| UN Briber Piao Got Time
Served Inner City Press Opposed Sealing, Now
Will Be Unsealed
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon Podcast
SDNY COURTHOUSE,
April 1 – Francis Lorenzo used
his position as UN Ambassador
for the Dominican Republic to
take and pay bribes for a
Macau "UN South South
Development Conference Center
proposed by now incarcerated
Ng Lap Seng.
Lorenzo was given a sentence
of time served, which was
twenty days in detention, by
U.S. District Court for the
Southern District of New York
Judge Vernon S. Broderick.
It was what the US Attorney's
Office essentially
recommended, calling Lorenzo a
model cooperating witness.
This despite acknowledging
that Lorenzo had to "re-plead"
guilty when it emerged he had
not disclosed his receipt of
bribes.
It then
emerged that this same
prosecution team asked for yet
another six months delay in
sentencing another briber in
the case, Heidi Hong Piao.
On March 5,
Judge Broderick held the
sentencing, and gave Heidi
Piao "time served," with a
reference to her being
subjected to ridicule. Inner
City Press live tweeted it, here.
Then on
March 24 Heidi Piao's lawyer
wrote to Judge Broderick,
seeking approval to withhold
from the docket even her
"statement of the case" - a
case which involves bribing
the UN.
On the
March 24, in the evening,
Inner City Press wrote to
Judge Broderick opposing the
sealing of these judicial
documents, citing the public
interest in ending or at least
exposing to public view UN
corruption.
Two days
later on March 26, Judge
Broderick docketed Inner City
Press' letter, here,
and gave Heidi Piao's counsel
until April 9 to provide its
legal justification for
filings these documents under
seal.
Now on April 1,
Piao's lawyer has said it will
unseal: "This office
represents Defendant Heidi
Hong Piao in the
above-captioned matter. We
write in response to Your
Honor’s March 26, 2021 Order
on Ms. Piao’s application
regarding redactions to the
defense sentencing submission.
(Dkt. Entry 998). Upon further
reflection, and discussion
with the Government, Ms. Piao
will not seek to maintain
under seal the exhibits to the
sentencing submission.
Instead, consistent with Your
Honor’s ruling on the
sentencing memorandum, we will
file a redacted version of the
exhibits. The redactions will
only pertain to Ms. Piao’s
medical records, treatment,
and diagnosis, as well as any
personal identifying
information (e.g., mailing
address, email address) about
the individuals who submitted
letters of support to this
Court. In accordance with Your
Honor’s Order, we will file
the redacted sentencing
memorandum and accompanying
exhibits on or before April 9,
2021." Watch this site.
Judge Broderick before giving
Francis Lorenzo the time
served sentence said there was
a need for general deterrence.
But neither he nor Zolkind
even mentioned an after
arising UN bribery case, for
which Patrick Ho of CEFC China
Energy was convicted by SDNY
Judge Loretta A.
Preska.
Judge Broderick
did impose two years of
supervised release, and 250
hours of community service.
Afterward Inner City Press
sought to ask Lorenzo a
question but was told by his
lawyerBrian H. Bieber that
Lorenzo would not answer
questions.
So Inner City Press asked
Bieber how Lorenzo would do
his community service and when
Lorenzo last saw and
communicated with Carlos
Garcia, the former El Salvador
ambassador shown in the trial
before Judge Broderick to have
helped launder money for
Lorenzo.
Bieber
said he would ask Lorenzo, and
perhaps get back to Inner City
Press, which has reported and
will continue to report on
these cases. This case is US
v. Lorenzo, 15-cr-706
(Broderick).
***
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