clercjr

VRS case: Bonheyo and Larry Berke case updates
clercjr On Friday February 10, 2012, lawyer Thomas J. Pryor of the law firm ‘Stark & Stark' (based in Princeton, NJ) filed a notice of appearance with the NJ court on behalf of both Bonheyos. He was retained, meaning they secured his services (as previously reported by iDeafNews) rather than being a court-appointed attorney. On Monday [...]
Wed, Feb 15 2012

VRS case: Yehs sent to a different prison
clercjr The federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Inmate Locator website shows both Yehs are now incarcerated at FCI Schuylkill in Minersville, PA. Judge Pisano had agreed with the defense request to recommend FPC Cumberland (MD) to the BOP for placement but the BOP still has the final say in actual assigned location. Sometimes a prison is [...]
Tue, Jan 31 2012

VRS case: Bonheyos’ arraignment
clercjr This morning (Friday January 27, 2012), in a federal district court in Trenton, NJ, Judge Joel A. Pisano held a 20 minute arraignment hearing for both Bonheyos. This is basically the beginning of the court case process for the defendants. Routine matters were covered such as bond (bail) arrangements, pre-trial supervision, charges read (they waived [...]
Fri, Jan 27 2012

VRS case: Lisa Goetz sentenced
clercjr This morning, in a brief half hour hearing in a Trenton courtroom, federal District Judge Joel A. Pisano sentenced Lisa Goetz to 5 years of probation with special conditions, no fine, and must pay back $2.5 million in restitution. All charges were dropped except for count #4 (conspiracy to commit mail fraud). The brief summary [...]
Fri, Jan 27 2012

VRS case: Arrest warrant to be issued for Benjamin Pena
clercjr On January 10, 2012, Judge Joel A. Pisano directed the probation department to issue a memo explaining the situation and draw up an arrest warrant for Benjamin Pena due to finding Mr. Pena having violated the terms of his pre-sentencing probation conditions. Details behind the violation(s) are unknown at this time. It is a serious situation [...]
Thu, Jan 12 2012

VRS case: Kim E. Hawkins sentenced
clercjr This morning in court during an hour-and-half sentencing hearing, federal District Judge Joel A. Pisano sentenced VRS fraud case defendant Kim E. Hawkins to 5 years of probation with special conditions attached and a fine of $2.5 million to be repaid. I contacted prosecutor Robert A. Zink and Hawkins' defense attorney, Stacy Biancamano, requesting comment [...]
Tue, Jan 10 2012

Two kinds of federal court-appointed lawyers
clercjr Let's translate some legal language into plain English first, then I'll talk about the two kinds of court-appointed lawyers in federal courts. Any time you see “U.S.”, I want you to translate it to “federal” in your mind. Some examples: U.S. Courthouse = federal courthouse. U.S. Marshal = federal marshal. U.S. Attorney = federal att...
Fri, Jan 06 2012

ATTENTION: Bonheyo arraignment rescheduled
clercjr I just wanted to warn because some people from MD/DC area were interested in attending the arraignment hearing for the Bonheyos. It has been rescheduled by the court — moved from Tuesday January 10, 2012 to Friday January 27 at 10:30am. Still the same courtroom in Trenton. After that hearing, I will be seeking comment [...]
Thu, Jan 05 2012

Obtaining court documents can be expensive!
clercjr I talked with Judge Pisano's court reporter, JoAnne M. Caruso, on the phone yesterday morning and found out that she charges $1.20 per page for a copy of completed transcripts. She estimated Benjamin Pena's 3 day trial would be about 500 to 600 pages of trial transcript — about $600 to $720! She also estimated [...]
Wed, Jan 04 2012

Minor VRS case updates
clercjr The Yehs requested a three week delay in reporting to federal prison for personal reasons, which was granted by Judge Pisano and received no objections from the prosecution or any other parties. So now they will report to Federal Prison Camp (FPC) Cumberland [MD] at noon Eastern on January 31, 2012. The only other case [...]
Wed, Jan 04 2012

