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By Matthew Russell Lee

SDNY COURTHOUSE, June 6 – In the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York's Magistrates Court on June 6, defendant William Nieves was presented but not arraigned. Nieves, charged with fentanyl, has a Pennsylvania lawyer named Jerry J. Russo  of Tucker Arensberg of Lemonye PA who is coming in pro hace vice, with a local counsel Randy Zelin of 747 Third Avenue, 32nd Floor, near UN-land.

  To top it all off, fentanyl defendant Nieves had a third lawyer, Jesse Siegel, appearing on June 6 only for the purpose to postponing until June 7. In the process the pretrial report was waived.  In the meanwhile, Jesse Siegel glad-handed through the Magistrates Court, from AUSAs to FDs to Marshals. It's a small world. We'll have more on this.

   On June 5 a defendant called Nathaniel Taylor was denied bail; his sister and his partner, mother of his two month old son, spoke out as they left the courtroom.

   As recounted by Assistant US Attorney Thomas John Wright, Taylor had run from police in front of the housing project he lives or lived in at 1390 Fifth Avenue. He threw down a fanny pack that contained a 9 millimeter pistol.

  Taylor was jailed in Maine, previously, on narcotics charges. According to AUSA Wright he shattered a man's jaw. Taylor's Federal Defender lawyers, predictably, had a different story, of a baby in the NIC unit and aunts that work for the MTA and as a chef in Yankee Stadium. Both pictures can be true.

  Judge Gabriel W. Gorenstein said the government met its burder and ordered Taylor, how ever his first name is spelled, detained. This as a accused pedofile Bryan Pivnick floated through his courtroom taking steps to being released, because his mother owns a home in New Jersey. Fannie pack indeed.

Earlier on June 5 a defendant called (phonetically) Joel Rodriguez was presented on fentanyl charges and was approved for release on bond. Rodriguez' Federal Defender lawyer apologized for using what SDNY Magistrate Judge Gabriel W. Gorenstein called "a twenty year old CJA form."

  Earlier still despite the drugs, which led to his arrest at JFK Airport at 11:45 pm the previous night, the government and Federal Defenders agreed on a bail package and Judge Gorenstein rubber stamped it. Only, neither the agreement nor even the case number was available.

Earlier on June 5 a shackled defendant known as Mister Booth asked to be released on bond so that he could have physical therapy on June 8 for a gunshot wound.

  Then the Assistant U.S. Attorney told Magistrate Judge Gabriel W. Gorenstein that Mr. Booth is in fact a suspect in a shooting related to the physical therapy he seeks. The AUSA said Booth has pending New York State cases including for dislocating his own daughter's shoulder. Judge Gorenstein said none of this was in the Probation Department's report; he remanded Booth and ordered Geoffrey Berman's office to come up with more information.

  Inner City Press, the only media in the Mag Court and still without access to the underlying case numbers or even full names, will have more on this. The information is clearly available: Judge Gorenstein said to his Deputy in open court, What does tomorrow's calendar look like? Why aren't those calendars public? See @SDNYLIVE.

Back on May 31, less then 24 hours after agreeing to free alleged pedophile Bryan Pivnick while detaining a homeless man who threatened the Washington DC mayor online, Magistrate Judge James L. Cott oversaw the presentment of a defendant just flown in from Lithuania.

 It was Vladislav Zapolskij, charged in a fraud in which elderly victim sent their life savings for vintage pick up trucks and other equipment, only to receive nothing in return. Zapolskij was arrested back in November 2018 in Lithuania but has been fighting extradition since. He "self-surrendered" early on May 31 and was flown all day from Vilnius to New York.

  His CJA lawyer agreed to detention at least until a hearing in front of SDNY District Judge Jesse Furman on June 4, 15 minutes after Judge Furman is to see the homeless DC threat Ogun. Inner City Press aims to be there - watch this site, and @SDNYLIVE.

   Last week in the hours after banker Stephen Calk was freed by Magistrate Judge Debra Freeman on $5 million bond with no co-signer, other SDNY cases continued. 

A dual British - US citizen living in Brooklyn but reaching out for underage sex was presented, with his wife in the courtroom by that time only with Inner City Press. Federal Defender Amy Gallichio argued that Peter Bright should be released, since his building in Brooklyn has a video surveillance system.

  But would the neighbors want the U.S. Attorney's Office to see their comings and goings? Gallichio offered for Bright to install his own camera over his door and turn the files in to the government. Judge Freeman found this of intersted and invited a second try, if only in writing. She quizzed Bright's all-American wife in the gallery and said the Peter is lucky. Was his claim to be "training" an eleven year old girl in The Bronx just puffery? Inner City Press will stay on this case.

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