United States v. Garcia

501 F. Supp. 472, 1980 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14880
CourtDistrict Court, D. Puerto Rico
DecidedJune 12, 1980
DocketCiv. No. 79-2431
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 501 F. Supp. 472 (United States v. Garcia) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Puerto Rico primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Garcia, 501 F. Supp. 472, 1980 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14880 (prd 1980).

Opinion

DECISION AND ORDER

TORRUELLA, District Judge.

Pending before this Court is Defendant’s petition for a Writ of Habeas Corpus, and the Government’s response thereto. Petitioner moves to vacate her sentence alleging that her guilty plea was induced by an unfulfilled promise of probation.

Petitioner was charged in a seventy-five count indictment which alleged mail fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1341), conspiracy to defraud the United States (18 U.S.C. § 370), and making false statements to the United States (18 U.S.C. § 371). Pursuant to a written plea agreement, she plead guilty to three of these counts. Thereafter the Court imposed a sentence of five years imprisonment and a fine in the amount of $21,000. The Government then dismissed the remaining seventy-two counts with the Court’s approval.

The substance of Petitioner’s § 2255 Motion is that the Government at sentencing failed to comply with its obligations under the plea bargaining agreement.

The hearing for Defendant’s change of plea was held on February 12, 1977. Petitioner appeared, assisted by retained counsel, Mr. Gerardo Ortiz del Rivero, one of the most experienced and competent counsel of the criminal bar of this jurisdiction and Court. Throughout the proceedings Petitioner was assisted by an official interpreter, and all matters were fully translated to her from English to Spanish, and vice versa.

Before accepting the change of plea, Petitioner was placed under oath and subjected by the Court to an extensive inquiry regarding understanding of her rights and of the consequences of entering a plea of guilty. During this discourse the written plea bargaining agreement was entered into evidence. This agreement is signed by Petitioner, by her criminal counsel, and by Mr. Francisco Dolz, the civil lawyer representing her in an action that was filed by the United States against her to recover the funds which were the subject of the criminal proceeding. Mr. Dolz was also present and participated in the inquiry.

[474]*474The written plea bargaining agreement entered into by the Petitioner and the Government reads as follows:

“On February 11, 1977, in San Juan, Puerto Rico after extensive negotiations between counsel for the defendant, Angeles Ramonita Garcia, Gerardo Ortiz del Rivero, and attorneys for the Government, Jorge Rios Torres, Assistant United States Attorney, and James J. Graham, Special Attorney, United States Department of Justice, the parties in the captioned matter, expressly agree and understand that the below summarized paragraphs one through four are the complete and total agreement entered into by the defendant voluntarily after being repeatedly consulted by her attorneys during the course of the negotiations which covered several months.
1. The defendant agrees to plead guilty to three counts.
2. The defendant will cooperate with any future inquiry in this or any other matter including interviews by Federal Bureau of Investigation Agents and testimony on behalf of the United States in any criminal proceedings.
3. The defendant further understands that no commitment has been made by the United States to limit its presentation or efforts at the entering of the plea or in connection with sentencing. However, the Government will make the defendant’s cooperation known to the Court at sentencing. (A)
4. The defendant further understands that this agreement does not limit prosecution for any perjury by the defendant in the future in connection with any testimony.”
“(A) If the defendant’s cooperation is complete and all testimony given is completely truthful, the United States has advised the defendant, that a recommendation to the Court at sentencing by the United States may include a recommendation of probation and fine. However, in any case, the defendant understands that the sentence to be imposed shall be in the sole discretion of the Court and is not fixed in the plea agreement.” (Emphasis ours).

As part of this hearing, the Government revealed for the record all the evidence it had against Petitioner. After being satisfied that Petitioner’s plea complied with the requisites of voluntariness and the law, the Court accepted her plea and ordered the preparation of a pre-sentence report. The Court at this moment inquired of Petitioner and her counsel whether any provision was being made for restitution of the money. The Court advised Petitioner, and made it plainly clear, that restitution would be something that would be considered as having important consequences at sentencing. Petitioner’s counsel acknowledged this situation and informed the Court that the Petitioner was in the process of negotiating with the United States Attorney to determine the exact amount of money that was owed, and that she intended to make full restitution.1

Nine months later, on November 18, 1977, Defendant appeared before the Court for sentencing.2 Petitioner was again assisted by counsel and the official court interpreter. Both of her attorneys pleaded at length for leniency. The Court insisted on being informed of the steps that had been taken by Petitioner toward restitution. The Court was again told that a civil suit was pending for that purpose and that the parties had not been able to reach an agreement as to the exact amount of money involved. Counsel for the defense attempted to assure the Court that an agreement would be reached soon because, as he claimed, his client was aware from the beginning of the importance of what was expected of her in this respect. At this point the Government interjected that although Petitioner had cooperated in the criminal investigation, her cooperation had not been complete because her offer of res[475]*475titution was limited to the return of $100,-000, while the total in question amounted to approximately $900,000. The Government proceeded to recommend the imposition of a jail sentence and fine against Petitioner.

In response, Petitioner reiterated her contention to the effect that she had cooperated fully in the criminal investigation and that she intended to make restitution, in some amount, at some point in the future.

Considering the time that had elapsed since the plea was accepted, and the relative lack of progress towards meaningful restitution, the Court refused to accept Petitioner’s vague promises and proceeded to sentence her as previously indicated. The Court did indicate to Petitioner, however, that if adequate restitution was made by her within 120 days from sentence the Court would entertain a motion for reduction of sentence. This event never took place.

We are thus called upon to interpret the plea bargaining agreement and to determine whether there was a violation of the same by the Government.

Plea bargaining is today a fundamental part of our criminal justice system. Santobello v. New York, 404 U.S. 257, 92 S.Ct. 495, 30 L.Ed.2d 427 (1971); United States v. Tursi,

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Bluebook (online)
501 F. Supp. 472, 1980 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14880, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-garcia-prd-1980.