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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK ------------------------------X UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, : : - versus : : : JUAN RAMON MATTA-WALDURRAGA, : Defendant : ------------------------------X
Docket# 14-cr-00442-KAM-1 U.S. Courthouse Brooklyn, New York December 7, 2017
TRANSCRIPT OF CRIMINAL CAUSE FOR PLEADING BEFORE THE HONORABLE JAMES ORENSTEIN UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE A
P
P
E
A
R
A
For the Government:
N
C
E
S:
Bridget M. Rohde, Esq. Acting U.S. Attorney BY:
Marcia Henry, Esq. Assistant U.S. Attorney 271 Cadman Plaza East Brooklyn, New York 11201
For the Defendant:
Irwin Lichter, Esq. Law Office Of Irwin Lichter P.A. 3390 Mary Street Suite 116 Miami, Florida 33133
Transcription Service:
Transcriptions Plus II, Inc. 61 Beatrice Avenue West Islip, New York 11795
[email protected]
Proceedings recorded by electronic sound-recording, transcript produced by transcription service
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2 Proceedings 1
THE CLERK:
Criminal Cause for A Pleading,
2
United States of America v. Matta-Waldurraga, docket
3
number 14-cr-442.
4 5
Will the parties please state their appearances for the record starting with the government.
6
MS. HENRY:
7
Marcia Henry for the United States.
8
THE COURT:
9
MR. LICHTER:
10 11
Good afternoon, your Honor.
Good afternoon. Good afternoon, your Honor.
Irwin Lichter on behalf of the defendant, who is present with me, being assisted by the interpreter.
12
THE COURT:
13
Are you Mr. Matta-Waldurraga?
14
THE DEFENDANT:
15
THE COURT:
16
Good afternoon.
Yes, your Honor.
With the assistance of the
interpreter, are you able to understand me so far?
17
THE DEFENDANT:
Yes, your Honor.
18
THE COURT:
19
understanding me, let me know.
If you have any difficulty
20
Will you do that please?
21
THE DEFENDANT:
22
THE COURT:
Thank you, your Honor.
Mr. Lichter, I understand your
23
client wishes to plead guilty to the sole count in the
24
indictment pursuant to an agreement with the government.
25
MR. LICHTER:
That's correct, your Honor.
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THE COURT:
All right.
Mr. Matta-Waldurraga,
2
if you're going to plead guilty to a crime today, there
3
are some questions I must ask you and your answers must
4
be truthful.
5
moment, so that you can be sworn in.
6
J U A N
I'm going to ask you to stand up for a
R A M O N
M A T T A - W A L D U R R A G A,
7
called as a witness, having been first duly sworn,
8
was examined and testified as follows:
9
THE CLERK:
Thank you. You may be seated.
10
THE COURT:
Mr. Matta-Waldurraga, now that you
11
have sworn to tell the truth --
12
THE INTERPRETER:
The interpreter requests that
13
the attorney or the Court tell me the name of the
14
defendant please.
15
I don't have the name.
THE COURT:
I am so sorry.
16
thought that would have happened.
17
Matta-Waldurraga.
I would have
It's Juan Ramon
18
THE INTERPRETER:
Thank you so much.
19
THE COURT:
20
Mr. Matta-Waldurraga, now that you've sworn to
Of course.
21
tell the truth, you must tell the truth.
22
deliberately to lie in response to any of my questions,
23
you could face additional criminal charges for perjury.
24
Do you understand that?
25
THE DEFENDANT:
If you were
Yes, your Honor.
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THE COURT:
So it's very important that you
2
understand my questions.
If you need me to repeat or
3
explain anything, just let me know.
4
Will you do that?
5
THE DEFENDANT:
6
THE COURT:
Yes, your Honor.
And if you need any time to confer
7
with your attorney, let me know that and I will give you
8
as much time as you need.
9
Do you understand that?
10
THE DEFENDANT:
11
THE COURT:
Correct, your Honor.
