| In SDNY For Middle Aged
Murder For Hire Duo Judge Castel Asks If Death
Eligible But No
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon
SDNY COURTHOUSE,
June 19 – While many even most
cases in the Magistrates Court
of the
U.S.
District Court
for the
Southern
District of
New York are
sealed, on
June 13 SDNY US
Attorney Geoffrey
L. Berman
announced the
arrest and
presentment of
two middle
aged men for
murder for hire, and
said they had
already been
presented in
the Magistrates
Court.
But even an
hour later,
the case file
or docket for
19-cr-395 said
"This case is
under seal." Inner
City Press asked,
as to this and
other murky
Mag Court
cases, Why?
On
June 19 Inner
City Press
went to cover
the
arraignment of
the two men,
who each with
a CJA lawyer.
District
Court Judge P.
Kevin Castel
asked, Is this
death
eligible?
There
was a silence.
Finally
Judge
Castel was
told, the
murder didn't
happen. He nodded,
adding
that there was
no "learned
counsel" requirement
triggered.
Back on
June 13
Inner City
Press asked, Why
did a second
man help the
husband, Ramon
Ramirez, to try
to hire
another man to
kill the man
they though
was sleeping
with the first
man's wife?
The
announcement
said,
"Geoffrey S.
Berman, United
States
Attorney for
the Southern
District of
New York, and William
F. Sweeney
Jr., Assistant
Director-in-Charge
of the New
York Office of
the Federal Bureau
of
Investigation
(“FBI”),
announced the
unsealing of a
federal
indictment
charging VANCE
COLLINS, a/k/a
“Big AK,” 50,
and RAMON
RAMIREZ, a/k/a
“Obendy,” 48,
with hiring
a hitman to
murder an
individual
believed to be
having an
affair with
RAMIREZ’s
wife."
In the
courtroom
gallery on
June 19, other
than Inner
City Press,
there was only
a couple who
stood up when
the arraignment
was over. Assistant
US Attorney
Allison Nichols
asked to
exclude time under
the Speedy
Trial Act and
Judge
Castel agreed.
He told Vance
Collins that
he had known
his CJA lawyer
Gerald J.
DiChiara for
years and
asked, Do you
have any questions for
me?
No, Your
Honor, Vance
Collins said.
The two men
were led back
into custody,
but not before
Ramirez'
lawyer Matt
Kluger said he
might make an
application
for bail.
Judge Castel said
to make the
application to
him, not the
Magistrates
Court.
Inner
City Press
will follow
this.
***
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