Rivas, then of Bank of America. The government's sentencing submission said "they had known each other since childhood and lived together in New York as young adults. Rivas has repeatedly referred to Zoquier as his best friend. Zoquier refers to Rivas in his submission as “like a brother to him.” (Def. Let. at 12.) In March 2016, Zoquier began trading on Inside Information offered to him by Rivas, after Zoquier expressed the desire for additional money, including for his upcoming wedding. Zoquier ultimately traded in at least seventeen stocks based on information from Rivas, profitably so in nine stocks. Zoquier earned profits of more than $30,000 from his trading, between March 2016 and April 2017." Zoquier's lawyer told Judge Nathan, no one is watching this case to be deterred. But Inner City Press was there watching. And afterward it was wondered if the 90 days will take longer, if they will be served only on the weekends. Earlier on March 6 a man who was in the passenger's seat of a jeep in The Bronx with kilos of heroin and 14 kilos of cocaine was sentenced to 51 months imprisonment on by SDNY Judge P. Kevin Castel. His name was Edmundo Aispuro and as Judge Castel told it, he was not the mastermind. He apologized to his son Max, aged six, who was in the courtroom; his lawyer asked that he serve his time in Oregon near his family. Castel wondered pointedly what Aispuro has thought about the families who'd be destroyed by all these drugs, moved around in a suitcase on wheels. He advised Aispuro to, as Rilke puts it, change his life. Back on February 15 when Gustavo Salvador pled guilty to selling oxycodon in The Bronx before SDNY Judge Paul A. Engelmayer, his two lawyers tried to argue for a suspended remand based on the cold in the MDC Brooklyn. Judge Engelmayer turned them down saying he had personal knowledge that the heat was back on; not surprising. Surprising, though, was that a Bronx oxy dealer was represented by the white shoe Goodwin Proctor lawfirm. Was it pro bono? Their representation goes back at least until Thanksgiving, before the MDC Brooklyn conditions became public. In the audience, a young child then a baby cried. The volume of oxy pills was in the thousands, according to the indictment. The sentencing guidelines run from 57 to 71 months. Judge Engelmayer said he said something else on his schedule coming up, should the sentencing be rescheduled? It went forward. Goodwin Proctor. Later on February 15: on East 104th Street in Manhattan last April 24, multiple gunshots to the chest killed 17-year old Samuel Ozuna. A week later, 24-year old Gary Turner was arrested and charged. When Turner on February 15 changed his plea to guilty in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Azuna's family members sat on one side of the courtroom. On the other, separted by security officers, were supporters of Turner. In the back, the only media in the room, was Inner City Press.