VRS case documents
clercjr I will keep links to important VRS case documents that I've already posted in various other posts, so you can easily find key information quickly. I will update this post periodically as I add more documents and will keep a shortcut to this under the ‘Important VRS Case Information' links section. --- Case 3:09-cr-00810 (ICSD [...]
Sat, Dec 31 2011

VRS case list
clercjr I will be keeping this post listed under the ‘Important VRS case information' link section to find quickly in the future. I will also add or update as new cases are opened or old cases are closed (usually after sentencing or dismissal of all charges). Case List: (Note: terminated means the case has been fully [...]
Sat, Dec 31 2011

VRS case sentencing hearing schedule
clercjr Instead of making a new post every time this information change, I will try to keep this post updated the best I can. I check for updates in court records every once in a while and when I find a new change, I will update this. You can access this quickly at my blog under [...]
Sat, Dec 31 2011

Interesting new information about Bonheyo case
clercjr I obtained more information about the Bonheyo case from public court records, including the arrest warrants and financial affidavits, which I've put up at end of this post. The numbers in the financial affidavits doesn't seem to add up or make much sense. I'll explain why in a bit. A correction: Only Jerome Bonheyo obtained [...]
Thu, Dec 29 2011

What is federal prison like for a Deaf inmate?
clercjr For a moment, please put aside your feelings about VRS fraud defendants who will be going to federal prison. This is more about what federal prison is like and how Deaf inmates are even more abused or not accommodated for even basic ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) accommodations despite it being required by law. Not [...]
Tue, Dec 27 2011
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Govt shutdown of texting dangerous to deaf in Congo
clercjr Deaf people in a war-torn African country affected by gov't-imposed text messaging shutdown: [link] The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (not to be confused with the Republic of Congo) shut down text messaging with a profound impact on 1.4 million deaf people living there in avoiding the war zones. Scary. CIA World Factbook [...]
Sat, Dec 24 2011

VRS case update: Many defendants sentencing postponed
clercjr Sentencing has been indefinitely postponed for many defendants until the court receives the PSR (Pre-Sentencing Report) from Pre-Trial Services. Then the court will set dates. Affected defendants: Buscaron, Fernandez, Hutchinson, Bacallao, Azrelyant, Finkle, Zfati, Strusa, Iskandarova, Holovkin, Pena, Rubeck, Frankel. Previously, most defendants had a scheduled senten...
Wed, Dec 21 2011

MAJOR UPDATE: New VRS fraud case opened!
clercjr On December 15, a federal grand jury indicted (accused) a Frederick, MD-based contracting company named B&B's CEO Bridgette Bonheyo and CFO Jerome (“Jerry”) Bonheyo of VRS fraud. This was filed under seal until unsealed yesterday when they were arrested and brought to local federal district court in Maryland for their initial appearance in front ...
Tue, Dec 20 2011

VRS case update: Larry Berke sentenced to federal prison
clercjr Yesterday (December 19, 2011), federal District Judge Joel A. Pisano sentenced Larry Berke to 24 months in federal prison on a single count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud — all others were dismissed, a $2.5 million fine, and a $100 special asseessment fee during an hour-long sentencing hearing. Judge Pisano allowed Mr. Berke to [...]
Tue, Dec 20 2011

Who at 123 Sesame Street would you want to most meet?
clercjr Many people would say Big Bird. Or perhaps Ernie and Bert. Or Oscar the Grouch. Or even Elmo. My answer? Joan Ganz Cooney has my number one vote. In this post, I'll talk a bit about why Sesame Street itself was a wild idea in the 1960s, the first episode and how it's different from [...]
Tue, Dec 20 2011

