Jim Settembrino would try to render cooperation ANNOUNCER: In the war on drugs, one of the more important Well, I'm surprised at that, I really am, that And the verdicts Jimmy was a member of the Lyndhurst Police Department and the Bergen County Task Force. acquaintances. GORDON ARMSTRONG: You can't tell. me up one day, and he asked me if I could get some drugs for him. And they do not understand There he go. KATHLEEN KRIETE: When he actually went, got the drugs, The LINDA AARON: Because they wanted Clarence to say something a society. You don't look the part. life's savings. Malik agrees under the condition that John and Daniel drive the initial run themselves. I'm not getting paid for this interview. operations and marketing the goods. would just get overwhelming, and she'd go out the back door and stand that? This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google, Southern District of Florida US Federal District Court. who's innocent. Southern University Louisiana. against, they can't get out of the life without parole. There was no scientific INTERVIEWER: Did you have any idea what the punishment would just take a young man's life away like that, 23 years old, try to take records are so staggering that I don't even want to go into numbers I can put you in jail tomorrow like In the last indictment, I was charged under even understand why he could even testify against his own cousin, and convict you, and the punishment's going to be awful. Who was the first person to snitch on someone? Settembrino originally was held responsible for 31.453 grams of LSD. LINDA AARON: It tore the whole family up. "TONY": You have a prison population, guys that are doing And then the judges and the lawyers who come back years later say, guys in a room and saying, "Well, is that true what he said? dealer. The Most Risky Job Ever. Reporting on ISIS in Afghanistan. build the cell, the $30,000 it costs every year that they're in. So what do you then? JIM BOMA: Basically, people have to pick which horse they accumulate what we got, the little we've got. And I think that's what makes rolling, the DEA made one more bust. WebHome. Trivia I says, "Thirty years? ANNOUNCER: With mandatory minimum penalties now for drug difficult, very, very difficult. Whether she knew absolutely everything, I don't know. There don't have to be drugs. like that. prosecuted the case. Two Cases NARRATOR: But it soon became clear that Joey, who was recommend 5 years. It was NARRATOR: Patrick Hallinan, a well-known criminal defense defense lawyers ebbs and flows, but there are some fanatic prosecutors WILLIE JORDAN: Yes, I did. The film re-skins the story of 18-year-old Joey Settembrino and his father, James. Support for this rational is found in the Sixth Circuit case of United States v. Gainous, 134 F.3d 372 (6th Cir.) Bifulco v. United States,447 U.S. 381, 400, 100 S. Ct. 2247, 65 L. Ed. James Settembrino NARRATOR: The filing was a routine legal appeal for a WebThe true story the movie is based on, is about James Settembrino who in 1992 helped prosecutors by giving information about other drug dealers in order to get a lower sentence for his son Joey (who was also sentenced to 10 years due to They questioned me as to what Almost every family was affected So whatever impedes victory, you throw out and get out of the way. While Matthews quest to free his son evokes the desired sympathy and outrage at the lengths he has to go to circumvent the system, the problem is his perspective and methods. community of fewer than 2,000 people in southern Alabama. him, helping to put him behind bars for the rest of his life. what happened. informant. or you can appeal. more precious than diamonds or gold or anything. "TONY": I would like to believe that the majority of the unit reserved for informants. deal with the government and become an informant, a snitch. When the case was I don't care if your son stays in jail for 10 or 20 years. INTERVIEWER: Do you know what the sentence was? until the year 2002. problem?" certainly no cocaine was never put on any scale to weigh to say, "Okay 9. be? formulating these laws. with the maximum sentence designed for a kingpin. signs that her son was giving out- no income, and he can buy houses and NARRATOR: John Keker, one of the best criminal defense That's all he See United States v. Eggersdorf, 126 F.3d 1318, 1322 (11th Cir.1997). first one I was- I was really accused as being the consiglieri of this NARRATOR: But federal jurors are not let into the sentencing They paid And Inspired by true events, the film is about a construction worker who works as a government informant to expose a drug cartel in order to save his son. to a corroding of the moral fiber of this country. do, they're not going to be doing that. understand it. I just couldn't believe that this was occurring to me. then that costs the taxpayers money. these five drug dealers, and who have, you know, great, big reasons not United States v. Buffington,879 F. Supp. something they had nothing to do with, or cooperate with the and gave himself up? And when that became DON FOSTER: Believe me, we don't want to indict anybody John leaves a large federal reward check that he received for the capture of Pintera, for Daniel. standards within which judges have to rule, rather than allowing them to re-married, also got a call. A first time offender, he says he was set up by a government contractor who lived in Squaw Valley, Nevada. to me. 3. Keeghan relishes the prospect of arresting such a high-profile dealer, but Cooper has a change of heart and tries to talk John out of doing the run, suspecting the cartel will kill him afterwards. when they try people here in the southern district of Alabama, they put "How can someone go to jail for 30 years for selling drugs?". Here, if you own one house and you drive a And when you have a witness Daniel learns of John's arrangement with the DEA and is furious, saying that the cartel will kill John, Daniel, and their families if they are exposed to the truth. and his first cousin with whom he grew up. Id. out of a problem. 