Court Digest

Virginia
Suits allege 29 companies discriminated against renters
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia’s attorney general’s office has filed lawsuits against more than two dozen real estate companies accused of discriminating against renters protected under a recent change to state law.

Attorney General Mark Herring’s Office of Civil Rights filed 13 lawsuits Monday against 29 real estate companies in Richmond, Chesterfield and Henrico, news outlets report.

The Office of Civil Rights alleges that the companies that own and operate rental housing “categorically rejected” callers who disclosed that they were going to use a Housing Choice Voucher to pay their rent.

The lawsuits are the first of their kind under an addition to state fair housing protections that forbids housing discrimination on the basis of source of income. The law was designed to protect households living in poverty that rely on the federal voucher program to pay a portion of their rent.

New Jersey
Executive who embezzled $48 million gets 75-month sentence
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — A former publication company executive was sentenced to more than six years in prison Monday in a $48 million embezzlement plot.

A federal judge sentenced Nestor Charriez to 75 months and also ordered him to pay $43 million in restitution.

The 60-year-old Scotch Plains resident pleaded guilty last year to one count of wire fraud. Charriez worked for Hoboken-based Harrison Scott Publications, a publisher of business news.

According to the U.S. attorney’s office, Charriez’s responsibilities included overseeing and managing its payroll, which was handled by an outside contractor.

From at least 2002 through June 2019, Charriez embezzled millions of dollars through unauthorized “bonus” payments to himself, prosecutors said. He submitted false payroll instructions to the contractor, indicating that he was entitled to massive bonuses — hundreds of thousands of dollars at a time — which his employer had not approved, prosecutors said. Specific details on how Charriez spent the money were not disclosed.

Robert Stahl, an attorney representing Charriez, said in an email Monday that his client had an addictive disorder that manifested as an obsessive-compulsive need to acquire things of value.

“He is a good husband, father and grandfather who deeply regrets his actions and the effects that his actions have had on so many people close to him, particularly his employers and co-workers,” Stahl said.

Colorado
Judge charged with felony menacing loses leadership job
DENVER (AP) — A Colorado state judge was removed from his leadership position after being charged with felony menacing on Saturday.

Judge Mark Thompson, the chief judge for the 5th Judicial District, is accused of using a real or simulated weapon in the alleged July 25 menacing incident, which was investigated by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, according to limited online court records.

The case was listed as suppressed from public view and documents detailing the allegations against Thompson were not available.

In a court filing, prosecutors requested the secrecy because Thompson is a public official and “prominent member” of the community, The Denver Post reported.

“The release at this time of any of the documents of record in this matter could result in disclosure of information that could result in destruction, or secreting evidence and tampering with identified and unidentified witnesses, which could jeopardize the ongoing investigation and/or interfere with the rights of the defendant, including irreversible harm to reputation, and the defendant’s and the People’s right to a fair trial,” the prosecutors wrote.

Judge Paul Dunkelman granted the request in a one-line order Saturday. Although judges have been required since May to issue written orders that explain why they are limiting public access to a case and why there is not a less restrictive way to protect information, such as through redactions, the order does not address that.

A message left for Thompson’s lawyer was not returned Monday.

Colorado Supreme Court Chief Justice Brian Boatright on Saturday appointed Dunkelman to serve as interim chief judge for the district, which includes Clear Creek, Eagle, Lake and Summit counties, while the criminal case against Thompson is pending.

Thompson is on planned paid time off and will resume his duties as a judge when he returns, judicial branch spokesperson Rob McCallum said.

California
Pair indicted in hostage-taking death of teen
SAN DIEGO (AP) — Two Mexican nationals have been indicted on drug-trafficking and hostage-taking charges in connection with the killing of a San Diego teenager in Mexico.

Prosecutors say the 19-year-old victim, identified in court papers only by his initials, stole drugs that he was planning to smuggle from Mexico into the U.S. In response, alleged drug traffickers kidnapped the teen from a Tijuana hotel at gunpoint and took him hostage in an effort to extort his parents, according to prosecutors.

The alleged kidnappers eventually cut off contact with the family. The victim has not been seen or heard from since May 30, 2020, and is presumed dead, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported Sunday.

A federal grand jury handed down an indictment against two Tijuana residents, 21-year-old Wyatt Valencia-Pacheco and 22-year-old Jonathan Emmanuel Montellano-Mora, in June. The indictment was unsealed last week, the newspaper reported.

It accuses the duo of intentional killing while engaged in drug trafficking, a charge punishable by a minimum of 20 years in federal prison, and two charges that carry minimum life sentences: hostage-taking resulting in death and conspiracy to take hostages resulting in death.

Valencia-Pacheco is in custody, and a federal magistrate judge on Friday declined to release him on bond. Montellano-Mora remains a fugitive. It wasn’t known Monday if either man has an attorney.

Nebraska
Former jailer sentenced for sexual abuse of county prisoner
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A former Saline County jail was sentenced Monday to a year and a day in federal prison for sexually abusing an inmate.

Monty Roesler, 62, of Beatrice, pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a ward. He will also serve five years of supervised release.

Prosecutors said Roesler had sexual contact several times with a federal prisoner being held in the county jail in Wilber. He also was bringing contraband into the jail to ensure her silence, which is a crime, the Lincoln Journal-Star reported.