Now I've got a couple of documents
12
here that appear to have your signature on them.
13
a multiple page document that I saw you sign as you came
14
into the courtroom and then I have also a single-paged
15
document entitled, "Order of Referral," that also appears
16
to have your signature.
17
Did you sign both of those documents?
18
THE DEFENDANT:
19
THE COURT:
There's
Yes, your Honor.
Did you read and understand each of
20
them or have each of them translated for you before you
21
signed them?
22
THE DEFENDANT:
23
THE COURT:
Yes, your Honor.
All right.
I will discuss each of
24
those documents with you in a moment.
First I want to
25
make sure that you're competent to proceed today.
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Tell me please, how old are you?
2
THE DEFENDANT:
3
THE COURT:
43 years old.
And how far did you go in school?
4 5
THE DEFENDANT:
6
THE COURT:
7
means.
I'm not familiar with what that
How old were you when you stopped your education?
8
THE DEFENDANT:
9
THE COURT:
10
Secondary school.
I graduated in 1994.
All right.
So you graduated from
the equivalent of a high school?
11
THE DEFENDANT:
12
THE COURT:
Correct, your Honor.
Are you now or have you recently
13
been under the care of a doctor or a psychiatrist for any
14
reason?
15
THE DEFENDANT:
16
THE COURT:
17
In the last 24 hours, have you had
any pill or drug or medicine or alcohol?
18
THE DEFENDANT:
19
THE COURT:
20
Just two pills for my heart.
I see.
And do the pills make you
feel drowsy or sleepy or forgetful in any way?
21
THE DEFENDANT:
22
THE COURT:
23
No, your Honor.
No, your Honor.
Do the pills make you have any
problems thinking clearly?
24
THE DEFENDANT:
25
THE COURT:
No, your Honor.
Have you ever been hospitalized or
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treated for addiction or substance abuse problems?
2
THE DEFENDANT:
3
THE COURT:
4
THE DEFENDANT:
5
THE COURT:
Never, your Honor.
Is your mind clear right now? Totally, your Honor.
Have you had any difficulty
6
understanding my questions so far?
7
THE DEFENDANT:
8
THE COURT:
9
And Mr. Lichter, have you discussed
the matter of a guilty plea with your client?
10
MR. LICHTER:
11
THE COURT:
12
I have indeed, your Honor.
In your view, does he understand
the rights that he would waive by pleading guilty?
13
MR. LICHTER:
14
THE COURT:
15
Not at all, your Honor.
I believe he does.
And do you have any reason to
question your client's competence to proceed today?
16
MR. LICHTER:
I do not have any reservations.
17
THE COURT:
18
Mr. Matta-Waldurraga, let's talk about this
All right.
19
one-page consent form that you signed.
20
sure that you understand it.
21
magistrate judge.
22
ranking judge named Judge Matsumoto.
23
I want to make
I am what's known as a
Your case is assigned to a higher
The most important difference between us for
24
today's purpose is that if you are convicted of a crime
25
in this case, it's Judge Matsumoto who will decide your
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sentence, not me.
2
Do you understand that?
3
THE DEFENDANT:
4
THE COURT:
Yes, your Honor.
For that reason, you might prefer
5
to have Judge Matsumoto listen to your plea in person and
6
you have every right to proceed that way if that's what
7
you prefer.
8
we'll simply find the time when Judge Matsumoto is
9
available and no harm will come to you for making that
10
If that is how you would like to proceed,
decision.
11
Do you understand that?
12
THE DEFENDANT:
13
THE COURT:
Yes, your Honor.
If you understand that you have
14
that right and you're willing to waive it, I will listen
15
to your plea today.
16
everything that is being said here and Judge Matsumoto
17
will read a transcript of today's proceeding before she
18
decides whether to accept your plea and before she
19
decides what your sentence should be.
We're making an audio recording of
20
Do you understand that?
21
THE DEFENDANT:
22
THE COURT:
Yes, your Honor.
