Come together

They used to fight over gun cases and minor role. Now, former AUSA Seth Miles and former AFPD Orlando do Campo (along with his partner John Thornton) teamed up to win $80 million in damages from Curacao in a damages trial before Judge King. Here are some of the details from the Herald article:

Three Cuban men forced to work 16-hour shifts at 3 ½ cents an hour repairing ships for a Cuban joint venture in Curacao won an $80 million judgment Monday in U.S. federal court in Miami.
Alberto Justo Rodríguez, Fernando Alonso Hernández and Luis Alberto Casanova Toledo -- Cuban nationals who now live in Tampa -- sued the Curacao Drydock Co., alleging the company conspired with the Cuban government to force them into virtual slave labor.
Lawyers called the deal a ''Faustian bargain'' hatched so the Cuban government could pay off its debt with Curacao Drydock by providing free labor, and at the same time skirt the U.S. embargo by working on American ships in a third country.
''These arrangements have been the lifeblood of the regime for 15 years,'' attorney John Andres Thornton said. ``And those days are over.''
The plaintiffs tearfully testified about their 3 p.m. to 7 a.m. shifts -- sometimes 45 days straight -- in harsh and dangerous work conditions. They slept in 20-foot cubicles they shared with 20 other men and often did not sleep: They needed to stay up for their turn at the shower.
On their time off, they were forced to watch hourslong videotaped speeches of then-President Fidel Castro. They were paid the average Cuban salary of $16 a month.
Alonso, who has a shrunken frame and weathered face that belie his 43 years, was awarded $30 million for the 10 years he spent at the Curacao docks. His right hand is missing the index finger and the tip of the middle finger; his left is blackened by an untreated on-the-job explosion.
''I have never even seen $1,000 together,'' Alonso said after the judgment. ``I feel complete. We are in the best country in the world for justice.''

I just want to know who used the word Faustian.

Headline fraud

The Herald has this headline today:

Miami doctor, nurse guilty of Medicare fraud


and this tag line under it:

The brothers who owned the clinic involved in an $11 million Medicare scam fled to Cuba. A doctor and nurse who worked in the clinic were convicted of fraud.

Yes, that's all true, but two of the four defendants at trial were acquitted. Shouldn't the headline be a bit more even-handed? Here's Frank Quintero, the defense lawyer for one of the acquitted defendants:

But while the physician and nurse were found guilty by the federal jury, Beatriz Delgado, a receptionist, and Angel Rodriguez, a medical assistant, were acquitted.
''There's no question that Medicare fraud is a huge problem in South Florida, but you cannot claim that everybody who is working in a clinic is part of that fraud,'' said attorney Frank Quintero, who represented Angel Rodriguez. ``We had a very smart jury in this trial and they saw through the lack of evidence as far as my client is concerned.''

Here's the rest of the article.

Federal Bar dinner

The Federal Bar Association, South Florida Chapter, had its annual installation dinner last night. I am the outgoing president, and Celeste Higgins is the incoming president. Chief Judge Moreno and Judges Huck, Altonaga, King, Gold, Dube, Brown, O'Sullivan, Torres, and Palermo attended, which made for a good night. I want to thank those judges for supporting the Federal Bar Association this year, and a special thanks to the judges who spoke at the lunch meetings (Judges Marcus, Barkett, Moreno, Cooke, Martinez, Gold, Huck, and Altonaga).

It was a fun year -- we had a bunch of really good lunches and meetings (prior coverage and pictures here). For those of you who came last night and to the meetings throughout the year, thanks.

"Penis"

Big news to report -- according to accounts out of Judge Altonaga's courtroom, there is a new world record: the word "penis" has been used more times in the Chuckie Taylor trial than in any other criminal trial in American history.

If you haven't seen the Rolling Stone article on the case, you can read it here.

Our prior coverage here.

Donnie Brasco

The Justice Building Blog is covering the John Connolly trial, which involves a former FBI agent in Boston (Connolly) who is accused of helping orchestrate a murder in Miami in 1982. The state tried to call the real Donnie Brasco to the stand yesterday, but he refused to testify (even in sunglasses and a hat) because he didn't want his picture taken (via Miami Herald). Is this an argument for or against cameras in the courtroom?

No surprise here...

Kirby Archer, the Joe Cool defendant who pleaded guilty, was sentenced to life in prison today. No ruling yet by Judge Huck on the co-defendant's motion for a new trial on all counts.

Hypo

Those who know me know that I often like to ask hypotheticals... Would you do X in return for Y.

Well here's a real one from the USA Today: Would you amputate your pinkie finger so that you could finish your college football season as a lineman for a division II school?

Trevor Wikre answered yes! Can a doctor agree to such a thing?

Here's some of the article:

Trevor Wikre had a choice: Lose his pinkie finger or lose his football season.
"I said, 'Cut it off,' " Wikre says. He took no time to ponder. "I knew right away," he says. "It wasn't a hard choice."
Wikre, 21, is a guard for Mesa State College, a Division II school in Grand Junction, Colo. He had told teammates a couple of weeks earlier how much he loved them as brothers.
"I said, 'I'd take a bullet for you,' " he says. "Well, this was my chance to put words into action. This was my bullet."
The Mesa Mavericks will play their first game on national cable TV Thursday night (8 ET, CBS College Sports) vs. Western State (Colo.). Mesa is 5-2, 5-0 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
The trauma came Sept. 30 when Wikre's right little finger shattered at practice. He pulled off a glove, saw bone jutting out and asked trainers to tape it up. They declined and got him to the hospital, where doctors advised him that he needed season-ending surgery.
"I'm a senior," Wikre (pronounced WICK-er-EE) says. "If they put pins in there, my career was finished. I told them to just take it off. They said I was being dramatic. I said, yeah, well, losing my season is dramatic, too."

My favorite quote of the article:

"I can't hit the P on the keyboard very well," he says. "I have to train my ring finger to get over there. It takes time."

Sorry for the off-blog article, but I couldn't help myself. I hope to see you all Friday night at the Federal Bar installation dinner... Celeste Higgins is your new president.

"Dancing with the U.S. Marshals''

Now that's funny, Judge Turnoff!

According to Larry Lebowitz's Herald article, Judge Turnoff allowed Helio Castroneves to travel to Australia later this month for a race, over the government objection. Turnoff explained that Castroneves would be "dancing with the U.S. Marshals" if he fled.

''I'm very happy,'' a smiling Castroneves said after the hearing. ``I want to race. This is what I do. I'll do my best to bring a trophy home for the judge.''