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This US Attorney is on form. Her presentation is immaculate. Looks like Dudus never tried out for American Idol.
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Dudus employed brutal code of discipline, says US Attorney
Sunday, February 26, 2012
SOME residents of Tivoli Gardens are hoping that Christopher 'Dudus' Coke will not be sentenced to the maximum 23 years in prison being sought by New York prosecutors. However, the Americans are arguing that the ruthlessness of the former Shower Posse boss requires that he be put away for as long as possible.
In a 30-page sentencing memorandum filed in the US Southern District Court of New York last Wednesday, US Attorney Preet Bharara gave graphic accounts of a number of brutal crimes he said were committed by Coke and/or his associates with impunity for over a decade.
NEW YORK, USA — United States DEA agents escort Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke from Westchester County Airport to a waiting vehicle in White Plains, New York on June 24, 2010, the day he was extradited from Jamaica. (Photo: AP)
One of the barricades set up by gunmen at one of the entrances to Tivoli in May 2010.
NEW YORK, USA — United States DEA agents escort Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke from Westchester County Airport to a waiting vehicle in White Plains, New York on June 24, 2010, the day he was extradited from Jamaica. (Photo: AP)
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The prosecutor also argued that Coke controlled Tivoli Gardens using a combination of violence, intimidation and the provision of financial assistance from his trade in guns and drugs.
"In light of Coke's brutal code of discipline, his control of the Tivoli Gardens community through violence and intimidation, and his exploitation of the weaker members of the community, the financial assistance Coke provided to residents of Tivoli Gardens was crucial to Coke's ability to retain their loyalty," Bharara stated in the sentencing memorandum.
According to the attorney, Coke's contributions to Tivoli were a means to control residents who otherwise might have resisted his leadership and control.
The prosecutor pointed to unsolicited letters received by judge Robert Patterson from residents of Tivoli Gardens and surrounding communities reflecting "the suffering of individuals and their families at the hands of Coke and other members of his organisation".
These letters tell the fate of many women in Tivoli Gardens who, it is alleged, "Coke uses and abuses as violently as he likes".
According to the letters, women who opposed Coke's control found themselves locked up in his informal jail in West Kingston.
Other letters described alleged atrocities carried out by Coke's "soldiers".
"The soldiers' responsibilities included guarding narcotics stored in stash houses within or nearby Tivoli Gardens, defending the area against rival organisations, locating, apprehending and in some cases punishing individuals at Coke's direction, and participating in election-related activities — including 'motivating' members of surrounding communities to support particular candidates for Jamaican political office by intimidation," the US Attorney wrote.
Coke was extradited to the US in June 2010 after waiving his right to a hearing in a Jamaican court. His extradition ended a nine-month stand-off between Kingston and Washington caused by the then Bruce Golding-led Government opposing the extradition request on the basis that evidence gathered by the Americans against Coke breached his constitutional rights.
Mounting public and media pressure eventually resulted in Golding agreeing to the extradition request, but Coke assembled a militia of gunmen from across the island who barricaded Tivoli Gardens and ignored repeated appeals by the police to clear the blockades — which were loaded with explosives — and surrender.
A few days after Tivoli residents, mostly women, staged a peaceful protest march in West Kingston in support of Coke, gunmen loyal to the former strongman launched unprovoked attacks on the security forces, torched two police stations and a section of Coronation Market and shot dead two cops and injured six others on the night of May 23, 2010.
The policemen were responding to a distress call from a female motorist at the Rockfort Police Station who was reportedly fired on by gunmen on Mountain View Avenue.
On May 24, a massive military-led operation was carried out in Tivoli Gardens in which soldiers and police were met with heavy fire from gunmen. One soldier was shot dead and six members of the security forces were injured in that assault.
The operation ended two days later with more than 70 fatalities and the security forces taking control of Tivoli. However, by then Coke had fled the community and was on the lam for almost four weeks before being captured by police.
Since then, he has pleaded guilty to racketeering in a plea deal with the US authorities and his sentencing has been postponed at least twice.
He is scheduled to be sentenced this Tuesday. On Friday, a female resident of Tivoli Gardens expressed hope that the former strongman would not receive the 23 years sentence being sought by the prosecution. "The people of Tivoli want the sentence to go down, because the whole place mash down without him," she said. According to the woman, ever since Coke's arrest and extradition there have been a lot of robberies in the community and fighting for turf, which was unheard of under his rule. She also claimed that the police stationed in the community were not effective. "He is really, really a good man for West Kingston," said another resident. "Everybody just respect this man and he doesn't use fear to keep the peace."