And are you willing to waive your
23
right to have Judge Matsumoto conduct the proceed and
24
instead have me conduct it today?
25
THE DEFENDANT:
Let it be you and let's do it
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today.
There's no problem.
2 3
THE COURT:
Okay.
And is that what you
intended by signing this referral order?
4
THE DEFENDANT:
5
THE COURT:
Yes, your Honor.
Okay.
Let's talk about next about
6
the charge in the indictment.
7
of a crime described as international cocaine
8
distribution conspiracy.
9
The indictment accuses you
To convict you of that offense, the government
10
would have to prove several facts beyond a reasonable
11
doubt.
12
agreement with at least one other person.
13
object or the purpose of this agreement was to distribute
14
cocaine knowing that that cocaine had been unlawfully
15
imported into the United States from a place outside the
16
United States.
They would have to prove that you entered into an That the
17
The government would have to prove that at
18
least five kilograms of cocaine was involved in that
19
agreement.
20
into this agreement knowingly and intentionally and not
21
as the result of some sort of accident or mistake.
22
They would have to prove that you entered
They would have to prove that you entered into
23
this agreement or that something happened to make it
24
succeed during the period mentioned in the indictment
25
from January of 2005 through December of 2010.
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And the government would have to prove that you
2
were part of this agreement or that something happened to
3
make it succeed during -- I'm sorry, within the
4
extraterritorial jurisdiction of the United States.
5
Do you understand all of that?
6
THE DEFENDANT:
7
THE COURT:
8 9
Yes, your Honor.
And Ms. Henry, have I omitted or
misstated any of the essential elements of the offense? MS. HENRY:
Your Honor, just to clarify that
10
the object of the conspiracy was that the defendant would
11
have been distributing the drugs outside of the United
12
States with the intent that they would be unlawfully
13
imported into the United States.
14
THE COURT:
Yes, thank you for that correction.
15
Did you understand that correction?
16
THE DEFENDANT:
17
THE COURT:
Yes, your Honor.
Okay.
So do you feel that the
18
government -- that you understand what the government
19
would have to prove to convict you of this charge?
20
THE DEFENDANT:
21
THE COURT:
22
Yes, your Honor.
Now you have the right to plead not
guilty and make the government prove all of those facts.
23
Do you understand that?
24
THE DEFENDANT:
25
THE COURT:
Yes, your Honor.
If you plead not guilty, under our
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Constitution, you'll be entitled to a speedy and public
2
trial by a jury with the assistance of counsel on that
3
charge.
4
Do you understand?
5
THE DEFENDANT:
6
THE COURT:
7
Yes, your Honor.
And Mr. Lichter, you're retained,
is that correct?
8
THE DEFENDANT:
9
THE COURT:
I am, your Honor.
All right.
So, Mr. Matta-
10
Waldurraga, you're fortunate to be able to engage private
11
counsel but if at any point you were to find yourself
12
unable to afford the services of a private attorney, the
13
Court would appoint an attorney to represent you at every
14
stage of the case, at a trial if you wanted a trial, at
15
sentencing if you were found guilty, and on appeal if you
16
wished to challenge your conviction or sentence, all at
17
no cost to you.
18
Do you understand that?
19
THE DEFENDANT:
20
THE COURT:
Yes, your Honor.
Now at a trial, you would be
21
presumed innocent and the government would have to
22
overcome that presumption and prove your guilt beyond a
23
reasonable doubt.
24
innocence.
25
You would not have to prove your
If the government failed to prove your guilt
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beyond a reasonable doubt, the jury would have a duty to
2
find you not guilty.
3
Do you understand that?
4
THE DEFENDANT:
5
THE COURT:
Yes, your Honor.
Also, at the trial, the government
6
would have to bring its witnesses to court, so that they
7
could testify in your presence.
8
the right to cross-examine those witnesses.
9
object to any evidence that the government tried to offer
Your attorney would have He could
10
against you.
