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By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive Patreon

SDNY COURTHOUSE, July 1 – 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 July 1 before Magistrate Judge Barbara Moses two defendants were presented without any case numbers. But some, this time, had numbers: for example, "CATALIVO LOPEZ    NARCOTICS    18-cr-219."

  Inner City Press went to the Mag court and found that this defendant was arrested in Massachusetts, while living openly in Providence, Rhode Island, on an indictment that had been sealed. So how, exactly, was he a fugitive, if the indictment against him was sealed? The government said he once gave an address in a traffic stop at which, some unspecified time later, he was not found at. This Assistant US Attorney, filling in for others but not given the information, was not done any favors. He handled it with good humor.

Meanwhile three more grand jury indictments were signed off on by Judge Moses: US v Carroll, assigned to Judge Vernon Broderick, and US v. Minaya, Assigned to Chief Judge McMahon via Wheel A. The third grand jury indictment, which involved warrants, was declared fully sealed. Inner City Press will have more on this, the sealing of warrant information by SDNY even later in cases.

There was also "ALDE KAZEEM SODIQ    FRAUD    19-cr-462."

   Inner City Press went to the Mag court and heard that while notice had been given to a consular officer of the country of which Sodiq is a national, Nigeria, his Federal Defender lawyer on the record accused the government of questioning after she had met with him on Saturday, June 29, in violation of US v. Miranda. He is charged with, among other offenses, money laundering. His Federal Defender, at this stage, did not push further. But shouldn't there be an inquiry? Watch this site.
For further example, "STEVEN HALL    EXTRADITION    19-mj-5949."

  Inner City Press went to cover the Mag Court and found that this was no extradiction from New York to another state, but to France. Steven Hall appeared in a white t-shirt and told Judge Moses he needed only a stand-by French translator. There were no fewer than three lawyers-only sessions behind closed door, subsequently explained as involving only "procedural" issues like if this could even be done without the involvement of a District Judge. (Just after, three grand jury indictments were signed, one of them fully sealed along with warrants).

   Hall was charged by a French investigative judge with aggravated assault and home invasion. He consented to detention, with an extradition hearing set for July 16 - two days after Bastille Day...

  The last presentment of July 1, a Modesto Arias Soto, had been arrested on West 105th Street. There was some questioning of whether he was entitled to a free Federal Defender - Judge Moses approved it but said it might be revoked. He was released on a $25,000 bond with a preliminary hearing set for July 31.

The penultimate, a Mr. Nunez, had been sent by the Federal court in Maine to a halfway house in The Bronx from which he got thrown out. He was released on $10,000 bond; his report was presented to the lawyers only behind closed doors. And so it goes in the SDNY Murky Mag Court.

  Cynthia Jordan, now 61, was arrested in March for stealing from the Wall Street firm in which she worked in the accounting department, to the tune of $688,142. Only $73,000 of this was by wire transfers, it emerged in the Mag Court with Inner City Press the only media present. There were also 59 false overtime payments, 111 paychecks and other hard copy checks. But it's all under wire fraud. The maximum sentence in 20 years in prison but there is a plea agreement, with the sentencing set for October 3. Inner City Press will continuing to follow this and other Mag Court cases.   u

    On June 25 Magistrate Judge Lehrburger ordered detained a defendant named Martinez charged with 33 kilograms of cocaine, a first name - Eliot - and a case number were provided: 19-mj-5950.

  But by 5 pm, even after Judge Lehrburger had detained Mr. Martinez and set a July 8 hearing, PACER said "Cannot find case 19-mj-5950." So Inner City Press reports: Judge Lehrburger said he did not find a risk of flight, but given the heavy weight of coke, and that Martinez violated the terms of his probation in New Jersey, he would be detained. This came four hours after an appearance before Judge Castel of a defendant accused of offenses against children, a defendant who unlike Martinez was allowed free on bond, to his mother's house in Freehold, New Jersey... 

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