Added another: "We a beg for it [the 23-year sentence] not to happen. We need him back bad, bad, bad."
In a letter to the judge in September, Coke accepted responsibility for his actions and asked for a sentence "below the guideline range".
However, in his sentencing memorandum last Wednesday, Bharara insisted that "Coke should not be given leniency, and thus rewarded for charitable works made possible in part by the illegal activities for which he is being sentenced".
The prosecutor argued that Coke engaged in the charged crimes for over 10 years with impunity. "He did so while the leader occupying a prominent position as not only of the Presidential Click criminal organisation, but of the Tivoli Gardens community. In so doing, Coke flouted the laws of both Jamaica and the United States. He participated in narcotics and firearms-trafficking crimes in the United States and illegally channelled the cash profits and the weapons to himself and his criminal associates in Kingston. Coke caused serious harm to countless others in so doing and for many years appeared to live beyond the reach of law enforcement," Bharara wrote.
He argued that a sentence that is the maximum allowed for the crimes to which Coke pleaded guilty will have a powerful deterrent effect.
"Such a sentence will make clear that those leaders of international organisations who commit crimes in the United States and who use violence and intimidation to achieve their aims, harming citizens of two countries in the process, will be punished to the fullest extent of the law," the prosecutor said, adding that a sentence of 276 months is also necessary to protect the public from further crimes of the defendant.
He pointed out that the persons who wrote to the judge had asked that Coke and his co-conspirators be kept "away from Jamaica forever" and that Coke "spend the rest of his life in a maximum security facility".
Added the US Attorney: "It is clear from the circumstances of Coke's arrest that he had an extremely loyal following in Jamaica, including those willing to risk their lives to defend him. A substantial sentence — the statutory maximum — is necessary to reduce the risk that Coke resumes his leadership position in the organisation and his criminal activities upon his release from prison and his return to Jamaica."
Dudus employed brutal code of discipline, says US Attorney
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/...#ixzz1nVfcUts4
[COLOR=#113f8f !important] [/COLOR]
Dudus employed brutal code of discipline, says US Attorney
Sunday, February 26, 2012
SOME residents of Tivoli Gardens are hoping that Christopher 'Dudus' Coke will not be sentenced to the maximum 23 years in prison being sought by New York prosecutors. However, the Americans are arguing that the ruthlessness of the former Shower Posse boss requires that he be put away for as long as possible.
In a 30-page sentencing memorandum filed in the US Southern District Court of New York last Wednesday, US Attorney Preet Bharara gave graphic accounts of a number of brutal crimes he said were committed by Coke and/or his associates with impunity for over a decade.
NEW YORK, USA — United States DEA agents escort Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke from Westchester County Airport to a waiting vehicle in White Plains, New York on June 24, 2010, the day he was extradited from Jamaica. (Photo: AP)
One of the barricades set up by gunmen at one of the entrances to Tivoli in May 2010.
NEW YORK, USA — United States DEA agents escort Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke from Westchester County Airport to a waiting vehicle in White Plains, New York on June 24, 2010, the day he was extradited from Jamaica. (Photo: AP)#slideshowtoggler, #slideshowtoggler a, #slideshowtoggler img {filter:none !important;zoom:normal !important}
1/2 The prosecutor also argued that Coke controlled Tivoli Gardens using a combination of violence, intimidation and the provision of financial assistance from his trade in guns and drugs.
"In light of Coke's brutal code of discipline, his control of the Tivoli Gardens community through violence and intimidation, and his exploitation of the weaker members of the community, the financial assistance Coke provided to residents of Tivoli Gardens was crucial to Coke's ability to retain their loyalty," Bharara stated in the sentencing memorandum.
According to the attorney, Coke's contributions to Tivoli were a means to control residents who otherwise might have resisted his leadership and control.
The prosecutor pointed to unsolicited letters received by judge Robert Patterson from residents of Tivoli Gardens and surrounding communities reflecting "the suffering of individuals and their families at the hands of Coke and other members of his organisation".
These letters tell the fate of many women in Tivoli Gardens who, it is alleged, "Coke uses and abuses as violently as he likes".
According to the letters, women who opposed Coke's control found themselves locked up in his informal jail in West Kingston.
