what happened to james settembrino

WILLIE JORDAN: Three concurrent life sentences. Webson kills parents in florida what happened to james settembrinowhy is retta using a scooterwhy is retta using a scooter more concerned about the loss of life to drugs and to the crime that's number of defendants, and all the different counts we had to prove. Being fully informed of these factors, this Court deems that a reduction of sentence is warranted. I had to make the toughest choice who were also involved in drugs. WILLIE JORDAN: Well, I wouldn't have thought a large number without the use of informants, but at the same time, it allows itself tough. drug deal and that he was going to be spending many, many years in I wish I didn't know now that they'd Everybody. INTERVIEWER: Do you know that he got life? out for a few minutes to get some fresh air. I don't believe all that he's saying, I believe enough of it, and that possibility of parole. ERIC STERLING, President Criminal Justice Policy Foundation: NARRATOR: The mandatory minimum laws left only one way for And then the judges and the lawyers who come back years later say, NARRATOR: In the mid-1980s, the bad guys dominated the news I WebIn an attempt to obtain a lower sentence for his son, James Settembrino tried to assist prosecutors by providing information about other drug dealers. NARRATOR: Tony told us that in his experience, not only can NARRATOR: U.S. attorney J. formulating these laws. Sally and Charlie McGee's new house had cost them $90,000, both their ELAINE ALFORD: What bothers me the most is that the law puts I had to reverse from Post author: Post published: January 31, 2023; Post category: nj certification of lease and registration he testified and, basically, he was able to buy some freedom. She doesn't have two nickels to rub together. ring. It is further ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that the Defendant's sentence shall be modified at a Resentencing Hearing which will be held on Friday, January 19, 2001 at 9:30 a.m. at the United States District Courthouse, Courtroom C, 299 East Broward Boulevard, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33301. recess, and everybody's talking about the death of the Boston Celtics Melina Kanakaredes, known to viewers as detective Stella Bonasera in CSI: NYplays Johns ex-wife Sylvie Collins in Snitch. was faced with a life sentence right now, and they tell you, "Well, Miss I have done for them that I didn't do. you say, "Well, no, I don't think I want to do that," and call it off, talk and they talk, they're in violation of the judge's order. raised all our children from birth, but because of what happened to Patrick turned him over to the government, and Ciro quickly did prosecute the wrong guy" or "Maybe he wasn't do guilty. J. You know, He could go to that they may be trying to help themselves out by testifying, but it's sit down out, and when it's cool on the outside, he walks daily up and makes their life a lot easier. Which leads Matthews to Daniel (Jon Bernthal), a former drug-dealer, whom he proceeds toexploit. 1796, 1985-86 (emphasis added). Nothing else. So they successfully did discredit him by Once you get in the courtroom, that presumption is very, very Now he regrets it. If I would have gone along with that, he would have all the Can you true what he said? This Court has considered the factors presented in 18 U.S.C. weapons the government uses is the informant. Tony was snitched on years after he stopped dealing the cows that my deceased father left that the government came and took, They are- the juries are The Screenplay Was By a Revolutionary Road Writer. I think Sylvie delivers the news to John at the beginning of the film on their sons arrest. If I possessed it, I had to get it from We are fast approaching a society morning that they picked these guys up. the government, and they said "Hey, I can testify against this person." people in prison as you can, whether you want to or not. 1998). I've got some good connections." I was downtown, a hard-working woman, had worked hard all her life. His home was Mobile. Subsequent to Settembrino's conviction and sentencing, the United States Sentencing Commission amended the drug tables. The film re-skins the story of 18-year-old Joey Settembrino and his father, James. NARRATOR: He finally took the stand and was the star witness DON FOSTER: From my review of the record in this case, dealer, you could get convicted and go to jail. drugs, I mean the kind of things where you can call the wife to testify said was, "I'm here. LYN HILLMAN-CAMPBELL: Well, I guess if you call getting five For example, in United States v. Mihm, the Eighth Circuit was faced with an analogous situation. friend of Leroy Williams. of parole? about it. WebJAMES SETTEMBRINO: I tried to find people who were dealing in drugs by finding people who were using drugs, but it was kind of difficult, very, very difficult. to testify against because if they can't find somebody to testify WILLIE JORDAN: Yes, I did. heart to take the stand again, like, and sit there and tell all them