United States v. Amabile

• Decision Date: 16 July 2015
• Docket Number: 14 M 1043 (VMS)
• Parties: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, v. MICHELE AMABILE, Relator.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Eastern District of New York

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, v. MICHELE AMABILE, Relator.

14 M 1043 (VMS)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

July 16, 2015

OPINION AND ORDER

Scanlon, Vera M., United States Magistrate Judge:

In response to a request by the Government of the Republic of Italy ("Italy"), the United States of America ("the Government") moves under 18 U.S.C. § 3184 to have this Court certify the extraditability of Relator Michele Amabile ("Mr. Amabile"), a citizen of the United States, to Italy, which seeks Mr. Amabile on charges pending against him relating to narcotics importation, mafia-type association and aggravated attempted extortion. Docket No. 4;¹ Docket No. 16-1 (Italy's extradition request). Italy makes this extradition request under the Extradition Treaty between the United States of America and the Government of the Italian Republic, signed October 13, 1983 ("the 1983 Treaty"), as modified by a written instrument signed by both nations as contemplated by Article 3(2) of the Agreement on Extradition between the United States of America and the European Union, signed June 25, 2003. Docket No. 16-1.

On January 19, 2015, the United States filed a memorandum of law in support of its Complaint for the Extradition of Mr. Amabile, made at the request of Italy pursuant to the 1983Treaty as modified, for the Court to certify Mr. Amabile's extraditability on the basis of the narcotic importation and the mafia-type-association charge. Docket No. 16.

Mr. Amabile opposes the United States's request, Docket No. 22, and the United States replies, Docket Nos. 24-25.

On May 21, 2015, I held an extradition hearing. Docket Nos. 26-27. During that hearing, I requested supplemental briefing from the Parties, which they have filed. Docket Nos. 29-30.

For the reasons set forth below, I hereby grant the Government's request for certification of extraditability in its entirety.

I. Legal Background, Factual Background And Procedural History

The following legal background, factual background and procedural history have been compiled from the Parties' filings, as well as Italy's submissions in support of its extradition request.

a. The June 2014 Criminal Charges Brought Against Mr. Amabile In Reggio Calabria, Italy

i. The Reggio Calabria Charges Against Mr. Amabile

On June 10, 2014, a Pre-trial Investigation Judge in Reggio Calabria, Italy, issued an arrest warrant for Mr. Amabile relating to a March 3, 2014 indictment charging him with violating Article 74(1)-(3) of Italian Presidential Decree 309/1990 and Article 4 of Law 146/06.² Docket No. 16-3 at 30-41. The same indictment charged Mr. Amabile with violating Article 416(1), (3)-(6) of the Italian Criminal Code. Docket No. 16-3 at 30-41.³

ii. A Summary Of The Relevant Italian Law Relating To The Narcotics-Importation Charge And The Mafia-Type-Association Charge

What follows is a summary of the relevant law supporting the narcotics-importation charge and the mafia-type-association charge brought against Mr. Amabile in the Reggio Calabria indictment. Docket No. 16-3.

1. The Narcotics-Importation Charge Under Italian Law

As for the narcotics-importation charge, Article 74(1) of Italian Presidential Decree 309/1990 provides that

[w]hen three or more persons set up an association for the purposes of committing several of the offenses as stated in Article 70, paragraphs 4, 6 and 10[, which in sum and substance criminalize the importation of various controlled substances without government license], . . . any person who promotes, sets up, manages, organizes or funds the association shall be punished by a term of imprisonment of not less than twenty years.

Id.

Article 74(2) and (3) of Italian Presidential Decree 309/1990 contemplate circumstances which aggravate the seriousness of an individual's commission of the narcotics-importation offense described in Article 74(1). Id. For example, Article 74(2) states that "[a]ny person who participates in the association shall be punished by a term of imprisonment of no less than ten years," and Article 74(3) states that "[t]he sentence shall be increased if the number of members is ten or more[.]" Id.

Article 4 of Law 146/2006 also relates to the narcotics-importation charge against Mr. Amabile and provides that

[t]he penalty for the offences punished by the maximum penalty of imprisonment for no less than four years, committed with the contribution of a criminal organized group, engaged in criminalactivities in more than one States, shall be increased by one third to the half.

Docket No. 4-1 at 39.

2. The Mafia-Type-Association Charge Pursuant To Article 416(1), (3)-(6) of Of The Italian Criminal Code

The mafia-type-association charge was brought pursuant to Article 416 of the Italian Criminal Code, which criminalizes various types of involvement with a mafia-type association—for example, the formation, promotion or direction of such a group. Docket No. 16-3 at 50. The law defines a mafia-type association as occurring when

those who form part thereof avail themselves of the force of intimidation of the bond deriving from being a member of the association and of the consequent condition of subjection and "omertà" (silence of a culpable nature), in order to commit crimes[.]