Ahh-ha! clercjr’s real identity unmasked!
clercjr Who is clercjr? Answer revealed in the final sentence of this post! SHHHH! Don't tell clercjr I wrote this expose on him! clercjr was born profoundly deaf on a cold afternoon in Massachusetts on October 20, 1974, due to Waardenburg Syndrome. He has never truly heard sound unless it was louder than maybe 120 decibels [...]
Mon, Dec 12 2011

VRS case — Kathleen Valle charges to be dropped
clercjr On December 6, 2011, according to a court document, prosecutor Robert Zink said Kathleen Valle had successfully completed her Pre-Trial Diversion (PTD) program so he petitioned the court to have all charges dropped. It now only needs Judge Pisano's signature to make it official, which appears to be a mere formality. Two days later, Donald [...]
Mon, Dec 12 2011

More information about Yehs and Viable outcome
clercjr I contacted all three lawyers: John Yeh's lawyer (Paul F. Kemp), Joseph Yeh's lawyer (Stanley Reed), and Viable's lawyer (Timothy Sullivan). As of publication time, only Mr. Kemp had graciously agreed to provide a public comment on behalf of John (and Joseph) Yeh: I believe that my client was shown to be a very good [...]
Fri, Dec 02 2011

Court hands down stiff sentences to Yehs and Viable
clercjr Today, Judge Pisano sentenced John Yeh to 108 months in federal prison with 3 years of post-prison supervised release (aka parole supervision). He was given credit for the time he spent in a Maryland jail earlier this year before state charges were dropped over an unrelated matter. Joseph Yeh was sentenced to 55 months in [...]
Wed, Nov 30 2011

New updates to VRS cases
clercjr There was a sealed motion (not available to the public) filed in court today involving the Yehs and property forfeiture to the U.S. government, but this will be discussed in court tomorrow (Wednesday November 30) at 9am Eastern. Sentencing for Velasquez Verson, Thompson, and Martinez were rescheduled to June 5, 2012 at 10am. Sentencing for [...]
Tue, Nov 29 2011

Bacallao objects to pre-sentencing report
clercjr About two weeks ago, VRS case defendant Jessica Bacallao's lawyer filed an objection to the prosecution's prepared Presentence Investigation Report (also known as Pre-Sentencing Report, PSR). It is very important for federal defendants to clear up any errors or inaccuracies in the PSR because once it is finalized by the court, it generally cannot be [...]
Mon, Nov 28 2011

What happens before sentencing?
clercjr It depends, but if it involves a defendant with a guilty plea, there is a special step in the legal process that happens days before sentencing. The prosecution gets together with the defendant and his/her lawyer to review a special document the prosecutors prepared, called a sentencing memorandum. This is a private meeting, not in [...]
Fri, Nov 18 2011

More VRS cases sentencing rescheduled
clercjr Three days ago, the court rescheduled 6 defendants' sentencing dates (Azrelyant, Finkle, Strusa and Zfati, Iskandarova, Holovkin). New sentencing schedule (all times Eastern) is now: John Yeh, Joseph ---          November 30, 2011 at 9:30am Rubeck, ---     November 30, 2011 at 10am Mowl, --- December 14, 2011 at 10am Hawkins, --- [...]
Fri, Oct 21 2011

Court rescheduled sentencing hearings again
clercjr No surprise — expected it. Yesterday, the court rescheduled 3 more sentencing hearings. D. Berke, Goetz, Simmons are now scheduled for January 19, 2012 at 10am. So the current sentencing schedule is (all times Eastern): John Yeh, Joseph Yeh:
Wed, Sep 21 2011

Doris Martinez agreed to plead guilty
clercjr Doris Martinez's trial was scheduled for September 19, 2011. But on September 12, her lawyer submitted a change of plea to guilty after they were able to reach a plea agreement with the prosecutors. I know her lawyer said a while ago that plea negotiations failed but it sounds like he kept trying anyway because [...]
Tue, Sep 13 2011

