Stassi v. United States

439 F. Supp. 277, 1976 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12996
CourtDistrict Court, D. New Jersey
DecidedSeptember 29, 1976
DocketCiv. A. No. 76-355
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 439 F. Supp. 277 (Stassi v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. New Jersey primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Stassi v. United States, 439 F. Supp. 277, 1976 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12996 (D.N.J. 1976).

Opinion

OPINION

STERN, District Judge.

This is a petition brought pursuant to Title 28 United States Code, § 2255 to vacate a sentence and judgment of conviction entered upon petitioner’s plea of guilty to one count of a multiple count indictment. Petitioner and a co-defendant were charged in indictment No. 74-433. Petitioner was named in the first two counts of the indictment, which charged him with conspiring to engage in the business of dealing in firearms without an appropriate license, and with actually having engaged in such an unlicensed business in firearms.

On April 21, 1975, the co-defendant retracted his plea of not guilty and entered a plea of guilty to one count of the indictment, On June 2, 1975, the peremptory trial date, with a jury panel in the courtroom, the defendant Stassi retracted his plea of not guilty to the indictment and entered a plea of guilty to the conspiracy count. A transcript of the entire Rule 11 proceeding is attached as Appendix “A” to this opinion. Certain relevant portions are noted here:

THE COURT: This crime is punishable by what? Five years’ imprisonment and a fine of $10,000 or both?
MR. RUSSELL: [Counsel for the defendant] Yes.
THE COURT: Have you told that to your client?
MR. RUSSELL: Yes.
THE COURT: Do you know of any promise or any inducement which has been made or offered to your client to induce him to plead guilty here this morning?
MR. RUSSELL: The only statement — I won’t call it a promise, your Honor— would be the fact that the government has indicated to me that they would move upon sentencing date to dismiss Count II of this indictment.
THE COURT: Is that the only other count that he is named in?
MR. RUSSELL: Yes, sir.
MR. DEICHERT: Yes, sir.
THE COURT: Well, has anybody given either you or your client any indication of what sentence this Court would impose if your client pled guilty to this Count I?
MR. RUSSELL: No mention of sentencing at all, your Honor.
THE COURT: Does that accord with your understanding, Mr. Deichert?
MR. DEICHERT: [the prosecutor] Yes, sir, it is.
[279]*279THE COURT: Mr. Stassi, have you heard your attorney?
DEFENDANT STASSI: Yes.
THE COURT: He says you want to plead guilty? Is that so?
DEFENDANT STASSI: Yes.
THE COURT: Well, before accepting your plea, Mr. Stassi, I am going to place you under oath and ask you certain questions. I want you to understand that if you do you [sic] not tell me the truth in response to my questions while you are under oath, you will be committing the separate crime of perjury.
DEFENDANT STASSI: Yes.
THE COURT: Swear Mr. Stassi, please.
Q [the Court] Now, as I have told you or as you have heard, this is a crime punishable by up to five years’ imprisonment or $10,000 in fines or both. Did you know that?
A [the defendant] Yes, sir.
Q Now, has anybody given you any indication or promise that if you plead guilty here today I would impose anything less than the maximum sentence upon you?
A There was no promises made of any sort.
Q Anybody give you any indication as to what my sentence might be?
A No. There is no indication of any sentencing.
Q I tell you this, Mr. Stassi: I have never discussed your case with anyone. As I sit here now I don’t know what sentence I would give you and will not know until I have seen a presentence report. I tell you, further, that if anyone has given you any indication of what sentence I would give you if you pled guilty here today they are lying to you and deceiving you. Do you understand me?
A Yes, sir.
Q Do you believe me?
A I believe you.
Q I tell you now that if anyone has given you any such promise or indication, tell me now and I will listen to you. But if you wait until after I pronounce sentence and if you are dissatisfied with my sentence and try to tell me of some promise or indication or inducement, I won’t listen to you then. Do you understand me?
A Yes, sir.
Q Do you have anything to tell me in this regard?
A No.

(Tr. 6/2/76, at 3-4, 7-8)

On June 23,1975, after the preparation of a presentence report, this Court sentenced the petitioner to a term of four years’ imprisonment and a $10,000 fine. Upon petitioner’s subsequent application for reduction or modification of sentence, this Court, on September 29, 1975, ordered that the sentence be served under conditions of early parole eligibility, pursuant to the then Title 18,United States Code, § 4208(a)(2). The Court received two subsequent pro se communications from the petitioner, both of which are reproduced in the margin as Appendix “B.” In the first letter, dated December 18, 1975, the petitioner discussed his prospects for obtaining release on parole following his first Parole Board hearing. This letter was referred to his attorney for any action deemed appropriate. The second letter, dated January 20, 1976, requested that the Court recommend that petitioner be incarcerated for the remainder of his term in Allenwood Camp. This letter was answered directly by the Court. None of petitioner’s three communications with the Court, the first through counsel and the latter two pro se, made any reference whatsoever to unfulfilled sentencing expectations.

In February 1976, apparently immediately after receiving this Court’s reply to his letter of January 20, 1976, petitioner filed the instant proceeding. In his moving papers he alleged (a) that he was never informed of the possibility that a fine of $10,000 might be imposed; and (b) that “. . . the government did not live up [280]*280to it’s plea bargain arrangements, which was [sic] a promise of a sentence not to exceed two (2) years”. In support of the latter contention, raised for the first time, petitioner submitted an affidavit which is reproduced here in its entirety:

AFFIDAVIT

JAMES L. STASSI, being duly sworn upon his oath, deposes and says:

1. In November of 1974, I went to the Sixth Floor of the Federal Building in Newark, New Jersey with my attorney, John Russell, Esq. We went there to listen to tapes which the government was going to use at my trial.

2. During the time I was there, Mr. Russell met with Mr. Deichert who was the government attorney in charge of my case and they had a discussion about a plea of guilty by me. After Mr. Russell talked to Mr. Deichert, he told me that if I pleaded guilty I would receive no more than two years in jail. Mr.

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Related

United States v. James L. Stassi
583 F.2d 122 (Third Circuit, 1978)

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Bluebook (online)
439 F. Supp. 277, 1976 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12996, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/stassi-v-united-states-njd-1976.