On Behalf of Sapone & Petrillo, LLP | Oct 30, 2019 | Federal Crimes, Firm News
It could soon be a federal crime for people in New York and around the country to commit acts of animal cruelty. Currently, it is only against federal law to film and distribute videos of animal abuse. On Oct. 22, the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed...
On Behalf of Sapone & Petrillo, LLP | Oct 23, 2019 | Federal Crimes, Firm News
Federal prosecutors have charged a New York state judge with conspiracy and obstruction of justice in connection with an investigation into fraud at the state’s oldest credit union. The woman is accused of attempting to destroy evidence by deleting text messages...
by Sapone & Petrillo, LLP | Oct 18, 2019 | Ed Sapone’s Decisions of the Week
Factually inconsistent verdicts are almost never a successful basis for challenging a conviction on appeal. In United States v. Kendrick, the Circuit reminded us why the “almost” qualifier is necessary, finding that inconsistent indications on a verdict sheet relating...
On Behalf of Sapone & Petrillo, LLP | Oct 15, 2019 | Firm News, Fraud
Federal prosecutors have announced that a 39-year-old man has admitted to running a Ponzi scheme that bilked investors in 12 states out of more than $70 million. The man entered guilty pleas to felony counts of mail fraud, conspiracy to commit mail fraud and...
by Sapone & Petrillo, LLP | Oct 11, 2019 | Ed Sapone’s Decisions of the Week
An uneventful week in the Circuit, with no precedential decisions, and only two summary orders in criminal cases, with neither offering defendants any relief or breaking new ground. In the state courts, the Court of Appeals released its first decision from its Fall...
On Behalf of Sapone & Petrillo, LLP | Oct 9, 2019 | Firm News
Have you ever heard someone say that “everyone breaks the law” or that “everyone is a criminal”? It’s a relatively common refrain by those who feel that the laws in the United States are too restrictive. They point out that everyone...
On Behalf of Sapone & Petrillo, LLP | Oct 8, 2019 | Firm News, Fraud
Is it illegal to send a chain letter in New York? In many cases, though not all, the answer is yes. To a certain extent, it depends on what you want the recipients of the chain letter to do upon receipt. If you ask the recipients to send items of minimal value, such...
On Behalf of Sapone & Petrillo, LLP | Oct 6, 2019 | Firm News, White Collar Crimes
People who live in the state of New York and find themselves accused of criminal activity know that must make some important decisions. These decisions involve whether to hire a private attorney or to allow themselves to be represented by an attorney who works as a...
by Sapone & Petrillo, LLP | Oct 4, 2019 | Ed Sapone’s Decisions of the Week
A few of the Second Circuit’s decisions this week returned to the frequent topic of what constitutes a crime of violence in its many incarnations in federal criminal law, including its opinion in Watkins, which dealt with the issue in the context of the Bail...
On Behalf of Sapone & Petrillo, LLP | Oct 1, 2019 | Embezzlement, Firm News
Embezzlement may seem to you to be such a deliberate action that you may think that no one can engage in it without knowing exactly what is it that they are doing. Thus, you may feel secure in the notion that you will never face such accusations. What happens, then,...
