In SDNY
Canadian Gets
Time Served
For Apple
Store Rip Off
MDC Cold
Considered By
Judge
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Periscope
video, II
III
NEW YORK CITY,
February 15 – Canadian Amir Ghahremanpour had
already spend eight months in
jail for his role in
defrauding Apple Stores or
acting as a look out as others
did. But part of these eight
months has been in the
heatless MDC Brooklyn, and on
February 15 U.S. District
Court for the Southern
District of New York Judge
Ronnie Abrams took those
conditions into account in
sentencing Ghahremanpour to
time served. He will be
deported back to Canada, where
a job in a family business
awaits him. He stayed calm and
polite even when his defense
lawyer was twenty minutes
late, trapped he said in a pre
trial conference before Judge
Caproni downstairs. Abrams
asked if the only victim was
Apple (yes) and cited a rule
that Ghahremanpour's
previous conviction in Canada
for an improper fire arm -
held for a friend, his tardy
but affable lawyer said --
could not be considered under
the Sentencing Guidelines. It
was a refreshingly civil
proceeding, for a criminal
case. Maybe it's a Canadian
thing. Back on February 5 when
Judge Analisa Torres returned
at 7:30 pm from the Brooklyn
MDC to her courtroom in the
U.S. District Court for the
Southern District of New York,
those assembled - six
journalists, Federal
Defenders, two named
plaintiffs in tan prison
guards - seemed to agree that
something would happen,
perhaps a ruling for a special
master to oversee the MDC.
Judge
Torres asked both Federal
Defenders' Dierdre
Dionysia von
Dornum and the
FBI's John Ross to
describe that
they'd
seen on the
visit to the
MDC with her,
which Latitia
James also
accompanied
(though no
journalists,
despite
requests in
written and orally in
the court). Ms
von Dornum
said the
lights were on and
it was
warmer, but still
no medical
treatment and
few lawyers'
visits. The
expectation of
a ruling for a
special master grew.
But when Judge
Torres issued
her ruling,
it concerned
the failure of
the two
inmates to
take the
standard and
provide even
"a shred of
evidence"
of their
claims, that one would face
retaliation
and the other
needed a
transfer on
medical
groups. When it was
offered that
the
testify now, past 8
pm, Judge Torres
denied it,
saying it was
too late. An
affidavit
will be
provided later
but the moment
was lost. The
request for
a special
master, Judge Torres
said, had been
raised, and
more
appropriately,
in the civil
litigation
in the Eastern
District of
New York -
where, Inner
City Press learned from
a case
participant
who said "off
the record" a
meeting of all
judges and the
US Attorney
took place,
trying to
solve "the whole
situation."
There was
criticism of
Nicole McFarland,
of the
continuing
denial of medical
treatment and
timely
lawyers' visits.
But none of
these were
addressed much
less solved on
Tuesday
night. Inner
City Press
retrieved
its
electronics,
did a
Periscope
broadcast (here) and this story,
from the stone
chess
(actually
backgammon)
table across
Worth Street
from the SDNY
courthouse.
We'll be here
more.
Upcoming in the
SDNY is a just-filed complaint
by the Bangladesh Central Bank
for the $81 million hacking of
its funds, which were then
wired through the Federal
Reserve Bank of New York, a case
that Inner City Press will
cover. Times change. Watch
this site.
***
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