Latest news with #ManhattanDistrictAttorney'sOffice
UPI
a day ago
- UPI
Appeals court overturns murder conviction of Etan Patz in 1979 case
The New York Police Department supplies this poster of Etan Patz on his way to school, on May 25, 2012. Pedro Hernandez confessed to murdering Etan Patz in 1979 and convicted. And appeals court threw out the conviction Monday. File photo by UPI | License Photo July 21 (UPI) -- A federal appeals court has ordered a new trial or release for Pedro Hernandez, who was convicted of kidnapping 6-year-old Etan Patz in 1979 in New York. Hernandez, now 64, was convicted in 2017 and was serving 25 years to life for the killing in SoHo in Lower Manhattan that drew national attention about the young boy's disappearance. Etan was among the first to be portrayed on a milk carton seeking the public's help in finding him. By the mid-1990s the cartons disappeared with the advent of the AMBER Alert System. Today is National #MissingChildrensDay On May 25, 1979, 6-year-old Etan Patz vanished on his way to the school bus. His disappearance sparked a national movement. Today, we remember the missing and continue to hold on to hope. National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (@NCMEC) May 25, 2025 In 1983, President Ronald Reagan declared May 25 as "National Missing Children's Day." went missing on May 25, 1979. In a 51-page ruling, the 2nd Circuit of Appeals in New York determined that State Supreme Court Judge Maxwell Wiley during the 2017 trial gave improper instructions to the jury. "We are reviewing the decision," Emily Tuttles, a spokeswoman for the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, said. Hernandez has been incarcerated at the state Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemore, N.Y. "For more than 13 years, Pedro Hernandez has been in prison for a crime he did not commit and based on a conviction that the Second Circuit has now made clear was obtained in clear violation of law," his lawyers said. "We are grateful the Court has now given Pedro a chance to get his life back, and I call upon the Manhattan District Attorney's Office to drop these misguided charges and focus their efforts where they belong: on finding those actually responsible for the disappearance of Etan Patz." The three-judge panel agreed with the defense attorneys who contend that a jury note about his confession improperly ignored precedent from the U.S. Supreme Court. "We conclude that the state trial court contradicted clearly established federal law and that this error was not harmless," said the opinion by Guido Calabresi, Raymond J. Lohier and Myrna Perez. His first trial ended in a mistrial in 2015 when one holdout juror refused to convict him. Two years later on Feb. 14, 2027, he was convicted of killing Etan as he walked alone to his school bus stop for the first time on May 25, 1979. In May 2012, Hernandez's brother-in-law, Jose Lopez, tipped off authorities that he believed his relative was involved in the child's disappearance. That month, New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Hernandez, who was living in Maple Shade, N.J., was in custody. He was indicted on Nov. 14, 2012. "Im sorry, I shoke him," Hernandez, 18 at the time, wrote in a written confession. Hernandez told investigators that he lured the boy to the basement of his shop with a promise of a soda, and then choked him to death. He said he disposed of the body in a nearby alley though it was never found. The boy was declared dead in 2001. The jurors sent three notes to the judge, including one asking if they found Hernandez's confession was before he was read his Miranda rights, they must disregard his confessions afterward. The judge answered: "No." The appeals panel said: "Despite the jury's note seeking an 'expla[nation] to how it was to assess Hernandez's subsequent statements, the trial court provided none. ... Indeed, the answer 'no' was manifestly inaccurate, dramatically so." After nine days of deliberations, the jury found him guilty of felony murder and first-degree kidnapping. He was found not guilty of intentional murder.