Docket No. 16-3.

iii. The Factual Allegations Underlying The Reggio Calabria Charges

1. General Factual Allegations Relating To The Narcotics-Importation Charge

The indictment alleges that roughly twenty individuals were involved in the narcotics-importation operation, among them Franco Lupo, Nick Tamburello, Nicola Carrozza, Carlo Brillante, Daniele Cavoto, Alex Chan, Anthony Drossos, Domenico Geranio, Andrew Memmolo, Vincenzo Parrelli, Carlo Piscioneri, Antonio Simonetta, Eugenio Ignelzi, Bledar Halili, Daniel Lacatus, Mario Ursini, Francesco Ursino, Raffaele Valente, Francesco Vonella and José Garcia.⁴ Docket No. 16-3 at 31. These Defendants came to the attention of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI") and the Italian National Police ("INP") as a resultof a criminal investigation jointly conducted by these law enforcement agencies, and the Defendants—Mr. Amabile among them—allegedly "associated with one another . . . in order to commit an indefinite number of crimes involving the import[ation into Italy], the co-possession and the subsequent sale of a narcotic substance of the cocaine type to third persons." Id. at 30.

2. General Factual Allegations Relating To The Mafia-Type-Association Charge

Building upon the alleged narcotics importation, the Defendants—Mr. Amabile among them—also allegedly committed acts violating Italy's law against a mafia-type association in the Italian territory of Montefalcone di Val Fortore by making use of the intimidating force of the association and the condition of submission and law of silence resulting from it. Id. at 31. Although the indictment states that Mr. Amabile was one of roughly twenty Defendants involved in narcotics importation, the indictment alleges that Mr. Amabile was part of the mafia-type association with a subset of five of those roughly twenty other Defendants. Id. The mafia-type association allegedly employed firearms in the course of its drug-trafficking activities, with Mr. Brillante and Mr. Valente allegedly playing particularly prominent roles in the planning, management and promotion of the association. Id. at 31.

3. Specific Allegations Connecting Mr. Amabile To Narcotics Importation And/Or Participation In A Mafia-Type Association

a. The Government's Sealed Affidavit Shows That Mr. Amabile Is The "Michele" Referred To In The Italian Indictment's Allegations

In support of the factual allegations made in the Reggio Calabria indictment bringing the narcotics-importation and mafia-type-association charges against Mr. Amabile, the United States has provided the Court and Mr. Amabile's counsel with a sealed affidavit from an FBI agent("the Affidavit"). Docket No. 25.⁵ As the Affidavit is sealed to protect confidential information contained therein, I will only discuss its contents in broad terms.⁶

Mr. Amabile complains that the Italian indictment, which refers to a co-conspirator named "Michele," never establishes why law enforcement believes that Mr. Amabile is "Michele." Docket No. 30. The Affidavit sets forth the United States Government's reason for believing that that Mr. Amabile is "Michele," which is that the affiant attests to personal knowledge of that fact and provides the Court with the foundation for that knowledge. Docket.No. 25.⁷ As I have read the affiant's explanation and find it convincing, going forward I consider Mr. Amabile to be the "Michele" referred to in the Italian indictment.

b. The Fact Allegations Contained In The Reggio Calabria Indictment Bringing The Narcotics-Importation And Mafia-Type-Association Charges Against Mr. Amabile

I now turn to the Reggio Calabria indictment's allegations in support of the narcotics-importation and mafia-type-association charges. The Reggio Calabria allegations are frequently sourced from recordings of the Defendants' conversations, which the Government's unsealed Complaint explains were obtained through the FBI and INP's joint investigation using tools such as pen registers, tap and trace devices and search warrants on email accounts monitored by the FBI and telephone calls intercepted by the INP. Docket No. 4.⁸

As noted above, the FBI and the INP conducted a joint investigation into the events detailed in the Reggio Calabria indictment. Pursuant to that investigation, law enforcement learned that Mr. Lupoi and Mr. Valente, among others, helped to organize the cocaine shipment from South America to Italy through the use of cover hauls, and that Mr. Drossos, among others, served as an intermediary with the South American suppliers. Docket No. 16-3 at 30.⁹

Against this backdrop, the Reggio Calabria charges allege that in August 2012, Mr. Amabile traveled from the United States to Italy with Mr. Lupoi to attend Mr. Valente's wedding there....