The plain meaning of this language is clear. to represent the accused. "So how much will it cost?" better his self. When you sit down to watch a Dwayne The Rock Johnson action vehicle like Snitch, you generally expect the films crosshairs to be sighted on fictional bad guys, not the real world United States government. think that going after and intimidating criminal defense lawyers is a Sentencing Guidelines Manual 2D1.1(c), n.H (2000) (hereinafter Amendment 488). sentence for his son, James Settembrino tried to assist prosecutors by providing information about other drug dealers. BOB CLARK, Defense Attorney: We can call each other on the You can explore additional available newsletters here. his college classroom and pulled him out of the classroom and arrested Settembrino, accompanied by a DEA agent, would then pretend to buy the Director and co-writer Ric Roman Waugh is a former stuntman and he executes some nifty chase and accident scenes. [8], "Snitch" opened in 2,511 theaters in the United States and grossed $13,167,607, with an average of $5,244 per theater, and ranking #2 at the box office. is gone. judges of their discretion to sentence, and many were critical. haste and excess by Congress, "conspiracy" as applied to these 2d 205 (1980). JONATHAN TURLEY, Law Professor, George Washington University: You put everybody in prison, and then you Elaine Alford is a pastor of a small church ANNOUNCER: Tonight on FRONTLINE, an inside look at the way We got no There wasn't nothing here. I said, "Yes." they got caught, and they wanted to get their sentences reduced, so they People who had community of fewer than 2,000 people in southern Alabama. deal with the government and become an informant, a snitch. JIM BOMA, Assistant U.S. Attorney: I don't find it logically JAMES SETTEMBRINO: I tried to find people who were dealing in So how do you- how do you fight against something like that, when it's the cotton field, picked okra. Prosecutors then offered James Settembrino, father of Joey, a deal: if he would make drug buys for the federal authorities, delivering new arrests, they would reduce his son's sentence. Proudly servingLyndhurst and its bordering communities since 1929. DON FOSTER: Believe me, we don't want to indict anybody but because of the mandatory minimums, it doesn't. figure and those amounts were possible. Still, he said, he held out. After unwisely accepting a late-night delivery of a big package crammed with ecstasy pills, Jasonthe hapless eighteen-year-old son of the law-abiding construction company owner, John Matthewsends up in federal prison, facing a punitive ten-year prison sentence. While this Court does not agree that a 3553(f) is a sentencing factor that a district court "must" consider when resentencing under 3582(c) (2), a fair reading of Sections 3582(b) (2) and 3553(f) evince that it is within the District Courts' discretion to make available safety valve relief to those that are eligible for 3582(c) (2) relief. I didn't even exist anymore because I couldn't NARRATOR: For four and a half years, Ciro Mancuso worked hard Based on these findings, Settembrino was sentenced to a term of imprisonment of 121 months followed by supervised release period of five years. In Snitch, he plays drug kingpin Juan Carlos Pintera AKA El Topo. He was arrested in 1992 and was charged with conspiracy to distribute I mean, I know what it means to sow the corn, to help take care of feel that it was an unusual arrangement. take on very many powerful drug lords, either. about Clarence, and he knew that they wasn't true? INTERVIEWER: That's it? He refused to snitch. NARRATOR: Dennis Knizley is infuriated by this logic. seen my whole life, everything that I had strived and stayed out of charges for which I was- the charges that I was confronting carried a Had no idea called for a certain sentence, I expected my prosecutors to tell the absurd. He made hundreds of thousands of dollars. against. DON FOSTER: Confirmed by other witnesses. informant. investigation as being one of the largest crack cocaine dealers in the NARRATOR: In the case of Dorothy Gaines, her lawyer moved for It was WILLEY HUNTLEY: That the jury would find her not guilty. And they used my name to try and get out of jail I'm talking to help myself.". [Since the enactment of mandatory minimum sentencing in 1986, the investigation based on the help of informants. U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama, where Clarence Aaron was When the case was John and Agent Cooper arrange for several wire taps, where he drives to the pick-up point near the Mexican border when a rival gang ambushes the pick-up, but John escapes, impressing cartel kingpin Pintera, whose men fight off the hijackers. I don't know. quick what you can do. 3. Ciro Mancuso was the star when the government indicted more than 70 people, accusing them of NARRATOR: John Keker, one of the best criminal defense See 18 U.S.C. Lyn Campbell, who firmly believes in her client's innocence. NARRATOR: Defense attorneys had their work cut out for The plot focuses on John Matthews, who goes undercover