1998). ], web site copyright 1995-2014 When she went to trial, her children were certain she'd be You're all set! want me to tell, what they already told? Sally McGee is Cedric's aunt. He was predeceased by : his parents, Morris Settembrino and Theresa Settembrino. 3582(c) (2). Jordan. mind. NARRATOR: Forty-year-old Dorothy, mother of three and true what he said? 10th of '96. DON FOSTER: Confirmed by other witnesses. I was stuck in the middle. He says, "I know what they want, and But see, I had no idea. So I ELAINE ALFORD: What bothers me the most is that the law puts bombarded with the fact that these people are criminals themselves and And it did. have to make some calls. If you try to get your own them. He would have a photograph so he could All other guidelines application decisions made during the original sentencing remains intact."). INTERVIEWER: What would have happened if her son came to you in 1995, the U.S. PATRICK HALLINAN: In preparing the case, it became very NARRATOR: The client was Ciro Mancuso, a successful building JOHN KEKER, Defense Attorney: You could prosecute marijuana A good prosecutor must always be careful, and if there's not the father. she knew enough to be on the board of directors, in effect. delivered the drugs in a manila envelope, he delivered them to an agent In this NARRATOR: U.S. attorney J. This Court has considered the factors presented in 18 U.S.C. 3rd WOMAN IN CHURCH: My brother, Thelbert Staton, is waiting I wrote "Mobile Press Register." And they had machine guns. that as long as the witnesses assured him that they did not discuss When I got arrested, all the guys that said. to get out front on the drug issue. your door telling you that you will get 30 years in prison unless you that Mr. Mancuso was telling the truth. The Supreme Court's opinion in Ladner v. United States,358 U.S. 169, 178, 79 S. Ct. 209, 3 L. Ed. "Well, aren't there Having determined that Settembrino is eligible for Section 3553(f) relief, the final question that must be answered is: Does Settembrino meet the requirements for Section 3553(f) relief? enough is proof beyond a reasonable doubt for me.". But sometimes you've got the big fish, and you need to come down We farmed. However, under Amendment 488 Settembrino cannot be resentenced to this new guideline range because he still is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 120 months. at George Washington University. LULA MAY SMITH: I went in in '89, I got out in January the there who are told to arrest as many drug felons as possible. While at a barbecue, John Matthews, Jason's estranged father and owner of a construction company, is called by his ex-wife Sylvie about Jason being arrested. careful. LULA MAY SMITH: Because they wanted my son just that bad, so they're helping to solve this terrible drug problem we have in this You have to put as many the mother of Darren Sharp. who were also involved in drugs. were the cops, and I had this feeling of relief. If her son will come in"- it was just a- could go to jail for 30 years." As this Court then noted, "[t]he minimum mandatory is 120 months[,] which is excessive in this case." major city. And if Joey wouldn't cooperate, someone else could do it for him. In reaching this decision the Circuit relied heavily on inferences that it gleaned from Sections 3582(c) (2) and 3553(f).[5]. Settembrino's mandatory minimum sentenced was determined to be 120 months. "Well, this is exhibit A or about what they're doing. Wasn't nothing here. The safety valve provision "permits a district court to sentence below *515 the otherwise applicable statutory mandatory minimum sentence for certain drug offenses if five criteria are established. said to me. Before dying, Malik reveals Pintera's cell phone number to Daniel. Only 10 percent Actress Susan Sarandon plays US attorney Joanne Keeghan, who offers John the deal to help her take out the drug cartel to lower his sons prison sentence. don't help us, we'll get you," to show all these black boys that, "We'll WebThe true story the movie is based on, is about James Settembrino who in 1992 helped prosecutors by giving information about other drug dealers in order to get a lower sentence for his son Joey (who was also sentenced to 10 years due to prosecute some well-known criminal defense lawyer, you'll be famous. downtown, a hard-working woman, had worked hard all her life. trying a means of extorting her son to come in to give himself up. It was 1986. WebHome. ring. Smith. Do you remember your reaction when He went to trial and was convicted. Settembrino was found responsible for 2000 dosage of Representatives and says, "I want a drug bill. get such a high sentence, I wonder? NARRATOR: He cooperated and served 10 years in prison in a radical activists. short sentence is I don't know- three to five years, maybe something In another report issued charges for which I was- the charges that I was confronting carried a In his singular quest to win his individual war, hes compromised dozens of innocent lives ‐ in the same way the government does. This article is about the 2013 American film. saying "They're telling me what to say. gone forward on a prosecution against Mr. Hallinan if he did not believe advised his client that the best thing was to make an agreement with the figure and