He could offer evidence in your behalf if
11
he thought that there was any evidence that might assist
12
you.
13
wished to call to appear at the trial.
And your attorney could compel witnesses whom you
14
Do you understand all of that?
15
THE DEFENDANT:
16
THE COURT:
Yes, your Honor.
Also, you would have the right to
17
testify at your trial if you wished to do so but you
18
could not be forced to be a witness at your trial and
19
that's because under our Constitution, no one can be
20
forced to testify witness against himself.
21
So, if you decided to go to trial and decided
22
not to testify, the judge would tell the jurors that they
23
must not consider your silence when deliberating on their
24
verdict.
25
Do you understand that?
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THE DEFENDANT:
2
THE COURT:
Yes, your Honor.
Now if you plead guilty and if
3
based on my recommendation, the Court accepts that plea,
4
you'll be giving up your right to a trial and the other
5
rights that we've discussed.
6
You will simply be found guilty on the basis of your plea
7
and you won't ever have the right to challenge that
8
finding of guilt, not in an appeal in this case, not in
9
some later case, not ever.
10
There won't be a trial.
The question of your guilt
would be settled for all time.
11
Do you understand that?
12
THE DEFENDANT:
13
THE COURT:
Yes, your Honor.
You should also understand that if
14
you decide to plead guilty, I am going to have to ask you
15
some questions about what you did that makes you think
16
you committed this crime because I need to be satisfied
17
that there is a factual basis for your plea.
18
If you decide to answer my questions and admit
19
that you've committed this crime, you will be giving up
20
your right not to be a witness against yourself.
21
Do you understand that?
22
THE DEFENDANT:
23
THE COURT:
Yes, your Honor.
Are you willing to give up your
24
right to a trial and the other rights that I have told
25
you about?
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THE DEFENDANT:
2
THE COURT:
Yes, your Honor.
All right.
Let's turn next to the
3
second document I asked you about earlier, the multiple-
4
paged document.
5
here with me.
I have the original that you've signed
6
Do you have a copy there at the table with you?
7
THE DEFENDANT:
8
THE COURT:
9
Yes, your Honor.
All right.
And if at any point you
would like to look at the original document before
10
answering any of my questions, please let me know and I
11
will bring it down to you.
12
Do you understand?
13
THE DEFENDANT:
14
THE COURT:
15
Yes, your Honor.
Now is this document that you
signed, is it in fact your agreement with the government?
16
THE DEFENDANT:
17
THE COURT:
Yes, your Honor.
I am not going to go through page
18
by page or paragraph by paragraph because I don't want to
19
give you the wrong idea that there's any one part of the
20
document that's more important or less important than any
21
other part.
22
As far as I can tell from looking at it, it's
23
the entire document that is your agreement with the
24
government.
25
Is that your understanding, as well?
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THE DEFENDANT:
2
THE COURT:
Yes, your Honor.
Do you think that the government
3
has made you any promise that is not written down in this
4
document?
5
THE DEFENDANT:
6
THE COURT:
No, your Honor.
And Mr. Lichter, is that your
7
understanding as well?
8
MR. LICHTER:
9
THE COURT:
And Ms. Henry, is it yours?
10
MS. HENRY:
Yes, your Honor.
11
THE COURT:
All right.
It is, your Honor.
Then let's talk next
12
Mr. Matta-Waldurraga about what could happen at
13
sentencing.
14
the indictment, the Court can sentence you to spend the
15
rest of your life in prison.
If you are convicted of the crime charged in
16
Do you understand that?
17
THE DEFENDANT:
18
THE COURT:
Yes, your Honor.
And unless the government makes a
19
motion for leniency, the Court must require you to spend
20
at least ten years in prison.
21
Do you understand that?
22
THE DEFENDANT:
23
THE COURT:
Yes, your Honor.
In addition to prison, the Court
24
must also sentence you to a term of supervised release of
25
at least five years and possibly as long as the rest of
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your life.