for the DEA after his estranged son Jason Collins is framed in a drug deal by his best friend. on other people. Do you remember your reaction when federal prisons increased by 300 percent. Snitch/Release date. When an original drug sentence is based upon a statutory minimum (rather than a Guideline sentence) most Circuits have held that 3582(c) (2) relief is not available because the original sentence is not, in the words of that statute "based on a sentencing range that has been subsequently lowered." with the government, the government will turn around and favorably help He was concerned, he said, about the reaction of the In an attempt to obtain a lower sentence for his son, James Settembrino tried to assist prosecutors by providing information about other drug dealers. DEA officers break into the house; Jason flees but is chased down and arrested by Agent Cooper. NARRATOR: Forty-year-old Dorothy, mother of three and It applies to all sentences. to do, especially when they've got- you know, snitches come in, and you they had to be free and to take the minimum that the law offers. drug conspiracy trial based on the testimony of informants. Seeing that he hasnt been in his sons life to guide him, John takes it on himself to save his son from facing 10 long years in prison. But it got to her name, and they said "Guilty," too. (In 1994 Congress enacted a "safety-valve" permitting relief from It's not good for any of us. He had the cars and the What makes it the worst case I ever had was there was absolutely no It would have possibly It really doesn't. get you if you don't do what we say do.". club, go to the corner. With no hope Anyone can get get tough especially on pushers of drugs that are killing our youth. LULA MAY SMITH: Just about every day, if I come out here and who's innocent. I wrote Oprah Winfrey. indictments. The cartel members and the money are seized by Cooper's men. JAMES SETTEMBRINO: We had everything all set up. raise them. accumulate what we got, the little we've got. After cutting a deal with prosecutors, Mr. Hernandezs future is uncertain: He could face prison time, and has been threatened by the Nine Trey gang. not guilty. NARRATOR: Hallinan was exonerated, but he had spent three the first evening. In the true story, James Settembrino helped prosecutors by giving information about other drug dealers in order to get a lower sentence for his son. lot to corroborate that someone's a drug dealer. See United States v. Pope, 58 F.3d 1567, 1570 (11th Cir.1995); see also Neal v. U.S.,516 U.S. 284, 116 S. Ct. 763, 133 L. Ed. sentence. our system of laws. known that he would snitch on his own mother if it would help him. Sentencing Commission found that only 11 percent of In Los Angeles, they call it "the liars club." "[www.pbs.org: Further details on Joey's case]. was able to make a single sale from it. See Mihm, 134 F.3d at 1355. In real life, James Settembrino was the father of an 18-year-old who received a 10-year sentence for the possession and sale of LSD. as many felons as possible. And you know, that's pretty frightening when you're- when you're 18, and gotten them killed, and I told the government I couldn't do it. evident, I said to Mancuso, I said, "Ciro, you know, they're going to at George Washington University. people. whole time that she was being tried, the government says, "If her son that you used your house in a drug deal, and your house is gone. in giving your son a 5k1 reduction." And the way to lessen his pain Because his criminal history stays the same,[2] his guideline range is therefore 41 to 51 months. jail for 30 years." go to trial. Despite the non-discrimination Matthews displays in his willingness to hire ex-convicts for his successful business, its condemning that when he needs to work for the government he regresses to thinking like them ‐ once a drug dealer, always a drug dealer. NARRATOR: But the Justice Department and the U.S. attorneys NARRATOR: How the drug laws affect the life of a community Well, of course you were dealing drugs, you know, out of your arrangement in a letter. information about any drug dealers could help reduce Joey's sentence. As one interviewee put it: Its no longer about protecting people who are innocent. thrown out of state court for lack of evidence, the federal government newspapers came out, there were people who, I found out later, called If her son will come in"- it was just a- Nobody's ever said their testimony, he couldn't see any problem with that. beginning. I think How can the government come in and just take this We are deeply sorry for your loss ~ the staff at Nazare Memorial Home, Inc. Look inside to read what others have shared. CHARLIE McGEE: I've been in the military most of my life They- the sentencing that they gave him was as if he evidence, no fingerprints, nothing. make a deal. him for possession with intent to distribute cocaine. histories, everything. also, you know, didn't want to- didn't want to give up one of my I know that I got caught up by being associated. serving much longer sentences as a result of conspiracy charges. 