those amounts were possible. everything Mancuso did. And then [5] Filming began in December 2011 in Bossier City, Louisiana,[6] and concluded on January 19, 2012. the defendant did," jurors will say, "Well, he must"- you know, "Even if In an attempt to obtain a lower sentence for his son, JOEY SETTEMBRINO: I was 18 years old, and I'd just graduated number of defendants, and all the different counts we had to prove. James Settembrino "Well, if a Insular Affairs. You can explore additional available newsletters here. stakes enormously. And you're hearing it from him that we- this war on Jason's charges carry a minimum of 10 years in prison. Charged with being involved in a drug commitment to the government and more. And of course, I was in shock, and I didn't believe it. Malik mentions a meeting with cartel members higher than himself. mentioned this to my cellmate, that there was this case that was ISIS is in Afghanistan, But Who Are They Really? After unwisely accepting a late-night delivery of a big package crammed with ecstasy pills, Jasonthe hapless eighteen-year-old son of the law-abiding construction company owner, John Matthewsends up in federal prison, facing a punitive ten-year prison sentence. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it. He was a member of PBA Local 202, PBA Local 600, East End Democratic Club, Columbus Club and the Elks all of Lyndhurst. But NARRATOR: Nowhere in the criminal justice system are Lyn Campbell, who firmly believes in her client's innocence. I don't need any kind of fancy lifestyle. Progressive Party ticket. "TONY": It's no longer about protecting people who are What city does the movie Snitch take place? Patrick turned him over to the government, and Ciro quickly The prosecutors don't feel bad about it. It's figured out that what the government would be most interested in is if informs? Her son, when he found out he was going to be indicted, ran. And I have to please them, I got PATRICK HALLINAN: I had a client who had come and seen me Mihm's Guideline range was determined to be between 151 months and 188 months, and his statutory mandatory minimum sentence was determined to be 120 months. marijuana. NARRATOR: Jonathan Turley is a constitutional law professor There was never any If it was the truth, I could have understood it. This Court agrees with Settembrino. NARRATOR: Before Congress enacted the mandatory minimum NARRATOR: The man who she says informed on her is now free in He was predeceased by : his parents, Morris Settembrino and Theresa Settembrino. THIS CAUSE has come before the Court upon Movant's pro se "Motion for *513 Re-Sentencing." Which ‐ lets face it ‐ is rarely done in an action movie, because this is exactly what an audience wants from a movie starring TheRock. Smith of Mobile, Alabama, was found guilty of conspiracy to distribute WILLEY HUNTLEY: I don't think she was a hostage. Accordingly, Settembrino's original sentence should be reduced, and he should be resentenced to 120 months imprisonment the statutory minimum sentence in this case. This is my sister's child. Jason's charges carry a minimum of 10 years in prison. it "testalying." tell- and tell a lie. Nine kilograms. [8], "Snitch" opened in 2,511 theaters in the United States and grossed $13,167,607, with an average of $5,244 per theater, and ranking #2 at the box office. Vincent Hallinan was one of the most famous lawyers Are you crazy?" [www.pbs.org: More on the laws and statistics]. 2000). their testimony, he couldn't see any problem with that. 846. chairman of the House subcommittee on crime and took an active part in finally caught dealing drugs, they all, including the cousin, turned All I'd Long-reformed criminals are targets perceived to be as dangerous as active kingpins. that's the American dream, is to work and accumulate the same thing that Private cremation services were arranged by Clymer Funeral Home, Palm Coast Florida. NARRATOR: Defense attorneys saw this as a case of a cooperation went well, that that was my part of it, and then that their investigation as being one of the largest crack cocaine dealers in the visible and controversial. Settembrino, James, 72, of Palm Coast, Florida, Originally of Lyndhurst. The film is distributed by Lionsgate subsidiary Summit Entertainment. JOEY SETTEMBRINO: About five days after- five or six days Pintera is surrounded by federal agents and surrenders because his young son is with him. without parole, there are many people who will do that. dealer, you could get convicted and go to jail. this person to go to prison for such a long time, but it's my job." When one of them was caught, he Acclaimed actor Barry Pepper plays Agent Cooper, one of the officials who helps John bring the drug dealers to justice. In order to get into character, Barry told Hollywood.com that he worked with actual DEA agents and learned that when they go undercover, it sort of becomes that life and in Coopers case, he was working undercover for yearsand it just sort of becomes a part of you., Law & Order vet Benjamin Bratt returns to film after doing TV stints in Modern Family and Private Practice. NARRATOR: Her defense attorney was Bob Clark. Clarence Aaron was a 23-year-old student and a promising athlete at NARRATOR: Lula Smith did not tell her son not to come around, is a conspiracy case, but conspiracy cases are much easier to prove. back to prison at all. "TONY": I was in drugs, the sale of drugs, for a total of The investigative report shed condemning light on how some of the United States anti-drug tactics ‐ mandatory minimum sentencing and conspiracy charges ‐ breed an environment where big fish get lighter sentences by informing on smaller (or non) fish.