| After Drugs
and Guns Trial With 50 Year Term 2d Cir
Remand Now Co-D Gets 200 Months
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon
SDNY COURTHOUSE,
Aug 29 – Orlando Carmona
Serrano was charged in a
sealed indictment in a drug
and guns
conspiracy.
On
May 20, 2021 U.S. District
Court for the Southern
District of New York Judge
Jesse M. Furman held his
proceeding. Inner City Press
covered it.
The defendant
said he didn't have a copy of
the indictment, then
acknowledge that his lawyer
had read it to him, in the
Essex County Correctional
Facility.
He pleaded not
guilty, and it seems he will
not be tried with his initial
co-defendants.
Judge Furman
inquired into a victim of
Count 2 and told the
prosecution to be expeditious
in tracking down, if they can,
the victim.
On January 17,
2022 - Martin Luther King Day
- the US Attorney's Office
about another co-defendant in
the case wrote to oppose Judge
Furman signing an order which
would allow the use of laptop
computers to view 3500
material in the MDC "visiting
room or such other location."
The US Attorney's Office said
the 3500 material, anywhere by
the Visiting Room, could
"raise significant safety
concerns for Government
witness."
In April 2022,
jury conviction of Luis
Blondet and JULIO
MARQUEZ-ALEJANDRO, a/k/a
"Chino" for racketeering
conspiracy, murder in aid of
racketeering, murder while
engaged in a drug crime, and
murder through the use of a
firearm. After less than
a day of deliberations, the
unanimous jury convicted
MARQUEZ-ALEJANDRO and BLONDET
of every count presented to
the jury after a three-week
trial before U.S. District
Judge Jesse M. Furman.
And on January
26, 2023: "JULIO MARQUEZ
ALEJANDRO, a/k/a “Chino,” was
sentenced to life in prison,
and LUIS BLONDET was sentenced
to 50 years in prison, each
for their leading roles in a
brutal drug cartel that is
responsible for dozens of
murders, the bribery of
corrupt police officers in
Puerto Rico, and the
distribution of thousands of
kilograms of cocaine in New
York, Puerto Rico, and
elsewhere."
Jump cut to
February 18, 2024, when the US
Attorney's Office wrote to
Judge Furman to schedule a
Curcio hearing on
Marquez-Alejandro's 2d Circuit
appeal being pursued by a
lawyer who had briefly
represented Blondet - and also
represented a Witness-1 who
was to have testified against
Marquez-Alejandro (but did
not). Outgoing counsel is free
between March 18 and 27 but
proposed incoming counsel say
he is on trial for all of
March in Puerto Rico.
On February 28
the US Attorney's Office wrote
to say they see the conflict
as waivable, and with a Curcio
script.
On August 8, 2024
co-defendant Cruz-Fernandez
was sentenced to time served
plus two months, then five
years of supervised release.
On August 29,
co-defendant Pellot-Cardona
was sentenced to 200 months.
The case is US v.
Blondet, et al., 16-cr-387
(Furman)
***
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