2
prison, if ever, you would be supervised and you would
3
have to obey certain conditions.
4
period of supervision, you were to violate any of the
5
conditions of your release, you could be sentenced to
6
spend up to five more years in prison without credit for
7
the time that you had already served and without credit
8
for the time that you had already been under supervision.
9
What that means is upon your release from
And if during that
Do you understand that?
10
THE DEFENDANT:
11
THE COURT:
Yes, your Honor.
In addition to prison and
12
supervised release, the Court can also require you to pay
13
a monetary fine of up to $10 million.
14
Do you understand that?
15
THE DEFENDANT:
16
THE COURT:
Yes, your Honor.
In addition to everything else I've
17
already told you about, the Court must require you as
18
part of the sentence, to pay what's called a special
19
assessment in the amount of $100.
20
Do you understand that?
21
THE DEFENDANT:
22
THE COURT:
Yes, your Honor.
And then in addition to everything
23
else I've mentioned, you should expect that as part of
24
the sentence, you'll be ordered to forfeit certain
25
property including by means of the entry of a money
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judgment in the amount of $1.75 million.
2
Do you understand that?
3
THE DEFENDANT:
4
THE COURT:
Yes, your Honor.
And finally, in addition to
5
everything else I've already told you about, you should
6
assume that after you've -- at some point in the future,
7
perhaps after you've served time in prison, you will be
8
removed from the United States.
9
Do you understand that?
10
THE DEFENDANT:
11
THE COURT:
Yes, your Honor.
All right.
And have I -- Ms.
12
Henry, have I omitted or misstated any of the sentencing
13
possibilities?
14
MS. HENRY:
No, your Honor.
15
THE COURT:
All right.
Mr. Matta-Waldurraga,
16
do you feel that you understand what could happen to you
17
at sentencing if you're convicted of this crime?
18
THE DEFENDANT:
19
THE COURT:
Yes, your Honor.
All right.
Then
let's talk next
20
about how the judge will choose a sentence -- give me a
21
moment here.
22
that regard is the federal sentencing guidelines.
And the first thing we should discuss in
23
Have you discussed those with your attorney?
24
THE DEFENDANT:
25
THE COURT:
Yes, your Honor.
And I see that your agreement with
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the government mentions those guidelines.
I want to be
2
sure that you understand one important fact.
3
estimate or calculation of the guidelines that you've
4
seen or heard about so far, whether it comes from the
5
prosecutor or your attorney or someone else, I am sure
6
whoever gave you that tried to be accurate but you must
7
understand that any estimate or calculation that you've
8
heard about so far may be wrong and that's because the
9
only calculation of the guidelines that is going to count
Any
10
in this case is the one that Judge Matsumoto will do at
11
the time of your sentencing
12
Do you understand that?
13
THE DEFENDANT:
14
THE COURT:
Yes, your Honor.
The way these guidelines work is
15
they help the judge consider a sentence by coming up with
16
two numbers.
17
of the offense.
18
the amounts of drugs involved would affect the first
19
score.
The first number measures the seriousness So for example in a drug case like this,
20
Do you understand that?
21
THE DEFENDANT:
22
THE COURT:
Yes, your Honor.
The second score is based on your
23
own personal history.
So if you've previously been
24
convicted of an offense, that would count as part of the
25
second score.
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Do you understand that?
2
THE DEFENDANT:
3
THE COURT:
Yes, your Honor.
With those two scores, the judge
4
can look up on a table, the box that corresponds to those
5
two numbers and written down inside that box is a range
6
of months and that's the recommended sentencing
7
guidelines range for the case.
8
Do you understand how that works?
9
THE DEFENDANT:
10
THE COURT:
Yes, your Honor.
Now the Court must consider
11
imposing a sentence within that recommended range but the
12
Court could also impose a sentence that is more severe or
13
more lenient and in making that decision, the judge would
14
have to consider such things as the circumstances of the
15
offense, and your background, the need to promote respect
16
for the law, the need to impose a just punishment on you,
17
the need to deter you and others from committing further
18
crimes in the future and any need that you may
19
effective correctional treatment.
