Opinion ID: 751622
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Government's Response and the District Court's Decision

Text: 15 The government opposed Avellino's motion, submitting affidavits from Orenstein, who had been lead prosecutor in this case from 1995 through September 1996, and Stephen D. Kelly, who had been assigned to the case since September 1995. The government maintained that the prosecutors assigned to this case were not aware of nor in possession of the[ ] state materials during pretrial discovery. (Affidavit of Stephen D. Kelly dated November 13, 1996 (Kelly Aff.) p 1.) Orenstein stated that he had not been aware of the McGillycuddy Affirmation, or of the State investigation referred to in that affirmation, prior to September 1996. He stated that he had generally been aware prior to Avellino's plea of guilty that the New York County District Attorney's office had conducted an investigation of Cuomo and others and had conducted electronic surveillance; but he had not known until this matter was raised by Avellino's counsel that Alfonso [sic ] D'Arco was named in the applications for electronic surveillance in that state investigation or that he was a subject of that investigation. (Affidavit of James Orenstein dated November 12, 1996, p 3.) 16 Kelly likewise stated that until September 1996, he had not seen the McGillycuddy Affirmation or the materials it discussed, and he had not been aware of the State investigation. Following the submission of Avellino's motion to withdraw his plea, Kelly had obtained and reviewed copies of the State materials. He also spoke to AUSAs in the Southern and Eastern Districts to determine when, respectively, the materials had come into their possession. He learned that portions of the State materials had been received and reviewed by AUSAs in the Southern District in or about 1992, when D'Arco was cooperating with the Southern District. Those AUSAs had determined that the State materials were not inconsistent with D'Arco's information provided during his cooperation. (Kelly Aff. p 6.) In addition, Kelly learned that in 1995, the Southern District had been conducting an investigation of Cuomo, and the Eastern District had been contemplating such an investigation. The New York County District Attorney's office furnished the State evidence to both offices; but before the Eastern District opened the boxes, the Southern District indicted Cuomo, see United States v. Cuomo, 95 CR 900 (AGS) (S.D.N.Y.), and the Eastern District abandoned its contemplated investigation and left the boxes of State materials unopened: 17 As a result, the state materials were not reviewed by any Eastern District AUSA at that time, and the state materials remained unopened in the files of an Eastern District AUSA until Avellino filed his motion to withdraw his plea in this case. 18 (Id. p 7.) The government also proffered non-narcotics-related explanations for each of the actions of D'Arco observed by the State investigators and characterized by those investigators as indicative of narcotics activity. 19 In a Memorandum and Order dated January 8, 1997 (Order), the district court, noting that Avellino's declaration in support of his motion contained no suggestion that Avellino was innocent, denied the motion to withdraw the plea. Observing that the Brady v. Maryland disclosure obligation encompasses only evidence that is material, the court held that the previously undisclosed State evidence did not meet that standard. It noted that an abundance of devastating impeachment material had been timely produced, and Avellino was well aware that D'Arco had admitted involvement in a panoply of serious crimes, including narcotics trafficking, arson, extortion, labor racketeering, hijacking, burglary, fraud, and nine murders. Thus, in light of the evidence already produced, the State evidence would have been cumulative. Order at 2-3. The court concluded that there was no reasonable probability that but for the failure to produce such information the defendant would not have entered the plea but would have insisted on going to trial. Id. at 2 (internal quotation marks omitted). The court also found that if the plea were withdrawn there would likely be significant prejudice to the government because it would be required to prepare for a complex trial after an eight-month hiatus and because the pleas entered by the codefendants who had participated in the global settlement might well be affected. 20 The motion was denied; Avellino was sentenced as indicated above; and this appeal followed.