United States v. Claiborne

805 F. Supp. 601, 1992 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16732, 1992 WL 319481
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedOctober 19, 1992
DocketNo. 91 CR 463
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 805 F. Supp. 601 (United States v. Claiborne) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Claiborne, 805 F. Supp. 601, 1992 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16732, 1992 WL 319481 (N.D. Ill. 1992).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

ASPEN, District Judge:

Presently before the court is the government’s motion to vacate the plea agreement it entered into with defendant Mario Claiborne. For the reasons set forth below, we grant the government’s motion.

I. Background

Mario Claiborne was arrested on June 14, 1991, and subsequently charged in the thirty-seven count, superseding indictment with violations of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a), 843(b), 846, 848, and 18 U.S.C. § 1956(a)(l)(B)(i). Prior to trial, Claiborne entered into a plea agreement with <the government, in which he agreed to plead guilty to Counts I (conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute narcotic drugs and to use and cause others to use telephones in committing drug trafficking offenses), XXXIII (conducting a financial transaction affecting interstate commerce, while using and concealing narcotics proceeds) and XXXIV (same) of the superseding indictment in return for a sentence of twenty-two years imprisonment on Count I and no consecutive sentences of incarceration imposed as to Counts XXXIII and [603]*603XXXIV. Additionally, Claiborne agreed that he would

cooperate fully with the government in any investigation in which he is called upon to cooperate that is related to or results from the charges in this case. Defendant agrees to provide complete and truthful information to government investigators, including truthful testimony, if called upon to testify, before any federal grand jury and United States District Court proceeding.

After making an independent determination that there was a factual basis for the plea, that the conduct admitted to by Claiborne constituted the offenses charged in the superseding indictment, and that Claiborne understood both the nature of the charges and the consequences of his plea, this court accepted Claiborne’s guilty plea on October 1, 1991.

Claiborne began to fulfill his obligations under the plea agreement on September 19, 1991, giving the following statement under oath to a grand jury of the United States:

I am Mario Claiborne, and I am the individual named in indictment 91 CR 463. I am also called Chuck. The following statement is a brief summary of events since about the summer of 1986 to about June 14, 1991. It is not intended to be complete and is not complete as to who was involved, the quantities of narcotics involved, or the nature of the people’s involvement during those years. Where possible, I have given complete names as well as nicknames. However, I do not know or recall some people’s complete names at this time. I may recall complete names if I am allowed to review reports or memoranda, if any exist, that record the names. I have not reviewed any reports or memoranda before today. I have listened to a few of the tape-recorded conversations from the wire tap of the three phones at my two houses for the purpose of identifying voices.
Since in or about the summer of 1986 until June 14, 1991, I engaged in a continuing criminal enterprise by committing a series of felony violations, specifically I ran a narcotics trafficking business. I was assisted in that business by at least five other people, including Patrick Greer, Eula Scott, also called Boo, Donna Hums, Christopher Epison, Carlos Curry, also called Lil’ Chuck, Don Smith, Tyrone Helse, Larry Martin, Harold Williams and Leland Leghette, and I acted as an organizer, supervisor or manager of those people. These people did not necessarily all work for me at the same time or all the time since 1986. For example, since 1986 there were times when Scott had nothing to do with my business. Since 1986 and up to and including June 14, 1991, I have not had a legitimate source of income. I have obtained substantial income and resources from my drug trafficking business.
I operated a narcotics distribution business in Chicago, Illinois and Gary, Indiana. In my narcotics business, the people and their positions within the business changed over time. Sometimes, people played several roles at the same time, such as working for me and selling me cocaine or heroin. For the most part, I purchased, packaged and distributed cocaine in my business but from time to time I would purchase heroin and deliver some of that heroin to others, including Patrick Greer. I obtained cocaine at various times from many different sources, including Johnnie Fort, Eduardo Castille and Tyrone Helse, and I obtained heroin from many sources, including Eric Myers and Tyrone Helse.
Workers, including Scott, Hums, Curry and Helse would accept delivery from sources and present the payment for the narcotics when I was not present. After purchasing narcotics from those sources, I and workers cut and packaged the narcotics into various-sized packages, the cocaine packages ranging in weight from quarter ounce to kilogram, and the heroin packages ranging in weight from grams to ounces. Scott and Hums would hold money and sometimes narcotics for me at my direction. ;
I and others at my direction, including Epison, Curry, Smith, Hums, Scott, Helse, Greer, Martin, David Williams and Leland Leghette took orders for narcot[604]*604ics over the telephone, telephoned other workers, including Greer, Jerome Jozw-iak, Stanley Wright, Harold Williams, Martin and Schawana Lunford who is Greer’s girlfriend and worked for him, and wholesale customers, including Deral Willis, “Viv,” “Tutu,” “Bert,” “Lois,” Fredrick Hicks, also known as “Midnight,” Danny Christopher, Gary Igert and Jozwiak, and instructed them to pick up their packages of narcotics. Also, I and others, including Curry, Smith Helse, Epison, Harold Williams and Leghette delivered cocaine packages to workers and wholesale customers.
Workers and some of the wholesale customers would then divide the cocaine into smaller-weight packages, which were then distributed to street dealers who were located for the most part in the 44th and Greenwood area. Since about 1987, the street dealers “cooked” almost all of the cocaine into cocaine base or “crack.” The street dealers then sold the packets and turned the money in to the person from whom they had taken the packets. Workers, including Curry, Smith, Helse, Harold Williams, Martin, Epison, David Williams, Leghette and Coleman, brought the money from the narcotics sale back to me.
We referred to cocaine as “work,” “package,” “thing,” “racing gas,” “gallons,” “pistons,” “speakers,” “woofers,” “girl,” “blow,” “one half or quarter mile,” and “cake.”
We referred to heroin as “piece/slice of cake,” “brown sugar,” “boy,” “chocolate chip cookies,” “vanilla wafers,” “Bobby,” “Bobby Brown,” and “brown.”
During the five years that I distributed drugs, I and the people who worked for me or purchased from me used telephones and pagers a great deal in conducting our drug business.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

United States v. Patrick
823 F. Supp. 583 (N.D. Illinois, 1993)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
805 F. Supp. 601, 1992 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16732, 1992 WL 319481, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-claiborne-ilnd-1992.