20
have for
And the judge would take all of that into
21
consideration and impose a sentence that she believes to
22
be fair under all of the circumstances.
23
Do you understand that?
24
THE DEFENDANT:
25
THE COURT:
Yes, your Honor.
To help that judge make that
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decision, the probation department will write up a report
2
and as they prepare their report, they'll want to
3
interview you, and you could have your attorney present
4
for the interview.
5
They'll probably talk to the government, and
6
maybe others as well and they'll write a report that has
7
information about your background and about the
8
circumstances of this case.
9
the law that applies and it will have a calculation of
10 11
It will have a discussion of
the sentencing guidelines. And you'll get to see that report and review it
12
with your attorney before you're sentenced.
13
Do you understand that?
14
THE DEFENDANT:
15
THE COURT:
Yes, your Honor.
Now you may not like what you see
16
in the report.
You may think that it's inaccurate or
17
unfair in some way.
18
wrong or the guidelines wrong.
19
reason to take back your guilty plea.
You may think that it gets the law None of that will be a
20
Do you understand that?
21
THE DEFENDANT:
22
THE COURT:
Yes, your Honor.
What you can do if you think
23
there's a problem in the report is object to it and your
24
attorney will help you file those objections.
25
will hear arguments from your attorney and from the
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government about those objections and then the judge will
2
rule on them.
3
your attorney and the prosecutor and maybe she will
4
listen to others as well about what the sentence should
5
be and then she'll impose a sentence -- oh, I am sorry,
6
then she will calculation the sentencing guidelines that
7
apply and then she'll sentence you.
And then the judge will listen to you and
8
Do you understand the process?
9
THE DEFENDANT:
10
THE COURT:
Yes, your Honor.
Now at any step along the way in
11
that process that I just described, you may think that
12
the judge makes a mistake of some sort.
13
that she is acting unfairly or that she gets the facts or
14
the law wrong.
15
guidelines wrong.
16
reason to take back your sentence -- your guilty plea.
You my think
You may think that she gets the Once again, none of that will be a
17
Do you understand that?
18
THE DEFENDANT:
19
THE COURT:
Yes, your Honor.
Now normally it if the judge were
20
to make a mistake in sentencing you, you would have the
21
right to appeal the unlawful sentence to a higher court.
22
Do you understand that?
23
THE DEFENDANT:
24
THE COURT:
25
Yes, your Honor.
However, I see in your agreement
that you've agreed that as long as the Court imposes a
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21 Proceedings 1
term of imprisonment at or below life, you will not
2
appeal the sentence or challenge it in any way.
3
Is that your understanding as well?
4
THE DEFENDANT:
5
THE COURT:
Yes, your Honor.
By including that in your
6
agreement, you are effectively waiving your right to
7
appeal an unlawful sentence.
8 9
Is it your intention to give up your right to appeal an unlawful sentence?
10
THE DEFENDANT:
11
THE COURT:
Yes, your Honor.
All right.
Do you have any
12
questions that you would like to ask me about the charge,
13
about your rights, about the sentencing possibilities or
14
anything at all?
15
THE DEFENDANT:
16
I am going to talk to my attorney.
17
THE COURT:
I'm going to -- just a minute,
Sure.
18
you would like.
19
(Counsel and client confer)
20 21 22
THE DEFENDANT:
Please, take as much time as
Thank you very much, your
Honor. THE COURT:
All right.
Have you had enough
23
time to consult with your attorney?
24
THE DEFENDANT:
25
THE COURT:
Yes, your Honor.
All right.
Now that you have had
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22 Proceedings 1
time to consult with your lawyer, let me ask you again,
2
is there anything you would like to ask me about the
3
charge in this case, about your rights, about the
4
sentencing possibilities or anything at all?
5
THE DEFENDANT:
6
THE COURT:
No, your Honor.