Roesler’s attorney, Tim Noerrlinger, asked for probation, noting that Roesler previously had a limited criminal record.

The woman has sued Roesler, Saline County and Sheriff Alan Moore in federal court.

Roesler was ordered to report for his sentence Dec. 15.

Rhode Island
Man pleads guilty to drug trafficking charges
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A Providence man who tried to sell a large amount of fentanyl and heroin while under surveillance by law enforcement pleaded guilty Monday to drug trafficking charges, federal prosecutors said.

Josimar Delacruz-Reyes, 31, was under investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration in March 2019 when arrangements were made to purchase two kilograms (4.4 pounds) of fentanyl and approximately 400 grams (14 ounces) of heroin from the defendant for an agreed upon price of $115,000, according to a statement from the U.S. attorney’s office in Rhode Island.

After the drugs were seized, Delacruz-Reyes was arrested as he traveled to a nearby coffee shop where he was expecting to receive a cash payment for the drugs, prosecutors said.

When his home was searched, authorities found even more fentanyl.

He pleaded guilty to possession with intent to deliver 400 grams or more of fentanyl and possession with intent to distribute 100 grams or more of heroin. Delacruz-Reyes, who has been detained since his arrest, faces sentencing on Jan. 20.

Illinois
Former Chicago college student convicted of terrorism charge
CHICAGO (AP) — A former Chicago college student was convicted Monday of attempting to provide material support to the Islamic State group.

Thomas Osadzinski, 22, designed a computer code to help IS bypass programs designed to block the group’s propaganda, prosecutors said. The former DePaul University student, who was born in a Chicago suburb, was living in the city when he was arrested in 2019 during an FBI sting. He faces up to 20 years in prison.

His attorney, Joshua Herman, said during closing arguments that the case centered on the right to free speech and that Osadzinski had the right to watch and share the videos.
“Liking ISIS is not illegal,” Herman said in court.

But prosecutors alleged Osadzinski worked in coordination or at the direction of IS. Authorities said Osadzinski boasted in communications about his computer skills and ability to speak Arabic, and he bragged that he would use a gun and explosives to elude authorities if need be.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Melody Wells said Osadzinski was responding to the group’s directives to support it “on the digital front.”

“There is nothing independent about this,” Wells said.

The jury, which deliberated for four hours starting Friday, returned its verdict Monday at Chicago’s federal court. The trial lasted two weeks.

Louisiana
Woman reaches plea deal after daughter found dead amid filth
ALEXANDRIA, La. (AP) — A 50-year-old Louisiana woman has accepted a 50-year sentence as part of a plea agreement in the death of her 25-year-old disabled daughter, who died dehydrated and in filth.

Karen Johnson Harrison of the Plainview area pleaded guilty Monday to manslaughter and conspiracy to commit second-degree murder of Cyra Shantelle Marie Harrison, who had cerebral palsy, The Town Talk reported.

The coroner’s report described Cyra Harrison’s death as homicide. She died from failure to thrive and dehydration due to cerebral palsy and neglect, according to the report, which estimated her weight at death at 65 to 70 pounds (29 to 32 kilograms).

Karen Harrison had been scheduled for trial this week on two cruelty charges and one count of second-degree murder, which carries an automatic life sentence.

“Karen Harrison will be over 100 years old at the conclusion of this sentence,” said the prosecutor, Rapides Parish Assistant District Attorney Brian Cespiva. “We’ve effectively secured a life sentence without the inherent risks of a trial.”

Rapides Parish Sheriff’s deputies answered a call about a natural death in 2018 but called detectives, who arrested Karen Harrison and a couple who shared the house days later.

The victim’s body was found on a mattress covered with rotting food, dog food and bodily fluids, and the mattress lay on the floor of a house littered with animal feces and infested with roaches and flies, the report said.

The two other suspects, Glen Elva Maricle and his wife, Marilyn Sue Maricle, are still awaiting trial.

All three were indicted on charges of second-degree murder, conspiracy to commit second-degree murder, cruelty to the infirm and cruelty to a juvenile.

District Court Judge Chris Hazel sentenced Karen Harrison to the maximum 40 years for manslaughter and 10 years for conspiracy, to run consecutively. Time spent in jail before trial will count toward the sentence.

Florida
Judge agrees to delay in sentencing for Gaetz friend
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A federal judge on Monday agreed to push back until next year the sentencing for U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz’s friend who pleaded guilty earlier this year to sex trafficking and other charges.

U.S. District Judge Gregory Presnell said sentencing for Joel Greenberg could be postponed from next month to next March during a hearing in federal court in Orlando. Greenberg’s attorney had asked for the delay so the former local tax collector can continue cooperating with federal authorities. Prosecutors agreed to the postponement.

Greenberg wasn’t present during the 20-minute hearing. The judge said he would set a new sentencing date in the future.

Greenberg is facing up to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty last May to six federal crimes, including sex trafficking of a child, identity theft, stalking, wire fraud and conspiracy to bribe a public official.

Greenberg’s plea agreement with prosecutors requires continued cooperation with an ongoing probe into sex trafficking.

Gaetz, a Republican who represents much of the Florida Panhandle, was not mentioned in Greenberg’s plea agreement. But Greenberg’s cooperation could play a role in an ongoing investigation into Gaetz, who was accused of paying a 17-year-old girl for sex. Gaetz has denied the allegations and previously said they were part of an extortion plot.