4 days ago
Digital design firm agrees to block 3D guns, following letter from Manhattan DA
One of the world's largest digital design platforms, Thingiverse, is taking new steps to block 3D-printed guns and gun parts after investigators in New York discovered an alarming number of design files for 3D-printed weapons available for download. Thingiverse began deploying automated technology to rapidly detect and remove digital files for 3D-printed firearms. "Thingiverse is committed to fostering a safe, welcoming, and collaborative environment for its global community. As part of this commitment, we regularly review and update our policies and procedures to help prevent the sharing of unlawful and harmful content, such as weapons and illegal materials, as outlined in our Acceptable Use Policy," the company said in a statement. "Following discussions with the Manhattan District Attorney's Office about concerns around untraceable firearms, we are taking additional steps to improve our content moderation efforts," they added. Untraceable ghost guns have become an increasing problem. One hundred and fifty ghost guns were seized in New York City in 2020. The number tripled in 2024. More recently, the ghost guns have evolved into weapons that can be made with nothing more than a 3D printer and a computer. A user can download a design file for Glock and print it within a few hours, concealed from public view. Earlier this year, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg sent letters to 3D printing companies asking them to help combat the spread of homemade guns, which he called a "growing threat." Luigi Mangione allegedly used a 3D-printed gun and silencer in the assassination-style killing of United Healthcare chief executive Brian Thompson. Mangione pleaded not guilty to federal charges. Bragg called on the companies to remove online blueprints, known as CAD files, that can be used to print firearms and gun parts without a background check. Before an individual can use a 3D printer, they need digital designs for the product they want to manufacture, commonly in the form of "STL", "3MF", or "OBJ" files. In the case of Thingiverse, one of the largest platforms in the digital design space, investigators from the district attorney's office and the NYPD found hundreds of CAD files for 3D-printed weapons, alarming both law enforcement and the company. As Thingiverse grew, its existing security measures could not keep up with weapons-related CAD files. Its engineers souped them up and a recent test found a significant number of those files no longer available, according to the district attorney's office. "Combating the proliferation of 3D-printed weapons remains a top priority for the Office, and I am grateful to Thingiverse for its willingness to collaborate on addressing this urgent issue," Bragg said. "It's good faith efforts to stop the spread of 3D-printed weapons into our communities should serve as a model for other 3D printing and digital design companies." This week, Bragg sent a similar letter to Bambu Lab, a China-based manufacturer of 3D printers. "The risk your product creates, as 3D printers are used more and more frequently in schools and homes, is unacceptable," Bragg wrote in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by ABC News. He called on Bambu Lab to adopt a security measure used by a different company that checks print jobs against a database of gun blueprints and uses AI to attempt to recognize the shapes of common gun parts. When a user opts into this program, it blocks prints of detected firearms. "In order to protect your customers and our residents, and to provide additional roadblocks in the acquisition of illicit firearms, I urge that you implement similar security features as a default standard for all users of your product," the DA wrote. "Additionally, it is paramount that you explicitly ban the creation of illegal weapons in your company's user agreement, as your user's agreement makes no mention of rules regarding the use of Bambu technology for weapons acquisition." The district attorney's office conceded the measure will not stop the proliferation of ghost guns, but the goal is to make it harder for people to find the designs to create them.