All right.
You know, I ask that
7
question and I'll give you another chance to answer it
8
because people do sometimes change their mind about
9
pleading guilty and I want to make sure that you
10
understand that if you come back later and ask to
11
withdraw your guilty plea, the prosecutor will probably
12
argue that you shouldn't be allowed to do so because you
13
said today that you understood what you were doing, and
14
she might win that argument.
15
So if there's anything that you need to ask
16
about or understand better before making this decision,
17
now is the time to do it because later it may be too
18
late.
19
Do you understand that?
20
THE DEFENDANT:
21
THE COURT:
22
And is there anything else -- is
there anything at all you would like to ask me?
23
THE DEFENDANT:
24
THE COURT:
25
Yes, your Honor.
Not at all, your Honor.
And would you like any further time
to think about your decision or to discuss it with your
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23 Proceedings 1
attorney?
2
THE DEFENDANT:
3
THE COURT:
4
No, your Honor.
Mr. Lichter, do you know of any
reason why your client should not plead guilty?
5
MR. LICHTER:
6
THE COURT:
None whatsoever, your Honor.
Mr. Matta-Waldurraga, are you
7
satsifed with the legal representation you have received
8
up until now
9 10
THE DEFENDANT: THE COURT:
Yes, your Honor.
Then tell me please, how do you
11
plead to sole charge in the indictment accusing you of
12
international cocaine distribution conspiracy, guilty or
13
not guilty?
14
THE DEFENDANT:
15
THE COURT:
16
Guilty.
Are you making this plea of guilty
voluntarily and of your own free will?
17
THE DEFENDANT:
18
THE COURT:
19
you to plead guilty?
Freely.
And has anyone threatened or forced
20
THE DEFENDANT:
21
THE COURT:
No, your Honor.
Other than the promises written
22
down in the agreement you've entered into with the
23
government, has anyone made any promise that is causing
24
you to plead guilty?
25
THE DEFENDANT:
No one, your Honor.
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24 Proceedings 1 2
THE COURT:
And has anyone made any promise
about what sentence you will be?
3
THE DEFENDANT:
4
THE COURT:
No, your Honor.
Then tell me please in your own
5
words what you did that makes you think you've committed
6
this offense.
7
THE DEFENDANT:
I lived in Colombia.
8
dual citizenship with Honduras.
9
contacted me in 2005.
I have
Some folks from Honduras
These people would receive drugs
10
because they had the infrastructure to receive fast motor
11
boats and planes, so that I would put them in touch with
12
people who had drugs and so that they would have the
13
infrastructure to take the drugs from Colombia to
14
Honduras.
15
And I did it several times, in fact.
I was
16
always the intermediary between the two points.
17
participated in conversations in order to have the drugs
18
go from Colombia to Honduras and so finally, the Honduran
19
folks would continue the route through Mexico to the
20
United States.
21
THE COURT:
I
Did you understand that as part of
22
this agreement, at least five kilograms of cocaine would
23
be transported in the way you've described eventually
24
ending up in the United States?
25
THE DEFENDANT:
Yes, your Honor.
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THE COURT:
Did it continue on for some time?
3 4
And you said this started in 2005.
THE DEFENDANT:
I continued until 2010 acting
as intermediary between the two groups.
5
THE COURT:
All right.
Ms. Henry, is there
6
anything further that you would like to proffer or have
7
me elicit?
8 9
MS. HENRY:
Yes, your Honor.
I just wanted to
confirm for the purposes of venue, under the statute that
10
the defendant is pleading guilty to, venue lies within
11
the Eastern District of New York because that is the
12
first United States district in which the defendant
13
landed.
14
THE COURT:
In which the defendant landed or
16
MS. HENRY:
The defendant.
17
THE COURT:
Did he travel to the United -- is
15
the drugs?
18
it your theory that he traveled to the United States as
19
part of the agreement?
20 21
MS. HENRY: myself.
