Opinion ID: 718198
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: facts

Text: 2 On May 11, 1993, Graziano was indicted for (1) conspiring to murder Louis DiBono for the purpose of gaining entrance to or enhancing his position in the Gambino Organized Crime Family, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1959(a)(5), and (2) the October 2, 1990, murder of DiBono, in violation of § 1959(a)(1). On June 15, 1994, Graziano entered into a plea agreement and a sentencing bargain by which he agreed to plead guilty to the conspiracy count. He also agreed that pursuant to Rule 11(e)(1)(C) 1 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, he would be sentenced to a ten-year term of incarceration. The agreement provided that the appropriate fine and term of supervised release would be left to the discretion of the district court. 3 The plea allocution was also conducted on June 15, 1994. After determining that Graziano had reviewed the agreement with his attorney, the court asked Graziano about the factual basis for his plea, and Graziano admitted that he had entered into an agreement to murder DiBono in order to maintain his position in the Gambino Crime Family. The court accepted Graziano's guilty plea, reserving decision on whether to impose the sentence agreed upon by the parties in the plea agreement. 4 At the sentencing hearing on September 14, 1994, Graziano's counsel made no objections to the presentence report, noting only that the court should consider Graziano's limited income in imposing any fine. The court approved the ten-year term of imprisonment stipulated to by the parties, and imposed a three-year term of supervised release and a $50 special assessment. After noting that it had considered the financial implications [of imposing a fine], the court also sentenced Graziano to a fine of $250,000. Judgment was entered on September 15, 1994. 5 Graziano brought no direct appeal from his conviction or his sentence, but on April 10, 1995, filed this motion pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255, pro se and in forma pauperis. Graziano raised several issues before the district court, including (1) that his guilty plea was induced by misrepresentations and erroneous advice from his counsel regarding the applicable Sentencing Guidelines range for the conspiracy charge to which he pled; (2) that his three-year term of supervised release was not authorized by 18 U.S.C. § 1959(a)(5); and (3) that the fine imposed by the district court exceeded the statutory maximum under § 1959(a)(5). In a Memorandum and Order dated September 1, 1995, the district court dismissed Graziano's motion as meritless and procedurally barred due to his failure to bring a direct appeal. Significantly, the district court found that (1) the plea agreement conferred a significant benefit upon Graziano in that ... he was ... permitted to plead guilty to a lesser offense than the one for which he was indicted[,] which would have required a sentence of life imprisonment upon conviction; (2) Graziano's term of supervised release was expressly authorized by 18 U.S.C. § 3583(a); and (3) the maximum fine of $250,000 was explicitly authorized by 18 U.S.C. § 3571(b)(3). 6 Graziano filed his notice of appeal pro se on September 21, 1995, and the district court denied his motion for reconsideration on October 25, 1995. Subsequently, Graziano retained counsel who filed a supplemental memorandum of law and argued on his behalf.