Business Insider
03-07-2025
- Business Insider
Meet the lawyers who defended Diddy
Family and supporters of Sean "Diddy" Combs praised his legal "dream team" after the jury verdict. The team was led by Marc Agnifilo, who is also representing Luigi Mangione. It was rounded out by a row of other formidable lawyers. Sean "Diddy" Combs was mostly victorious in the mixed jury verdict at his criminal trial — with much thanks to his stacked legal team. "Dream team! Dream team!" Combs' supporters and family chanted in the courtroom Wednesday after the jury acquitted him of racketeering and sex trafficking, the most severe charges. They were up against a formidable government team. The US Attorney's Office in the Southern District of New York is considered one of the most elite federal prosecutors' offices in America. And the team prosecuting Combs had Maurene Comey, one of the prosecutors who put Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell behind bars. Combs, though, has an eye for star lawyers. His previous defense team also won him an acquittal in 2001, when the Manhattan District Attorney's Office accused him of being involved in a nightclub shooting. At that time, Combs' team was led by his longtime attorney Ben Brafman. For this year's trial, Brafman's protégé Marc Agnifilo was in the driver's seat. Here's the "dream team" that defended Diddy: Marc Agnifilo The founding partner of Agnifilo Intrater LLP spent about two decades in the US Attorney's office in New Jersey before moving to private practice. Before the Combs trial, he had a crushing jury verdict against his client, Keith Raniere, the founder of the NXIVM sex cult, who in 2020 was sentenced to 120 years in prison. But Agnifilo has had high-profile victories, including representing former International Monetary Fund head Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who had sexual assault charges against him dropped. Together with his wife, Karen Friedman Agnifilo, Agnifilo is also representing Luigi Mangione, who is accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. In one of the final hearings in the Combs case before the trial, Agnifilo raced to another federal courthouse across the street in lower Manhattan for a hearing in the Mangione case. Teny Geragos The 34-year-old Geragos, a partner at Agnifilo's firm, handled some of the trial's biggest moments, including the defense team's opening statement and multiple cross-examinations of important witnesses. Before the trial, she vocally defended Combs on social media. And, years earlier, she represented Raniere along with Agnifilo. Geragos has also represented Roger Ng, the ex-Goldman Sachs banker convicted in 2023 of siphoning billions of dollars from 1MDB, the Malaysian sovereign wealth fund. Her father is celebrity lawyer Mark Geragos, who represents Combs' mother and consulted with the trial defense team. Alexandra Shapiro A former clerk for former Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Shapiro is well-known in the New York bar for her appeals and white collar litigation. In Combs' case, Shapiro raised multiple legal issues during the trial that could form the basis for an appeal. She also took the lead in bail arguments, unsuccessfully trying to keep Combs out of jail ahead of the trial and between the verdict and his sentencing hearing. Shapiro is representing Sam Bankman-Fried, Combs's onetime jailhouse roommate, in the appeal of his conviction and 25-year sentence, which remains pending. She's also the author of the 2022 legal thriller "Presumed Guilty" and is an avid nature photographer. Jason Driscoll An associate at Shapiro's firm, Shapiro Arato Bach, Driscoll crafted legal arguments about the scope of what witnesses were permitted to testify about at the trial and which exhibits should have been permitted to go into evidence. He's previously worked at the Big Law firm Paul Weiss and has clerked for two federal judges in Manhattan. Anna Estevao Estevao had one of the most difficult jobs in the trial, cross-examining Cassie Ventura, Combs' longtime partner, who prosecutors had designated as his primary victim and who was visibly pregnant while she was on the witness stand. (Ventura gave birth after her testimony, while the trial was ongoing.) Estevao joined Combs' legal team while a partner at Sher Tremonte, a firm also representing him in many of the civil lawsuits against him and his companies. She joined the firm Harris Trzaskoma the same month the criminal trial began — a move that a source familiar with the matter said was in the works long before the trial. Xavier Donaldson An experienced New York City attorney, Donaldson also joined the Combs criminal case shortly before the trial began. At the trial, Donaldson cross-examined Daniel Phillip, a male dancer who participated in freak offs with Ventura, and Deonte Nash, a friend of Ventura's. Donaldson has also previously represented the "Chelsea bomber", Ahmed Rahimi. Brian Steel Fresh off a favorable plea deal for the rapper Young Thug in Atlanta, Steel joined Combs' legal team shortly before the trial. He handled the cross-examination of one of Combs' assistants, as well as security officers at the InterContinental Hotel, where Combs beat Cassie Ventura in a hallway in a notorious incident caught on video. Nicole Westmoreland Another Atlanta-based lawyer involved in Young Thug's trial, Westmoreland officially joined the Combs legal team shortly before opening statements. Westmoreland cross-examined Combs' accuser Dawn Richard and two friends of Ventura who corroborated some of her testimony.
American Military News
28-06-2025
- Politics
- American Military News
Have 34 felony counts against Trump been dropped after US presidential election?
