Osorio-Norena v. United States

658 F. Supp. 2d 266, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 88157, 2009 WL 3053694
CourtDistrict Court, D. Massachusetts
DecidedSeptember 24, 2009
DocketCivil Action 09-10069-RCL
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 658 F. Supp. 2d 266 (Osorio-Norena v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Massachusetts primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Osorio-Norena v. United States, 658 F. Supp. 2d 266, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 88157, 2009 WL 3053694 (D. Mass. 2009).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION

YOUNG, District Judge.

I. Introduction

Dario Osorio-Norena (“Osorio” or “Petitioner”) proceeding pro se, has moved to vacate, set aside, or correct his sentence pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255. Pet’r Mot. [Doc. No. 759], Osorio pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute five or more kilograms of cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846, and one count of conspiracy to launder drug proceeds in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1956(h). Osorio also tendered an Alford 1 plea to one count of distribution of *268 five or more kilograms of cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1).

In his present motion, Osorio seeks relief under the provisions of 28 U.S.C. § 2255, claiming he received ineffective assistance of counsel based on his counsel’s alleged failure to: 1) subpoena alibi and rebuttal witnesses; 2) permit or prepare Osorio to testify on his own behalf during the evidentiary hearing before sentencing; 3) move to strike the leadership aggravating factor in the fourth superseding indictment; 4) inform Osorio of the potential fine at the time of the sentencing hearing; and 6) request downward departures from the range provided by the sentencing guidelines. Additionally, Osorio claims that his plea itself was involuntary; he asserts that he pled guilty under pressure from other co-conspirators and in response to defense counsel’s promise of a plea agreement with the government for a reduced sentence.

II. Background

On August 25, 2004, a federal grand jury returned a fourth superseding indictment against Osorio and his co-defendant, Jhon Jairo Arango (“Arango”), charging each of them with three counts: conspiracy to distribute five or more kilograms of cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846 (Count One); conspiracy to launder drug proceeds, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1956(h) (Count Two); and distribution of five or more kilograms of cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) (Count Three). United States v. Arango, 508 F.3d 34, 36 (1st Cir.2007).

A jury trial was scheduled to begin on March 21, 2005. That morning, Osorio’s defense counsel, Martin Leppo, informed the Court that his client wished to plead guilty to the first and second counts, conspiracy to distribute cocaine and conspiracy to launder drug proceeds, but enter an Alford plea to the third count of the indictment, distribution of five or more kilograms of cocaine. Change of Plea Hr’g Tr. 5:1-20, Mar. 21, 2005 (“Change of Plea”) [Doc. No. 690.].

The Court conducted a fourteen-day evidentiary sentencing hearing to determine the amount of drugs and money attributable to each defendant. During the hearing, the government presented testimony from several law enforcement officers who testified that Osorio and Arango were arrested and extradited to Massachusetts from Colombia as part of an investigation that also led to the indictment of fourteen other co-conspirators. Two of the other conspirators were cooperating witnesses who testified at the hearing, Liliana Cruz (“Cruz”) and Jorge de Jesus Vallejo Alar-con (“Vallejo”).

Cruz’s testimony comprised the majority of the evidentiary hearing. She testified that she transported drugs from New York to Massachusetts in 1998 and 1999 on Osorio and Arango’s behalf as well as laundering money for them in 2000. Cruz stated she conveyed cocaine from New York on five separate occasions and that each trip was arranged at Osorio’s request. Arango, 508 F.3d at 37. She testified that she picked up drugs either in Queens or in the Bronx. Id. During her Queens trips, she called Osorio upon arriving at the designated location. Next, the person delivering the narcotics called her mobile phone. Id. She would meet the delivery person, *269 inspect the cocaine quantity, and transport the cocaine to Massachusetts. Id. Once she arrived, Cruz called Osorio, told him where she had parked, and left the drugs in the unlocked car. Id. The following morning, the car would be returned to her without the drugs. Id. Her trips from the Bronx had a similar modus operandi. She left her unlocked car in a pre-arranged location and returned after the drugs were placed in the vehicle. Id.

Cruz testified that she delivered fifty kilograms of cocaine on her first trip from Queens to Massachusetts and ten kilograms on her second trip. Id. at 38. On her two trips from the Bronx, she delivered fifty and twenty-five kilograms, respectively. On her fifth trip, she brought an additional fifty kilograms of cocaine. Cruz testified that Osorio informed her Arango was the source of the drugs she obtained in Queens but was not certain whether her Bronx deliveries were Arango’s as well. She further testified that on one trip, Osorio met her in Queens, transferred fifty kilograms to her, and directed her to transport the drugs to Massachusetts. Id. Cruz attested to Osorio’s involvement in a total of 185 kilograms: sixty kilograms picked up in Queens in two trips; seventy-five kilograms picked up in two trips to the Bronx; and the fifty additional kilograms that she received directly from him during her third trip to Queens. Id.

Cruz also testified that she transported money from New York to Massachusetts on three separate occasions, in the amounts of $500,000, $600,000, and $500,000, respectively. Id. at 38. She stated that each of these trips were made at Osorio and Arango’s request. Id. Cruz stated that she received deliveries of smaller amounts of money from Alonso Tavarez and two brothers with the surname Cataño. Id. She testified that Arango or Osorio called her in advance of each money delivery. Id. Osorio and Arango directed her as to the distribution and mailing of those monies, which together totaled $699,000. Osorio also instructed her on how to ship money to Colombia undetected by hiding it in electronic toys. Id. Occasionally, Cruz wired small amounts of money to Osorio and Arango. Cruz further testified that she delivered money to other members of the conspiracy in the United States at Osorio and Arango’s direction.

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Bluebook (online)
658 F. Supp. 2d 266, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 88157, 2009 WL 3053694, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/osorio-norena-v-united-states-mad-2009.