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Dudus’ appeal - Lawyer seeks character witnesses
Coke admitted to heavy distribution of drugs
BY PAUL HENRY Crime/Court Desk co-ordinator henryp@jamaicaobserver.com
Friday, September 02, 2011
THE attorney for reputed drug lord Christopher 'Dudus' is pleading for anyone who may have benefited from the kindness of his client to now return the favour.
Hours after Coke pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges in a Manhattan court on Wednesday, attorney Stephen H Rosen told the Observer that Coke is now in need of people to send letters to Judge Robert P Patterson outlining his good deeds and kindness ahead of his sentencing on December 8.
Coke is now in need of people to send letters to Judge Robert P Patterson outlining his good deeds and kindness ahead of his sentencing on December 8.
"We need all their support when it comes to the sentencing... and for anybody who could come to court and speak on Coke's behalf," said Rosen.
The attorney outlined, but not in detail, a case in which he said a woman had praised Coke for his intervention, which resulted in her son being able to attend university. "Those are the people we want," he added.
The 42-year-old Coke is facing a 23-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy and one count of conspiracy to commit assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering. Rosen, however, said that the judge had the discretion of imposing a lesser sentence on Coke, who had been on a list of the world's most dangerous drug traffickers.
As a result of the plea agreement, Coke will not be prosecuted on the gun and cocaine-running charges for which he was extradited from Jamaica to the United States last year June, a month after a bloody uprising by gunmen in his Tivoli Gardens stronghold to thwart his arrest.
Coke, who acknowledged involvement in the distribution of more than three tons of marijuana and more than 30 pounds of cocaine, is set to be sentenced in the Daniel Patrick Moynihan US Court in Manhattan, New York.
Indeed, stories abound of Coke rendering financial assistance and helping to provide employment for the people of Tivoli Gardens. In the wake of Coke's extradition to the United States last year, many Tivoli Gardens residents lamented the financial hardship that they have had to endure, especially in meeting back-to-school expenses.
Coke's benevolence aside, the US authorities said that the former Tivoli Gardens don had for years accumulated his wealth through the trafficking of arms and drugs between Jamaica and the United States as head of the notorious Shower Posse or Presidential Click. According to court documents, since 1994, members of the Presidential Click have been involved in drug-trafficking in locations throughout the world, including New York City, Miami, and Kingston, Jamaica.
United States prosecutors are now moving to have Coke's assets forfeited under that country's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations (RICO) Act.
Coke's guilty plea comes just two weeks ahead of his scheduled trial on September 12 and shocked most Jamaicans — especially those in Tivoli Gardens — who were of the view that the former strongman would have put up a fight.
Rosen told the Observer on Wednesday that Coke's decision to make a plea resulted from the failure last week to have the court throw out damning wiretap evidence against him and the fact that 12 felons from Tivoli Gardens were set to testify about Coke committing at least six murders in the furtherance of his alleged drug and gun-running operations.
Rosen said his client risked being imprisoned for life had he gone to trial and was convicted.
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/...#ixzz1WnbKCPSB
Coke admitted to heavy distribution of drugs
BY PAUL HENRY Crime/Court Desk co-ordinator henryp@jamaicaobserver.com
Friday, September 02, 2011
THE attorney for reputed drug lord Christopher 'Dudus' is pleading for anyone who may have benefited from the kindness of his client to now return the favour.
Hours after Coke pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges in a Manhattan court on Wednesday, attorney Stephen H Rosen told the Observer that Coke is now in need of people to send letters to Judge Robert P Patterson outlining his good deeds and kindness ahead of his sentencing on December 8.
Coke is now in need of people to send letters to Judge Robert P Patterson outlining his good deeds and kindness ahead of his sentencing on December 8.
"We need all their support when it comes to the sentencing... and for anybody who could come to court and speak on Coke's behalf," said Rosen.
The attorney outlined, but not in detail, a case in which he said a woman had praised Coke for his intervention, which resulted in her son being able to attend university. "Those are the people we want," he added.
The 42-year-old Coke is facing a 23-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to one count of racketeering conspiracy and one count of conspiracy to commit assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering. Rosen, however, said that the judge had the discretion of imposing a lesser sentence on Coke, who had been on a list of the world's most dangerous drug traffickers.
As a result of the plea agreement, Coke will not be prosecuted on the gun and cocaine-running charges for which he was extradited from Jamaica to the United States last year June, a month after a bloody uprising by gunmen in his Tivoli Gardens stronghold to thwart his arrest.
Coke, who acknowledged involvement in the distribution of more than three tons of marijuana and more than 30 pounds of cocaine, is set to be sentenced in the Daniel Patrick Moynihan US Court in Manhattan, New York.
Indeed, stories abound of Coke rendering financial assistance and helping to provide employment for the people of Tivoli Gardens. In the wake of Coke's extradition to the United States last year, many Tivoli Gardens residents lamented the financial hardship that they have had to endure, especially in meeting back-to-school expenses.
Coke's benevolence aside, the US authorities said that the former Tivoli Gardens don had for years accumulated his wealth through the trafficking of arms and drugs between Jamaica and the United States as head of the notorious Shower Posse or Presidential Click. According to court documents, since 1994, members of the Presidential Click have been involved in drug-trafficking in locations throughout the world, including New York City, Miami, and Kingston, Jamaica.
United States prosecutors are now moving to have Coke's assets forfeited under that country's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations (RICO) Act.
Coke's guilty plea comes just two weeks ahead of his scheduled trial on September 12 and shocked most Jamaicans — especially those in Tivoli Gardens — who were of the view that the former strongman would have put up a fight.
Rosen told the Observer on Wednesday that Coke's decision to make a plea resulted from the failure last week to have the court throw out damning wiretap evidence against him and the fact that 12 felons from Tivoli Gardens were set to testify about Coke committing at least six murders in the furtherance of his alleged drug and gun-running operations.
Rosen said his client risked being imprisoned for life had he gone to trial and was convicted.
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/...#ixzz1WnbKCPSB
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