| Ezika
Pleaded Guilty But Now On Third Lawyer
Wants To Withdraw Plea In SDNY
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon
BBC
- Guardian
UK - Honduras
- ESPN
SDNY COURTHOUSE,
Jan 28 – Okechukwu Peter Ezika
entered a guilty plea in
January 2019 to "engaging in
monetary transactions in
property derived from
specified unlawful
activity."
Now he is
trying to withdraw his
plea.
On January 28, U.S. District
Court for the Southern
District of New York Judge
Katherine Polk Failla held a
lengthy proceeding. Inner City
Press covered it.
Ezika is having to say that
what he previously pled to
under oath was false.
He has changed
lawyers, twice, and his
current lawyer on January 27
said delicately that sometimes
defendants are coached what to
say by their counsel.
Judge
Failla said she would not
return the plea for such
minutae as Ezika calling her
Your Majesty or Mrs. Failla.
But she
inquired with the AUSA what
the prejudice would be to
them. They stopped their
investigation in light of the
plea.
Judge
Failla, with another
proceeding coming onto
CourtCall at 11 am (in fact,
it did not), said she will
soon issue an oral ruling.
The case is US v.
Ezeji, 18-cr-117 (Failla)
***
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