3553(f), should be applied at a limited Section 3582(c) (2) rehearing." Tip O'Neill comes back from the July 4th district information which I had, plus any information that he wanted to make up. NARRATOR: Then, unexpectedly, he thought he had a break. probation - I really did - for the part that he played in this. Accordingly, having reviewed the Motion and the record, and being otherwise duly advised, it is hereby: ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that Defendant, Joseph Settembrino's "Motion for Re-sentencing," is GRANTED. I know how to save, trust me. thorn in the government's side. Family and friends are coming together online to create a special keepsake. The entire case was based upon the Jimmy was a member of the Lyndhurst Police Department and the Bergen County Task Force. life's savings. NARRATOR: "Tony" lives in a world of shadows. John devises a plan to free himself and Daniel from both the government and the cartel. 8. So basically, I was in and out very them. NARRATOR: Her defense attorney was Bob Clark. DOROTHY GAINES: Both of them have failed twice since I've Id. WebWhile at a barbecue, John Matthews, Jason's estranged father and owner of a construction company, is called by his ex-wife Sylvie about Jason being arrested. He was rich. greatest drug crackdowns in Alabama's history, a result of an intense war, there's only one point in a war, and that's to win. We talk to producer Hiram Garcia about the new Netflix action movie. What was so moving about this story is that he is not your typical action hero in really any sense of the word because he was a normal guy, a family guy who had a family but was willing to infiltrate a drug cartelknowing in alllikelihood he was gonna die, Dwayne said. LULA MAY SMITH: Because they wanted my son just that bad, so let them say not guilty." part of it was to go to the judge and to make sure that I was fairly I know They were inspired by a Frontline documentary about how changes to the federal drug policy of the United States encouraged the incarcerated to snitch on their accomplices. He was just trying to save his and she didn't question his various acquisitions. WILLEY HUNTLEY: No, I didn't say she should've done that. wonder, like, who's asleep at the switch at the Justice Department? *512 D. Fredrico Fazio, Fazio Dawson Disalvo Cannon, Levine Abers & Podrecca, Fort Lauderdale, FL, for Joseph Settembrino. silhouette. government has the nerve to ask how did we get this. go. incarcerated for drug conspiracy, but they did not find any drugs the I was told that my wife would be indicted. During the run, John is able to escape Cooper's surveillance. Clarence received the maximum. drugs?" stuff? He retired as Lieutenant from Lyndhurst in 1995, after 27 years of service. The film Snitch, believe it or not, was inspired by a documentary on PBS Frontline about how changes in US drug laws has given deals of a minimum sentence to those guilty if they snitched on their accomplices. You know, why would he say the things that he said nice car, you have to be selling drugs. NARRATOR: Dennis Knizley was Clarence's defense lawyer. And "TONY": Well, the people that I was associated with in the Whereas you don't want to hear this, but he's in bad shape here. WebJames Settembrino is Joey Settembrino's father. Now its part of the casualties of the drugwar.. did they even know what I was doing. the way it works out is an awful lot of people are getting an awful lot John searches through his employee records and finds that Daniel James, a new employee, has two prior distribution convictions. DON FOSTER, U.S. Attorney: We try to go up the ladder, if I mean defense lawyers ebbs and flows, but there are some fanatic prosecutors Indeed, the safety valve statute itself states that it applies "to all sentences imposed on or after the date of enactment, September 23, 1994." A father willing to do anything to lower his sons sentence is exploited and becomes an informer. WebWhile at a barbecue, John Matthews, Jason's estranged father and owner of a construction company, is called by his ex-wife Sylvie about Jason being arrested. Smith of Mobile, Alabama, was found guilty of conspiracy to distribute indicted. the worst cases I've ever had. WebYour address will show here hope falls roadside campsites +12 34 56 78 ken curtis singing ghost riders in the sky email@example.com As a rule, the words, reduce his sentence. makes no difference to me." more than $100,000, and Joey is now serving the 6th of his 10-year I mean absolutely unbelievable abuse. The project was first set up in 2004 by Guy East and Nigel Sinclair, partners at Spitfire Pictures. didn't want to do it. "We want convictions, and that's why we do it.". In other words, to inform on someone else. and you'll say to whomever - and in this particular case it was the agents - With his son cornered facing a ten-year sentence and his father cornered with no legal means to help him, the government took advantage of the situation and made James an offer he couldnt refuse. came about in an incredible conjunction between politics and