This article was originally published by Radio Free Asia and is reprinted with permission. Manhattan District Attorney's Office dropped the case against President-elect Donald Trump in which he was convicted of 34 felony counts involving falsifying business records, following his presidential election victory. But the claim is false. Documents released by the court on Nov. 19 show that the prosecution intends to proceed with post-trial sentencing and denies Trump's impending presidency is sufficient grounds to dismiss the case. The claim was shared on X on Nov. 22, 2024. 'Donald Trump's sentencing for 34 criminal charges in the state of New York abruptly adjourned by Judge Merchan without explanation. All charges have been dropped,' the claim reads. Former President Trump secured a second, non-consecutive term by defeating Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 U.S. presidential election on Nov. 5. In March 2023, a Manhattan grand jury indicted Trump on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records. The indictment accused Trump of orchestrating hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels to suppress information about a sexual encounter that she says they had aiming to influence the 2016 presidential election. Trump denies any sexual encounter with Daniels. The payments were purportedly disguised in business records as legal expenses to conceal their true purpose. The claim that the felony accounts against Trump were dropped following the election is incorrect. Charge vs account Chinese social media users appear to have confused the terms 'charges' and 'counts.' A 'charge' refers to a specific crime someone is accused of committing, while a 'count' indicates the number of times the person is accused of committing that crime. In Trump's case, he was accused of one crime – falsifying business records – but was charged with committing it 34 separate times. To be proceeded The Manhattan district attorney offices' charge against Trump has not been dropped. Documents released by the court on November 19 show that the prosecution intends to proceed with post-trial sentencing and denies Trump's impending presidency is sufficient grounds to dismiss the felony counts against him. However, the prosecution noted that it will consider a stay of proceedings, which would pause sentencing until after Trump leaves office after his second term ends in four years. It stated this would allow the court 'to balance competing constitutional interests.' Uncertainties On Nov. 22, the presiding judge Juan Merchan postponed sentencing to receive more arguments from both sides. Trump's lawyers were ordered to file their arguments for dismissal by Dec. 2, while the prosecutors were given until Dec. 9 to submit their arguments for proceeding with the conviction. Given the unique situation of a president-elect awaiting criminal sentencing, the exact outcome of the case is still unclear. While the prosecution has signaled its plans to continue forward with sentencing at some point in the future, Trump's lawyers are still attempting to have the case dismissed. U.S. constitutional law expert Robert Mcwhirter said in an interview with the American broadcaster CBS that any sentencing against Trump would likely be enforced after leaving his second term in office. However, Mcwhirter noted there is 'a slim chance' that he could impose a short prison sentence on Trump before his inauguration in January 2025 or probationary measures during his time in office. Other cases In addition to the Manhattan court case, one other state-level criminal case in Georgia and two federal criminal cases have been brought against Trump . Following Trump's election victory, the Department of Justice dismissed the two federal cases against him on Nov. 25. The case in Georgia is stalled in pretrial procedures and its progress is unclear. A Supreme Court decision from July 2024 ruled that Trump was ineligible to be prosecuted for acts that fall under the president's 'core constitutional powers.' The president's 'unofficial acts' share no such immunity.
