United States v. Mastronardo

22 F. Supp. 3d 490, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 73449, 2014 WL 2199623
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedMay 28, 2014
DocketCriminal Action Nos. 12-388-01, 12-388-02, 12-388-03, 12-388-04, 12-388-05, 12-388-06, 12-388-07, 12-388-08, 12-388-09, 12-388-10, 12-388-11, 12-388-12, 12-388-15
StatusPublished

This text of 22 F. Supp. 3d 490 (United States v. Mastronardo) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Mastronardo, 22 F. Supp. 3d 490, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 73449, 2014 WL 2199623 (E.D. Pa. 2014).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM

DuBOIS, District Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

On August 1, 2012, a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania returned a twenty-three count Indictment against the above-named defendants. All such defendants were charged in Counts One and Two of the Indictment with conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1962(d), and conducting an illegal gam[492]*492bling business, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1955.1

Before trial, defendants entered into a “global plea agreement” whereby the government agreed to move for a two-level downward departure if defendants, collectively, plead guilty. Presently before the Court is Government’s Motion Addressing the 2-Level Downward Adjustment for a Global Guilty Plea, construed by the Court as a Motion for Downward Departure. For the following reasons, the government’s Motion is granted.

II. BACKGROUND

Defendants were indicted for crimes arising from their alleged participation in an illegal sports gambling business — the Mastronardo Bookmaking Organization (“MBO”).2 The MBO was headquartered in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, with members and associates located across the United States and in Costa Rica. Defendants worked as bookmakers, agents, office employees, and technical-support staff. The MBO used password-protected websites, toll-free phone numbers, and personal meetings to take bets on a variety of sports. Bettors received a line of credit through their accounts and paid gambling debts on losing bets using cash, check, or wire transfer. The MBO paid winning bets in cash. At its peak, the MBO had over one thousand bettors and generated millions of dollars of betting activity a year.

The case was scheduled for trial to begin on February 3, 2014. After ruling on the parties’ extensive evidentiary motions on December 13, 2013, the Court held the first part of a final pre-trial conference on December 16, 2013. At that conference, in response to defense counsels’ request for additional time to discuss the Court’s evi-dentiary rulings with their clients, the Court ordered that trial-status reports be submitted by each defendant by January 3, 2014. At the December 16, 2013 conference, the Court also determined that if the fourteen remaining defendants proceeded to trial, two separate jury trials would be required, with a maximum of seven defendants in each trial. The parties estimated at that conference that the total trial time for the two trials would be approximately seven to nine weeks — six to seven weeks to try the government’s case and one to two weeks to present the defense case.

The Court held a second final pre-trial conference on January 8, 2014. At the beginning of that conference, defense counsel reported that they were engaged in group plea discussions, which they planned to continue immediately following that conference. In view of the group plea discussions, the Court ordered updated trial-status reports by January 10, 2014. On that date, the government reported that the parties had negotiated a “global plea agreement.” By January 17, 2014, the government reported that it had mailed signed plea agreements to all remaining defendants other than Joanna Mastronar-do. As of February 7, 2014, all remaining defendants other than Joanna Mastronar-do had signed the plea agreements and entered guilty pleas to, inter alia, Counts [493]*493One and Two of the Indictment — conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1962(d), and conducting an illegal gambling business, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1955.3

Each defendant’s plea agreement provides that (1) all defendants charged in Counts One and Two must enter a guilty plea, (2) the sentencing court must accept the guilty pleas of all defendants charged in Counts One and Two, (3) no defendant may seek to withdraw his or her guilty plea, and (4) no defendant may breach the plea agreement. In the event that those conditions of the plea agreements were not met by any defendant, the government, in its sole discretion, had the right to avoid all of its obligations under all of the individual plea agreements. In consideration of the global plea agreement, the government agreed to move for an additional two-level downward departure from the offense level calculated under the United States Sentencing Commission Guidelines (“Guidelines”).

The government filed the instant Motion for Downward Departure on February 24, 2014, requesting a two-level downward departure under section 5K2.0 of the Guidelines by reason of the global plea agreement. Defendants do not oppose the Motion.

III. LEGAL STANDARD

Although the government denominates its Motion as “Motion Addressing the 2-Level Downward Adjustment for a Global Plea,” the government in actuality seeks a downward departure from the sentencing guideline- range pursuant to section 5K2.0. There are two types of departures: (1) those provided for by specific reference in the Guidelines; and (2) those that rest on grounds not mentioned in the Guidelines. U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual Ch. 1 Pt. A(4)(b) (2013). The Guidelines place essentially no limits on the potential factors that may warrant a downward departure. United States v. Abuhouran, 161 F.3d 206, 209 (3d Cir.1998) (quoting Koon v. United States, 618 U.S. 81, 106, 116 S.Ct. 2035, 135 L.Ed.2d 392 (1996)). “The [Sentencing] Commission intends the sentencing courts to treat each guideline as carving out a ‘heartland,’ a set of typical cases embodying the conduct that each guideline describes. When the Court finds an atypical case ... the court may consider whether a departure is warranted.” U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual Ch. 1 Pt. A(4)(b) (2013). In determining whether a departure is permitted by the Guidelines, the district court must “make a refined assessment of the many facts bearing on the outcome, informed by its vantage point and day-to-day experience in criminal sentencing.” United States v. Tomko, 562 F.3d 558, 566 (3d Cir.2009) (en banc) (quoting Koon, 518 U.S. at 98, 116 S.Ct. 2035).

Section 5K2.0 is a catch-all provision for granting a downward departure when a mitigating circumstance exists “of a kind, or to a degree, not adequately taken into consideration by the Sentencing Commission.” U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual § 5K2.0 (2013). To determine whether a departure is appropriate under section 5K2.0, a sentencing court must answer two questions: (1) What factors take the case outside the “heartland” of typical cases considered by the Sentencing Commission? (2) Are those factors mentioned or unmentioned in other provisions of the Guidelines? See Koon, 518 U.S. at 95, 116 [494]*494S.Ct. 2035; Abuhouran, 161 F.3d at 210-11.

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Bluebook (online)
22 F. Supp. 3d 490, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 73449, 2014 WL 2199623, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-mastronardo-paed-2014.