Other letters described alleged atrocities carried out by Coke's "soldiers".
"The soldiers' responsibilities included guarding narcotics stored in stash houses within or nearby Tivoli Gardens, defending the area against rival organisations, locating, apprehending and in some cases punishing individuals at Coke's direction, and participating in election-related activities — including 'motivating' members of surrounding communities to support particular candidates for Jamaican political office by intimidation," the US Attorney wrote.
Coke was extradited to the US in June 2010 after waiving his right to a hearing in a Jamaican court. His extradition ended a nine-month stand-off between Kingston and Washington caused by the then Bruce Golding-led Government opposing the extradition request on the basis that evidence gathered by the Americans against Coke breached his constitutional rights.
Mounting public and media pressure eventually resulted in Golding agreeing to the extradition request, but Coke assembled a militia of gunmen from across the island who barricaded Tivoli Gardens and ignored repeated appeals by the police to clear the blockades — which were loaded with explosives — and surrender.
A few days after Tivoli residents, mostly women, staged a peaceful protest march in West Kingston in support of Coke, gunmen loyal to the former strongman launched unprovoked attacks on the security forces, torched two police stations and a section of Coronation Market and shot dead two cops and injured six others on the night of May 23, 2010.
The policemen were responding to a distress call from a female motorist at the Rockfort Police Station who was reportedly fired on by gunmen on Mountain View Avenue.
On May 24, a massive military-led operation was carried out in Tivoli Gardens in which soldiers and police were met with heavy fire from gunmen. One soldier was shot dead and six members of the security forces were injured in that assault.
The operation ended two days later with more than 70 fatalities and the security forces taking control of Tivoli. However, by then Coke had fled the community and was on the lam for almost four weeks before being captured by police.
Since then, he has pleaded guilty to racketeering in a plea deal with the US authorities and his sentencing has been postponed at least twice.
He is scheduled to be sentenced this Tuesday. On Friday, a female resident of Tivoli Gardens expressed hope that the former strongman would not receive the 23 years sentence being sought by the prosecution. "The people of Tivoli want the sentence to go down, because the whole place mash down without him," she said. According to the woman, ever since Coke's arrest and extradition there have been a lot of robberies in the community and fighting for turf, which was unheard of under his rule. She also claimed that the police stationed in the community were not effective. "He is really, really a good man for West Kingston," said another resident. "Everybody just respect this man and he doesn't use fear to keep the peace."
Added another: "We a beg for it [the 23-year sentence] not to happen. We need him back bad, bad, bad."
In a letter to the judge in September, Coke accepted responsibility for his actions and asked for a sentence "below the guideline range".
However, in his sentencing memorandum last Wednesday, Bharara insisted that "Coke should not be given leniency, and thus rewarded for charitable works made possible in part by the illegal activities for which he is being sentenced".
The prosecutor argued that Coke engaged in the charged crimes for over 10 years with impunity. "He did so while the leader occupying a prominent position as not only of the Presidential Click criminal organisation, but of the Tivoli Gardens community. In so doing, Coke flouted the laws of both Jamaica and the United States. He participated in narcotics and firearms-trafficking crimes in the United States and illegally channelled the cash profits and the weapons to himself and his criminal associates in Kingston. Coke caused serious harm to countless others in so doing and for many years appeared to live beyond the reach of law enforcement," Bharara wrote.
He argued that a sentence that is the maximum allowed for the crimes to which Coke pleaded guilty will have a powerful deterrent effect.
"Such a sentence will make clear that those leaders of international organisations who commit crimes in the United States and who use violence and intimidation to achieve their aims, harming citizens of two countries in the process, will be punished to the fullest extent of the law," the prosecutor said, adding that a sentence of 276 months is also necessary to protect the public from further crimes of the defendant.
He pointed out that the persons who wrote to the judge had asked that Coke and his co-conspirators be kept "away from Jamaica forever" and that Coke "spend the rest of his life in a maximum security facility".
Added the US Attorney: "It is clear from the circumstances of Coke's arrest that he had an extremely loyal following in Jamaica, including those willing to risk their lives to defend him. A substantial sentence — the statutory maximum — is necessary to reduce the risk that Coke resumes his leadership position in the organisation and his criminal activities upon his release from prison and his return to Jamaica."
Dudus employed brutal code of discipline, says US Attorney
Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/...#ixzz1nVfcUts4
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