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Harvey Weinstein defense lawyer mocks accusers, calls them 'grifters' in closing arguments
Harvey Weinstein's defense lawyer slammed the disgraced mogul's sex assault accusers as 'grifters,' mimicked one breaking down in tears, climbed into the witness box to do an impression of another and used his personal sex life as a frame of reference during animated closing arguments Tuesday, Arthur Aidala told the Manhattan jury that it was, in fact, the notorious movie producer who was was victimized and manipulated by the three women accusing him of sexual assault. 'They're using their youth, their beauty, their charm, their charisma to get stuff from him,' Aidala, Weinstein's lead defense attorney, said. 'I know it's gonna sound crazy, but he's the one who's being abused. He's the one who's getting used.' At one point, Aidala even went into a spiel about his sex life in his own marriage — 'I'm gonna get in so much trouble. Come on, come on. I can't believe I'm talking about this in court…. I give her a hug, and I give her a kiss, and she may not be enthusiastic, but she says, 'OK, fine.'' Aidala was trying to portray the relationships between Weinstein and his three accusers — former TV production assistant Miriam Haley, model Kaja Sokola and one-time actress Jessica Mann — as courtship rituals that led to 'transactional,' consensual sexual encounters. 'Everybody knew what was going on,' he said. 'Everybody was playing the courting game.' Haley, who has also gone by the name Mimi Haleyi, accuses Weinstein of forcibly performing oral sex on her in July 2006, and testified about a second, unwanted sexual encounter at the Tribeca Grand Hotel two weeks later. Sokola testified that when she was a 16-year-old model, Weinstein rubbed her vagina under her pants and underwear in 2002, and that in 2006, he forcibly performed oral sex on her at the Tribeca Grand Hotel, while her sister waited at a restaurant table downstairs. Mann said Weinstein raped her in Midtown's DoubleTree Hotel in March 2013, but maintained a complicated 'relationship' with the then-remarried movie mogul. 'They're all women with broken dreams. They're all women who wanted to cut the line,' Aidala said. 'You need to look at the length that this office went to to get those women here.' Prosecutors with the Manhattan District Attorney's Office flew across the country and the world to prep the witnesses for their testimony, even though two of them, Haley and Mann, had testified against Weinstein five years ago. 'They needed to get the poster boy, the original sinner for the MeToo movement,' Aidala said. 'They tried to do it five years ago, and there was a redo, and they're trying to do it again.' Mann and Haley testified at Weinstein's 2020 Manhattan Supreme Court trial, which ended in a guilty verdict and a 23-year prison term. But last year the state's highest court overturned the jury's guilty verdict in that case, with the judicial panel ruling 4-3 that the trial court judge shouldn't have allowed testimony of 'uncharged, alleged prior sexual acts against persons other than the complainants of the underlying crimes.' Weinstein, 73, is being retried on allegations of first-degree criminal sexual act and third-degree rape. The new trial is widely thought as a litmus test for the staying power of the MeToo movement, which started shortly after news reports in October 2017 laid bare the open secret of Weinstein's serial sexual harassment. Aidala tore into each of the three accusers, likening the government's case to an anecdote about how his grandmother broke a wine glass while making sauce for the family, then threw the sauce away rather than risk serving glass for dinner. 'Are you worried about whether there's a piece of glass in the sauce about Jessica Mann,' he asked. 'Are you worried whether there's a piece of glass in the sauce about Mimi or Kaja?' He described Haley's high-flying life, meeting Hollywood power brokers and music superstars as the close friend and personal assistant of the late 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail' producer Michael White, who had become ill and closed up his production business. 'She's trying to tell you that she's got this tough life, whatever. She's literally traveling the world,' Aidala scoffed. 'Harvey was the eligible bachelor to fill the world of Michael White, who was on his way out. He was single. He was on the market.' Aidala mocked Haley's breakdown on the stand during defense lawyer Jennifer Bonjean's cross-examination, saying that she cried because she got caught in a lie. He also stomped into the witness box in an impersonation of Haley's friend and ex-roommate Elizabeth Entin — who testified against the mogul in 2020 — drawing laughs from several jurors as he posed as Entin and declared, accusingly, 'Yes, Mr. Harvey Weinstein!' Aidala described Sokola as a 'troubled woman' whose 'lust for fame is just palpable' and who came forward to Rolling Stone magazine so she could be named Weinstein's youngest victim. 'That's what this is all about for her,' he said. 'This is about her being relevant. This is about her being known.' As for Mann, Aidala zeroed in on how she testified about seeing an erectile dysfunction needle in the trash after being raped. That injection takes between 5 to 20 minutes to kick in, though, Aidala noted. 'You know Jessica's lying,' he said. 'You can use your own judgment. When Jessica Mann says he was gone for not very long at all. Does 'Not very long at all' mean 15 to 20 minutes? It doesn't. It just doesn't.' Prosecutors will begin their closing argument later Monday afternoon.
