| After
Wire Tap of Bronx Stash House Guilty Pleas
US Wants 13 Years On Olivo He Asks 10
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon Maxwell
Book
SDNY COURTHOUSE,
Oct 16 - In the U.S.
District Court for the
Southern District of New York
on October 13, 2022 three
detention or bond proceedings
were held by Magistrate Judge
Katharine H. Parker. Inner
City Press was there, the only
media in the Mag Court.
Defendant
Andy Mercado, arrested with
two others after a month's
wire-tapping and observation
of a drug stash house on
Loring Place South in The
Bronx, asked to be released on
bond. His lawyer said the
"Andy" on the wire taps might
not be him. But his passport
was found in the drug filled
room.
He was
detained, as were Nelson Olivo
and lead / named defendant
Joel Cosme Figueroa, who the
AUSA linked to fake oxy pills
being left for a customer
called "stupid chick."
The three were
formally indicted on October
26. On December 29, Mercado's
lawyer filed a more formal
request for a conference to
(re) argue for bail, arguing
that his client was out of the
country, was not a squatter
but a repairman, and listing
the annual incomes of proposed
co-signers of a $500,000 bond.
Jump cut to
September 15, 2023 when Nelson
Olivo was brought before Judge
Caproni with an argument to be
released from custody on
health grounds. First, he had
to waive the conflict of one
of his lawyers going to work
for the US Attorney's Office
in Connecticut. Then,
description of hernia pain.
Judge Caproni
said she has been assured by
BOP that the operation will be
this month, but Olivo won't be
told the day in advance for
security reasons.
Docketed: "ORDER
as to Nelson Olivo: IT IS
HEREBY ORDERED that the motion
is DENIED for the reasons
stated at the hearing."
And on September
21, the new schedule for
trial: "ORDER as to Nelson
Olivo: WHEREAS on September
21, 2023, the parties appeared
for a status conference. IT IS
HEREBY ORDERED that a hearing
on the motion to suppress and
oral argument on the motions
in limine will be held on
Tuesday, October 24, 2023, at
11:00 A.M. Not later than
October 17, 2023, the parties
must submit a joint letter
setting forth the list of
witnesses to be called at the
suppression hearing. IT IS
FURTHER ORDERED that jury
selection and trial in this
matter is ADJOURNED to Monday,
December 4, 2023, at 10:00
A.M. The final pretrial
conference will be held on
Thursday, November 30, 2023,
at 2:30 P.M."
On October 12,
the US Attorney's Office wrote
it that the suppression
hearing is not needed, the
parties have reached an
agreement on evidence. The
prosecutors agree to not
introduce evidence from the
Challenger. Olivo will no
longer move to suppress what
was found in the Hyundai
Elantra.
Jump cut to late
February: "ORDER as to
(22-Cr-582-3) Nelson Olivo.
WHEREAS on February 26, 2024,
Mr. Olivo was found guilty of
conspiracy to distribute or
possess with intent to
distribute controlled
substances. IT IS HEREBY
ORDERED that Mr. Olivo will be
sentenced on Thursday, June
27, 2024, at 10:30 A.M ."
On March 12,
counsel for co-defendant Andy
Mercado asked for leniency at
his April 3 sentencing,
emphasizing he was only in New
York for two days, but has now
spent months in the MDC.
On March 18,
Mercado himself wrote in,
stating among other things
that "while at MDC Brooklyn I
caught a disease called MRSA
[Methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus] which
got me hospitalized for two
weeks, the end result of me
having surgery."
On March 20, the
US Attorney's Office wrote in
asking for a 96 month sentence
on Andy Mercado.
And on April 3,
they got it: "JUDGMENT IN A
CRIMINAL CASE as to Andy
Mercado (2). THE DEFENDANT:
pleaded guilty to count 1.
Counts open and underlying are
dismissed on the motion of the
United States. IMPRISONMENT:
Eight (8) years" (96 months).
On June 28 on
Joel Cosme Figueroa, set to be
sentenced on July 12, the US
Attorney's Office asked for
below the 168 month guideline,
citing the defendant's "lower
cognitive abilities relative
to his co-conspirators."
On July 12, Joel
Cosme Figueroa was sentence to
six years (72 months) - "FILED
JUDGMENT IN A CRIMINAL CASE as
to Joel Cosme Figueroa (1),
Count(s) 1 are dismissed on
the motion of the US; Pleaded
guilty to Count(s) 1s,
Imprisonment for a total term
of Six Years. Supervised
release for a term 10 years,
with the first year being
served at an inpatient mental
health facility that can also
address his drug addiction."
On October 11 the
US Attorney's Office wrote in
asking for 156 months on
co-defendant Olivo, "below the
applicable sentence of life
imprisonment calculation by
the U.S. Sentencing
Guidelines."
On October 16,
Olivo's counsel filed asking
for the mandatory minimum of
10 years. Sentencing is set
for October 25.
The overall case
is US v. Cosme Figueroa, et
al., 22-cr-582 (Caproni)
***
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