Articles Posted in Current Events in Criminal Law National

Recently, we have encountered several people wrongfully arrested by the police for allegedly groping or grinding people in the Times Square area. Typical charges for these types of arrests include the Class A misdemeanor Forcible Touching (PL 130.52) and Class B misdemeanor Sexual Abuse in the Third Degree (PL 130.55). Sometimes individuals arrested for these…

Two indictments were unsealed today in federal court in New Jersey and Brooklyn charging nine individuals with having participated in a unique scheme to profit illegally from stolen insider information. Many of the defendants have connections to the Ukraine, and their names are Vitaly Korchevsky, Vladislav Khalupsky, Leonid Momotok, Alexander Garkusha (Brooklyn) and Ivan Turchynov,…

Former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn was acquitted on June 12, 2015 of “aggravated procurement” (or “aggravated pimping”) by the criminal court in Lille, France. He was facing up to 10 years life imprisonment and a 1.5 million euros fine for his alleged role in a French prostitution ring. Conforming with the prosecutor’s recommendations…

News reports of high school teachers engaging in illicit acts with underage students are becoming almost routine and regular nowadays. The advent of modern smartphones, the prevalence of texting, Snapchat, and the rise of social media platforms have perhaps facilitated these problematic relationships. Regardless, a teacher accused of having engaged in such inappropriate relationships faces…

The criminal defense attorneys at the Law Office of Matthew Galluzzo have successfully defended professional athletes against criminal charges in New York City, and have been asked to comment on television and in the news as experts in criminal cases pending against professional athletes such as Ray Rice and Oscar Pistorius. They also understand the…

Criminal assault charges for non-citizens in New York As the go-to criminal defense firm for the New York City consulates of France, Australia, Saudi Arabia, Switzerland and Belgium, the attorneys at the Law Office of Matthew Galluzzo routinely represent foreign citizens charged with criminal assault (including, for example, Assault in the Third Degree [Penal Law…

Frequently, non-citizens seeking American visas or renewal of current ones make the mistake of accepting seemingly excellent criminal dispositions without understanding the immigration consequences. For example, people arrested in New York for misdemeanor charges such as possession of marijuana (PL 221.05 or PL 221.10), trespass (PL 140.05 or 140.10), theft of services (PL 165.15), petit…

The New Frontier of Drug Crimes: Silk Road, Agora, and the Dark Web The traditional business model of drug trafficking, though potentially lucrative, is fraught with peril and obstacles for its participants at all levels. Thanks to fantastic television programs like The Wire and Breaking Bad, many Americans already have a basic understanding of this…

Operating as a major trafficker – NY’s “Kingpin” statute (Penal Law Section 220.77) A few years ago, the New York Assembly enacted into law a tough new statute designed to increase the penalties for major narcotics traffickers or managers of drug trafficking organizations. Penal Law 220.77, oftentimes referred to as New York’s “kingpin statute,” makes…

Robert Durst HBO Confession – Would it be admissible? In a captivating HBO television episode, Robert Durst, long a suspect in several homicides, apparently confessed -unwittingly, perhaps – by muttering to himself in the bathroom while wearing a live microphone. Durst was promptly arrested by police and is currently facing extradition to California to face…