United States v. Hollender

162 F. Supp. 2d 261, 2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14882, 2001 WL 1111090
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedSeptember 12, 2001
Docket01 CR.216(CM)
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 162 F. Supp. 2d 261 (United States v. Hollender) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Hollender, 162 F. Supp. 2d 261, 2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14882, 2001 WL 1111090 (S.D.N.Y. 2001).

Opinion

*262 DECISION AND ORDER ON BAIL APPLICATION

McMAHON, District Judge.

Defendant Chaim Hollender stands indicted by a grand jury of over thirty counts of various types of fraud — wire, mail credit card and bank frauds — as well as racketeering, conspiracy under the Racketeering and Corrupt Practices Act (RICO), and money laundering. Hollen-der faces an estimated total of 121 to 151 months of imprisonment if convicted.

Hollender’s application for bail, opposed by the Government, was denied by United States Magistrate Judge Mark D. Fox, on the ground that (1) the charges against Hollender were extremely serious and the evidence against Hollender was extremely strong; (2) defendant made misrepresentations about his business interests to pretrial services upon arrest; (3) he has ties to Israel and appeared to have sent funds to Israel; (4) Hollender appeared to have the ability to create false travel documents and identification documents on a computer, including passports and drivers’ licenses. (Tr. of Hearing before The Hon. Mark D. Fox, U.S.M.J., attached as Ex. C to Government’s Letter Brief of September 11, 2001, at 27-28).

Hollender appealed the denial to this Court, which also refused to grant bail. On June 12, 2001, this Court concluded that Hollender represented a high risk of flight, and that the package proposed (a $500,000 personal recognizance bond, secured with real property put up by defendant’s father, coupled with the personal assurances of two rabbis from defendant’s community that defendant would appear, and home detention with electronic monitoring) was insufficient in at least two ways. First, Defendant’s father, David Hollender, was not a satisfactory guarantor, in that he himself was under investigation due to his possible participation in *263 schemes the same or similar to those charged in the indictment. Second, the amount of the bond proposed was “woefully inadequate” (my words) in view of the seriousness of the crimes charged, the evidence connecting Hollender to those crimes, and the risk of flight.

On August 16, 2001, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit remanded the case to this Court for the limited purpose of having me clarify my findings as to the availability of a condition or combination of conditions that can reasonably assure Hollender’s appearance. In that regard, the Second Circuit directed that this Court “conduct further proceedings as may be appropriate in the circumstances, including an evidentiary hearing, and enter its findings of fact and conclusions of law as to the matter noted above, and as to any other relevant matters.” (Mandate, at 6)

Following the issuance of the mandate, Hollender proposed a new bail package, withdrawing Mr. Hollender’s father as a guarantor, adding additional rabbis from the community as co-signers, adding a second home as security for the proposed $500,000 bond (despite this Court’s admonition, defendant did not propose to increase the amount), and adding a condition that no computers be allowed in the Hol-lender home for any purpose. As to the last condition, defendant’s father assured defense counsel that he does not allow computers to be used in his home. This representation was repeated to the Court.

After reviewing the mandate and consulting with the parties, the Court determined to hold an evidentiary hearing, as it appeared (to the Court, anyway) that one was contemplated by the Court of Appeals. 1 This was done, on September 10, 2001. The Government submitted a letter brief, together with several inches of exhibits seized during the search of Mr. Hol-lender’s office and/or the office of co-defendant Mordechai Samet, in support of its motion for detention. The Government also put Pre-Trial Services Officer Scott Ko-wall on the stand. Officer Kowall testified that Pre-Trial services could not presently guarantee the effectiveness of electronic monitoring in the Hollender home, due to the presence of “call waiting” and “call forwarding” features on the Hollenders’ one telephone line. He also indicated that there was no way that Pre-Trial Services could visit the Hollender home more than once or perhaps twice a week, consistent with its responsibilities to over 100 other defendants currently under supervision out of the White Plains office; and stated that there was no way, short of being present at the Hollender home on a 2^ basis, to ensure that no computers (including Palms, cell phones with internet capability, and small personal computers) were smuggled into the Hollender residence.

Defense counsel argued to the Court that the Government’s showing was insufficient in view of the mandate, in that the Government had not put on any witnesses to authenticate the documents — or to tie them conclusively to Mr. Hollender, his residence or office — choosing instead to proceed by proffer. He also argued that the authorities relied on by the Government to support detention of his client were not pertinent, since they all involved factors that were not present in Mr. Hol-lender’s case (including specifically prior *264 incidents of flight or failure to appear in connection with other charges).

The Court took the matter under submission, albeit promising a decision within 24 hours due to the imminence of the High Holy Days. The World Trade Center attack and evacuation of all Federal buildings prevented timely completion of the opinion. The following constitute my findings of fact, conclusions of law, and discussion.

Section 3142(e) requires a district court to order a defendant detained pending trial if “no condition or combination of conditions will reasonably assure the appearance of the person as required ...” 18 U.S.C. § 3142(e). The district court has a duty to engage in a two-step inquiry before ordering a defendant released or detained pending trial. First, the court must make a finding as to whether the defendant presents a risk of flight if not detained. Second, if the defendant is likely to flee, the court must determine whether some set of conditions would sufficiently vitiate that risk United States v. Shakur, 817 F.2d 189, 194 (2d Cir.1987).

In making the latter determination, Section 3142(g) requires this court to take into account four statutory factors: (1) the nature and circumstances of the offense charged; (2) the weight of the evidence against the person; (3) the history and characteristics of the person, including his character, physical and mental condition, family ties, employment, financial resources, length of residence in the community, community ties, past conduct, history relating to drug or alcohol abuse, criminal history, and record concerning appearance at court proceedings; and (4) the nature and seriousness of the danger to any person or community that would be posed by the person’s release. The weight to be accorded to each of these factors rests in the Court’s discretion. However, any finding must be supported by a preponderance of the evidence, and the burden of proof rests with the Government. United States v. Martir,

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
162 F. Supp. 2d 261, 2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14882, 2001 WL 1111090, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-hollender-nysd-2001.