Santaniello v. Comm'r of Corr.
| Decision Date | 02 September 2014 |
| Docket Number | No. 35369.,35369. |
| Citation | 152 Conn.App. 583,99 A.3d 1195 |
| Court | Connecticut Court of Appeals |
| Parties | Anthony SANTANIELLO v. COMMISSIONER OF CORRECTION. |
152 Conn.App. 583
99 A.3d 1195
Anthony SANTANIELLO
v.
COMMISSIONER OF CORRECTION.
No. 35369.
Appellate Court of Connecticut.
Argued May 29, 2014.
Decided Sept. 2, 2014.
Albert J. Oneto IV, assigned counsel, for the appellant (petitioner).
Timothy F. Costello, assistant state's attorney, with whom, on the brief, were Gail P. Hardy, state's attorney, and Erika L. Brookman, assistant state's attorney, for the appellee (respondent).
DiPENTIMA, C.J., and BEACH and PRESCOTT, Js.
Opinion
BEACH, J.
The petitioner, Anthony Santaniello, appeals from the judgment of the habeas court denying his petition for a writ of habeas corpus. On appeal, the petitioner claims that the habeas court erred in concluding that he did not meet his burden of proof to establish ineffective assistance of appellate counsel. We affirm the judgment of the habeas court.
The petitioner had been convicted in two underlying criminal cases, which had been consolidated for trial.
The first alleged, primarily, sexual assault. The second, ultimately the subject of this appeal, alleged that the petitioner attempted to murder the victim1 in the sexual assault case to prevent her from testifying against him. The facts regarding the petitioner's underlying conviction of attempted murder, as set forth in our opinion in the direct appeal from those convictions, are as follows: “Following the [petitioner's] arrest [in the sexual assault case], he was incarcerated at the Cheshire Correctional Institute, where he shared a cell with Thomas Marra from May 13 until July 30, 2002. In August, 2002, Marra contacted George Nobile, an inspector with the division of criminal justice, informing Nobile that he had a cell mate who wanted to have a witness killed. Nobile and a supervisor, Gregory Dillon, met with Marra on September 4, 2002, and Marra informed them that the [petitioner] wanted to have the victim killed so that she could not testify against him. Marra provided a letter written by the [petitioner] and explained the code words used in the letter. Subsequently, Marra also provided Nobile and Dillon with further correspondence from and to the [petitioner] concerning the [petitioner's] desire to have the victim killed.
“On October 9, 2002, Marra telephoned the [petitioner] and told him he could put the [petitioner] in contact with an assassin. Nobile then assumed the undercover role of the assassin and contacted the [petitioner] on October 14 and 18, 2002. Nobile set up a meeting with the [petitioner] for the morning of October 21, 2002, but the [petitioner] did not appear for that meeting.
“The [petitioner] was arrested on October 25, 2002, and was held at the Bridgeport Correctional Center,
where he shared a cell with Andre Holeman. The [petitioner] told Holeman that he was facing sexual assault charges and that he had wanted the victim killed so that she could not testify against him. He also told Holeman about Marra and his arranging a meeting with an assassin. He further explained to Holeman that he was supposed to pay the assassin $7500 to kill the victim but that he did not have the funds and, therefore, was considering killing the victim himself. The [petitioner] also asked Holeman to telephone the [petitioner's] attorney to report that the [petitioner] had been set up by Marra. In an amended long form information, the [petitioner] was charged with attempt to commit murder, inciting injury to another person and intimidating a witness (attempted murder case).” State v. Santaniello, 96 Conn.App. 646, 650–51, 902 A.2d 1, cert. denied, 280 Conn. 920, 908 A.2d 545 (2006).
The cases were consolidated, and, following a trial, the jury found the petitioner guilty of sexual assault in the first degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a–70 (a)(1), kidnapping in the first degree in violation of General Statutes § 53a–92 (a)(2)(A), attempt to commit murder in violation of General Statutes §§ 53a–49 (a)(2) and 53a–54a, inciting injury to another person in violation of General Statutes § 53a–179a (a), and intimidating a witness in violation of General Statutes § 53a–151a (a)(1). The trial court imposed a total effective sentence of forty-two years incarceration. This court affirmed his convictions on direct appeal. Id., at 649, 902 A.2d 1.
The petitioner filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, which he later amended through counsel. The amended petition alleged, inter alia, that his appellate counsel provided ineffective assistance because he failed to raise on direct appeal a claim of insufficient evidence with respect to the attempted murder conviction. After a hearing, the habeas court concluded that
the petitioner had failed to meet his burden of establishing deficient performance of appellate counsel and, accordingly, denied the petition for a writ of habeas corpus. In its memorandum of decision, the court noted that the petitioner had failed to produce any testimony from his appellate counsel or an expert in support of his claim. The court granted the petitioner certification to appeal. This appeal followed.
“Our review of the judgment of the habeas court is carefully circumscribed. The...
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Taylor v. Comm'r of Corr.
...appellate standard for measuring harm.” (Citations omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) Santaniello v. Commissioner of Correction, 152 Conn.App. 583, 587–88, 99 A.3d 1195, cert. denied, 314 Conn. 937, 102 A.3d 1115 (2014).On appeal, the petitioner claims that the habeas court erred i......
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Taylor v. Comm'r of Corr.
...appellate standard for measuring harm." (Citations omitted; internal quotation marks omitted.) Santaniello v. Commissioner of Correction, 152 Conn. App. 583, 587-88, 99 A.3d 1195, cert. denied, 314 Conn. 937, A.3d (2014). On appeal, the petitioner claims that the habeas court erred in concl......
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James v. Comm'r of Corr.
...proceeding were provided to the habeas court, thereby circumscribing our review of this matter. See Santaniello v. Commissioner of Correction, 152 Conn.App. 583, 589–90, 99 A.3d 1195, cert. denied, 314 Conn. 937, 102 A.3d 1115 (2014). Specifically, the petitioner did not submit to the habea......
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...claimed error in accordance with the appropriate appellate standard for measuring harm." Santaniello v. Comm'r of Corr., 99 A.3d 1195, 99 A.3d 1195, denied, 314 Conn. 937, 102 A.3d 1115 (2014). Attorney Westcott did not testify at this habeas proceeding. He did testify at the second habeas ......