Pizzaro v. United States
| Decision Date | 03 March 2023 |
| Docket Number | 1:21-cv-1149-GHW,1:16-cr-54-GHW |
| Parties | RUBEN PIZZARO, Movant, v. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Respondent |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York |
After a trial, Ruben Pizzaro was convicted of participation in a series of crimes, including murder. This Court sentenced Mr Pizzaro to 25 years of incarceration on each count of conviction, for a total effective sentence of 75 years. Mr. Pizzaro appealed his conviction, and the Second Circuit affirmed his conviction on all counts. He now challenges his conviction and sentence on several grounds under 28 U.S.C. § 2255, including ineffective assistance of counsel at various stages of the proceedings, alleged insufficiency of the evidence, and alleged misconduct by the Government. Further, Mr. Pizzaro submits that he is actually innocent of the crimes for which he was convicted.
Many of Mr. Pizzaro's allegations are conclusory, and some are outright contradicted by the record. And at bottom, all of his claims fail because he cannot show that he was prejudiced. Every claim that Mr. Pizzaro advances in this motion relies on the story that was told, and rejected, at trial and on appeal: That Mr. Pizzaro killed his victim based on a personal feud unrelated to drug trafficking. As the trial-court jury, this Court, and a Second Circuit appeals panel found, while that may be a piece of the story, there was more than ample evidence to support the conclusion that Mr. Pizzaro possessed-and used-his gun to further his gun trafficking business. Because the Court finds that Mr. Pizzaro's claims are conclusory, contradicted by the record, and fail to show prejudice, his motion to vacate his conviction and sentence is denied without a hearing.
On June 13, 2018, a jury convicted Ruben Pizzaro, a/k/a “Chulo,” of one count of conspiring to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and cocaine base “crack,” in violation of 21 U.S.C § 846 and § 841(b)(1)(B) (“Count One”), one count of murder through use of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 924(j) and (2) (“Count Two”), and one count of firearm use and possession, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 924(c) and (2) (“Count Three”). Dkt. 157.
At trial, the Government presented witness testimony and physical evidence proving that Mr. Pizzaro was a member of the “Arthur Avenue Crew,” a group of individuals who sold crack and cocaine in and around Arthur Avenue and 180th Street in the Bronx, New York. See Trial Transcript (“Tr.”) 427:17-429:19.[1] Members of the Arthur Avenue Crew, including Mr. Pizzaro, engaged in violence and threats of violence to prevent their nearby rivals-the “Hughes Avenue Crew”-from encroaching on their customer base. Tr. at 174:19-175:4, 445:23-447:5. During October and November 2015, these rival crews engaged in back and forth shootings on four separate occasions. Tr. at 231:22-232:3, 260:9-19, 271:18-272:3, 484:18-23. The escalating violence reached its crescendo on November 24, 2015 when Mr. Pizzaro chased down, shot, and killed David Rivera, a member of the Hughes Avenue Crew. Tr. at 231:22-232:3.
The Government's case relied heavily on two witnesses, Anthony Ramos and Nathaniel Torres. These witnesses knew Mr. Pizzaro well and interacted with him on a regular basis. Mr. Ramos testified that, between 2005 and 2013, he sold between 40 and 50 bags of crack and cocaine per day with Mr. Pizzaro. Tr. at 427:17-429:19. Mr. Torres testified that Mr. Pizzaro recruited him to the Arthur Avenue Crew in 2013 and gave him crack and cocaine to sell. Tr. at 164:6-168:25. Mr. Torres gave the profits from these sales to Mr. Pizzaro. Tr. at 168:8-9.
In 2013, Mr. Pizzaro left the Bronx for two years.[2] Mr. Ramos and Mr. Torres testified that when Mr. Pizzaro returned to the Bronx in 2015, he resumed selling crack and cocaine with members of the Arthur Avenue Crew. Tr. at 118:11-13, 450:9-23. At that time, according to Mr. Ramos, he was giving Mr. Pizzaro 20 grams of cocaine once or twice per week. Tr. at 451:20-24. Mr. Pizzaro, Mr. Ramos, and Mr. Torres would sell half of that amount as powder cocaine. Tr. at 465:16-466:9. Mr. Pizzaro would then cook the other half in to crack which the trio would also sell in and around the Arthur Avenue block. Tr. at 462:16-24.
The Government presented evidence that Mr. Pizzaro used firearms in furtherance of his post-2015 drug sales. Mr. Torres testified that Mr. Pizzaro owned multiple guns, storing one (a .357 Magnum) in the “Stash House” where he regularly cooked, bagged, and stored drugs, and carrying one (a nine millimeter) on his person. Tr. at 192:16-20, 194:24-195:12, 203:19-205:19. He also testified that the reason he and Mr. Pizzaro had these firearms was “for protection” because they were “at war with Hughes Avenue and there was a lot of back and forth shooting.” Tr. at 205:10- 14. Mr. Ramos corroborated Mr. Torres's testimony that Mr. Pizzaro kept a .357 Magnum in the Stash House. Tr. at 470:10-471:11.