No, your Honor, let me correct
At the --
22
THE COURT:
Because he --
23
MS. HENRY:
Because --
24
THE COURT:
Yes.
25
MS. HENRY:
-- he was transported --
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THE COURT:
Yes.
2
MS. HENRY:
-- because he landed in the United
3 4
States to be prosecuted for this case. THE COURT:
All right.
Is it true, Mr. Matta-
5
Waldurraga, that your first arrival in the United States
6
was at Kennedy Airport?
7
THE DEFENDANT:
Yes, your Honor.
And I would
8
like to add that I did it voluntarily.
9
ticket from the airport in Bogota directly to the airport
10 11
I bought my
in New York to turn myself in voluntarily. THE COURT:
All right.
Thank you.
Anything
12
else that you would like me to elicit or that you would
13
like to proffer?
14
MS. HENRY:
Your Honor, just one point
15
regarding the amount of cocaine.
16
and I am sorry that I skipped over it earlier in the
17
agreement, that at least the defendant's role in the
18
conspiracy involved at least 21,300 kilograms of cocaine.
19
THE COURT:
There was a stipulation
Yes, and he's stated in his
20
allocution that at least five kilograms was contemplated
21
as part of the agreement.
22
MS. HENRY:
Yes, your Honor.
23
THE COURT:
Is there anything further that you
24
think needs to be elicited to satisfy the essential
25
elements of the offense?
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27 Proceedings 1
MS. HENRY:
No, your Honor.
2
THE COURT:
And is there anything further that
3
you think I should discuss with Mr. Matta-Waldurraga to
4
satisfy the requirements of Rule 11?
5
MS. HENRY:
No, your Honor.
6
THE COURT:
Mr. Lichter, is there anything
7
furhter you think I should discuss with your client
8
pursuant to Rule 11?
9 10 11
MR. LICHTER:
No, your Honor, I think you've
really covered it. THE COURT:
All right.
Well, based on what I
12
have heard today, I find that Mr. Matta-Waldurraga is
13
competent to proceed, I find that he's acting
14
voluntarily, that his plea did not result from any
15
threats or force or undisclosed promises.
16
fully understands his rights and the potential
17
consequences of his plea and that there's a factual basis
18
for his plea of guilty.
19
I find that he
I therefore respectfully recommend that the
20
Court accept Mr. Matta-Waldurraga's plea of guilty to the
21
sole count in the indictment.
22
Judge Matsumoto has asked me to pass along to
23
all of you that she would like you to appear at a
24
sentencing proceeding on March 28th at 11 a.m.
25
advance of that, Mr. Lichter, she would like your
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And in
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28 Proceedings 1
submissions regarding sentencing by March 7th.
2
Ms. Henry, she would like your submissions by
3
March 14th and Mr. Lichter, if you would like to submit a
4
reply to the government's response, you should do so by
5
March 21st.
6
I am going to return to the government for
7
safekeeping, the original signed agreement and is there
8
anything else for today, folks?
9
MS. HENRY:
10
Nothing from the government, your
Honor.
11
MR. LICHTER:
12
THE COURT:
13
day.
Thank you, all.
MR. LICHTER:
15
MS. HENRY:
17
Have a very good
Best of luck to you, sir.
14
16
No, your Honor.
Thank you, Judge.
Thank you, your Honor.
(Matter concluded) -o0o-
18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
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29 C
E
R
T
I
F
I
C
A
T
E
I, LINDA FERRARA, hereby certify that the foregoing transcript of the said proceedings is a true and accurate transcript from the electronic soundrecording of the proceedings reduced to typewriting in the above-entitled matter.
I FURTHER CERTIFY that I am not a relative or employee or attorney or counsel of any of the parties, nor a relative or employee of such attorney or counsel, or financially interested directly or indirectly in this action.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I hereunto set my hand this 5th day of January, 2018.
AAERT CET**D 656 Transcriptions Plus II, Inc.
Transcriptions Plus II, Inc.