Gally/MSSD: Thank you, Viv Simmons
clercjr Vivienne May Simmons left us way too soon, on a hot August day in 1994. The circumstances of her passing doesn't matter, honestly. What was far more important is what she contributed to the Deaf community and how she lived her life — to the maximum. Golly, where do I even start? I met her [...]
Mon, Aug 29 2011

A few VRS case mysteries
clercjr Mystery #1: Public federal court records do not show a scheduled sentencing date for two defendants (Hutchinson and Bacallao). Not known why. U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) declined to comment when I asked them several times and gave them about two months to reply. Mystery #2: Court records also said Viable Inc. was scheduled for [...]
Thu, Aug 25 2011

So you want to attend a VRS case sentencing?
clercjr If you would like to be present at any defendant's sentencing hearing, you can visit the federal district court in Trenton, NJ and sit in the public area. I am unable to attend so I will stick to public federal court records, but if you want to see how the justice system works in federal [...]
Thu, Aug 25 2011

Rescheduled sentencing for some VRS cases
clercjr Some recent changes resulting in rescheduled sentencing dates: John, Joseph Yeh: November 30, 2011 at 9:30am Mowl, Tropp:                       December 14, 2011 at 10am Hawkins, L. Berke:               December 19, 2011 at 10am Pena:                                   January 31, 2012 at 9:30am No word on why Mowl, Tropp, Hawkins, L. Berke, and PenaR...
Thu, Aug 25 2011

Yehs sentencing date postponed again
clercjr Today, the court announced John and Joseph Yeh will be sentenced on Wednesday November 30, 2011 at 9:30am Eastern. So they may not be the first defendants to be sentenced. Right now, they are scheduled to be sentenced an half hour before Rubeck and Frankel. Mowl and Tropp are still scheduled for sentencing on Tuesday [...]
Wed, Aug 03 2011

Pre-Sentencing Report is VERY important!
clercjr The Pre-Sentencing Report (PSR) is a special document prepared by Pre-Trial Services (PTS) before sentencing but after a defendant has been convicted in federal court. There are two versions of the PSR: one is given to the defendant and his/her lawyer to review for errors. The other version is the same thing but with secret [...]
Wed, Jul 27 2011

I had a preview of 9/11 bravery long before 9/11
clercjr Malls needs design improvements! And fewer chicken store associates, too. Many years ago, as a kid at a mall with friends, we split up while I browsed at a store. Felt something was odd; looked up. Store was empty, its front door grille was down, all customers and even the store associate (let's call him [...]
Thu, Jul 14 2011

I’m NOT out to get your friend!
clercjr I would like to explain a few things. I am NOT interested in editorializing about good or bad things (for most part) regarding the Viable VRS fraud cases. I believe everyone is already aware about the allegations (and has opinions) so I don't feel it's necessary to rehash them on my blog. I believe some [...]
Sat, Jul 02 2011

Want to get public federal court documents or case info?
clercjr This ONLY applies to federal courts. Some people were wondering how I got case information and documents — a very popular question! Here's how to do it in 18 easy steps: 1. Sign up for a federal PACER account (open to the public). You'll need a credit card or debit card and be willing to [...]
Fri, Jun 24 2011

John Yeh ordered released from jail
clercjr Today, federal Magistrate Judge Douglas E. Arpert ordered Yeh to be released from jail with the original bond conditions PLUS two new ones after both sides agreed to the release conditions: 1) Yeh must provide a full accounting (list) of all assets owned by Viable to the prosecutors by Monday July 5. 2) Yeh must [...]
Thu, Jun 23 2011

False information about John Yeh sentence
clercjr Last month, someone claimed to have information “from a reliable source” that John Yeh would be serving 18 years in prison due to 3 years on each of 6 charges, served consecutively. Not so. Yeh's plea agreement, signed by himself, his lawyer, and the federal prosecutor says the government will recommend up to 3 years [...]
Wed, Jun 22 2011