Mr. Pizzaro and the Arthur Avenue Crew sold drugs near the Hughes Avenue Crew. Tr. at 172:16-173:3. So close, in fact, that the Arthur Avenue Crew and the Hughes Avenue Crew would often compete for the same customers. Tr. at 205:10-206:14. This led to violent back and forth shootings between the two crews, including between Mr. Pizzaro and David Rivera, the latter of whom was a member of the Hughes Avenue Crew. Tr. at 174:19-175:4, 445:23-447:5. Mr. Ramos testified that he saw Mr. Pizzaro shoot Mr. Rivera in 2010 and Mr. Torres testified that Mr. Pizzaro ordered him to shoot at a different Hughes Avenue Crew member in 2013. Tr. at 179:13-181:10.
During October and November 2015, three shootings between the Arthur Avenue Crew and Hughes Avenue Crew occurred in rapid succession. The first shooting happened on October 31, 2015. Mr. Torres testified that he and Mr. Pizzaro went to talk to members of Hughes Avenue Crew after some of their members ‘jumped' Mr. Torres's brother. Tr. at 268:9-269:6. Mr. Pizzaro told Mr. Torres to get the gun from the Stash House and bring it with him. Tr. at 269:16-25. On their way to the Hughes Avenue block, Darwin Ortiz, a member of the Hughes Avenue Crew, shot at Mr. Torres. Tr. at 271:18-272:3. Mr. Torres shot back and hit Mr. Ortiz. Tr. at 272:4-14.
The next day, November 1, 2015, members of the Hughes Avenue Crew-including David Rivera-went to the Arthur Avenue block and fired shots at Mr. Pizzaro and Mr. Torres while they were in front of the Stash House. Tr. at 260:9-19. Mr. Torres testified that he and Mr. Pizzaro ran into the Stash House and up to the roof of the building, from which Mr. Torres shot in the direction of Mr. Rivera on the street. Tr. at 260:20-263:3.
The day after that, November 2, 2015, Mr. Ramos was riding in a car with Mr. Pizzaro when Mr. Pizzaro said “that's one of the new members from the Hughes crew,” and got out of the car. Tr. at 484:6-9. Mr. Ramos then heard gunshots and saw Mr. Pizzaro run first into a laundromat and then down to Arthur Avenue. Tr. at 484:18-23. Karl Goodloe, an EMT who was working in the same area, also heard gunshots and subsequently treated Richard Feliz for a gunshot wound through the hand. Tr. at 665:7-669:1. Mr. Torres testified that Mr. Pizzaro told him that he shot someone in the hand on November 2, 2015 because that person was “flagging,” or claiming to represent the Hughes Avenue Crew. Tr. at 295:19-296:21.
After these shootings, Mr. Pizzaro and Mr. Torres changed the location of their stash house, stopped selling drugs, and hid “from Hughes Avenue [crew] and the cops.” Tr. at 216:4-218:9. According to Mr. Torres, this was because “there was a lot of tension on the block because of the back and forth shootings.” Tr. at 217:1-4.
On November 24, 2015, Mr. Torres was walking with Mr. Pizzaro when they saw Mr. Rivera. Tr. at 229:5-16, 230:8-19. According to Mr. Torres, Mr. Pizzaro then crouched behind a car and pulled out and cocked his gun, at which point Mr. Torres told him to “leave it alone.” Tr. at 231:12-16. Mr. Pizzaro responded “no, because [Mr. Rivera] came and shot at us on the block,” and approached Mr. Rivera. Tr. at 231:17-231:22. At this point, Mr. Rivera turned around and, upon seeing Mr. Pizzaro with a gun, ran. Tr. at 231:22-232:3. Mr. Pizzaro and Mr. Torres ran after him. Id. Mr. Pizzaro started shooting at Mr. Rivera, who eventually fell. Id. When Mr. Rivera tried to get back up, Mr. Torres punched him, and Mr. Pizzaro shot him again. Id.
In addition to Mr. Torres's account of Mr. Rivera's murder, two eyewitnesses described this sequence of events in substantially the same terms. Tr. at 77:5-78:24, 112:21-120:6. One eyewitness identified Mr. Pizzaro in court, and recounted him saying “oh you remember?” while chasing Mr. Rivera. Tr. at 144:6-115:24. The government also presented surveillance video of the chase. Government Exhibit (“GX”) 303.
Mr. Torres and Mr. Pizzaro then left the scene and went back to a shelter where Mr. Pizzaro had been living. Tr. at 233:3-11. Mr. Pizzaro gave Mr. Torres a new set of shoes and told him to change so that he could get rid of the old shoes. Tr. at 233:29-234:9. Mr. Pizzaro also told Mr. Torres to throw away his phone because he “didn't want to be tracked down.” Tr. at 236:20-237:6.
Mr. Pizzaro told Mr. Torres that he left the gun used to shoot Mr. Rivera with his girlfriend at the shelter. Tr. at 236:6-13. Ballistics evidence from the scene of Mr. Rivera's murder confirmed that the same gun was used to shoot Mr. Feliz on November 2. Tr. at 701:6-13, 703:1-711:3.
Mr Pizzaro's trial counsel did not call any witnesses and Mr. Pizzaro did not testify.[3] Mr. Pizzaro did not contest the fact...
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