John Yeh’s state charges dropped; Yeh to be released from...
clercjr Interesting news from court today. State of Maryland is dropping all state charges against John Yeh because he owns the property alleged to have been stolen and they felt they couldn't prove theft. Federal Magistrate Judge Arpert said that if Maryland drops charges, he will allow John Yeh to leave jail with the same original [...]
Tue, Jun 21 2011

Chris Lambert’s release date: May 30, 2030
clercjr I knew Chris for about two years in school a long, long time ago. Even back then, he had his demons and struggles with very powerful and extremely addictive drugs. Very intelligent guy and very good with politics and the legal system. But my sympathies are with Tallie's family and friends. Chris will be 61 [...]
Sat, Jun 18 2011

FBI Flash notice (How John Yeh ended up in jail)
clercjr When the VRS fraud defendants were arrested in 2009, Magistrate Judge Arpert agreed to let them out on bail if they agreed to be supervised by Pre-Trial Services (PTS). PTS is basically like probation/parole supervision, but only for prior to sentencing. PTS had rules: no new arrests, no unauthorized travel, and other conditions. They also [...]
Sat, Jun 18 2011

Case Update #4 (Sentencing dates scheduled!)
clercjr Yesterday, the court scheduled sentencing for various defendants who has been found guilty (or pleaded guilty). As far as I know, John and Joseph Yeh's sentencing is on July 27, 2011. Mowl and Tropp: September 6, 2011 at 10am. Hawkins and L. Berke: September 28, 2011 at 10am. D. Berke and Goetz: November 10, 2011 [...]
Fri, Jun 17 2011

Ever met a Deaf eskimo in the Arctic?
clercjr I visited Barrow, Alaska — the furthest north U.S. town, in the winter! A few times. And I met an amazing Deaf eskimo named Richard Itta who turned 69 years old on Tax Day 2011. Yes, the sky is black despite it being 9:30am!!! No sunrise in Barrow from November through January every year. A [...]
Thu, Jun 16 2011

Case Update #3 (Martinez plea negotiations failed)
clercjr Doris Martinez's lawyer filed a court document that was published Sunday, saying that plea negotiations with the prosecution had failed, and requested a delay of the case for a September 19, 2011 trial. Judge Pisano has not yet indicated if he will approve the request and could still amend the trial date. So sit tight [...]
Tue, Jun 14 2011

Oral/speech/cued/etc. orgs also affected by tax-exempt issue
clercjr Someone asked for this list, so here it is: ADVOCATES FOR HEARING IMPAIRED ALARYNGEAL SPEECH CLINIC OF ST ALASKA SOCIETY OF ORAL AND ALLIANCE FOR HEARING IMPAIRED AMERICAN HEARING RESEARCH AMERICAN HEARING & SPEECH AMERICAN ORAL CANCER FOUNDATION AMY LOGAN WAUGH GIFT OF HEARING ARCON HEARING RESEARCH FOUNDATION ARIZONA HEARING AID SOCIETY ARIZONA SPEECH AND [...]
Mon, Jun 13 2011

Full list of known Deaf organizations affected by...
clercjr Because some people requested the sorted full list, here it is: ALASKA ASSOCIATION OF THE DEAF INC , ANCHORAGE             , AK DEAF AND HEARING VENTURES          , BHAM                  , AL BIRMINGHAM CLUB OF THE DEAF        , BIRMINGHAM            , AL REGISTRY OF INTERPRETERS FOR THE   , HUNTSVILLE            , AL NATIONAL DEAF BOWLING ASSOCIATION  , MCGEHEE      ...
Fri, Jun 10 2011

UPDATE: 250 deaf organizations stripped of tax-exempt status
clercjr I now have the master list of 279,603 organizations the IRS recently stripped of tax-exempt status due to lack of filing annual forms because of a new law Congress passed a few years ago. At least 250 of them are deaf/Deaf/HOH/Deaf-Blind/etc. organizations in 45 44 states, Washington, D.C. (one at Gallaudet), and the U.S. Virgin [...]
Fri, Jun 10 2011