Testimony Changes Judge's Mind

on Illegal Entry Charge

Ying Stafford successfully secured the dismissal of Mr. Phillips' illegal re-entry charge in federal court, despite his past involvement in two armed robberies. As a result, Mr. Phillips is now a U.S. citizen.

A federal judge, initially skeptical about the appeal of a Jamaica-born felon seeking to avoid deportation, reconsidered his stance and dismissed the indictment against Shanado Phillips for illegally re-entering the United States. The judge, Raymond Dearie of the Eastern District, noted that Phillips' testimony about his life revealed "unusual and outstanding equities" that weighed in his favor, leading to the decision. “To my surprise, Phillips’ hearing presentation was, from the outset, credible, convincing, and, in all respects, impressive,” Judge Dearie stated in U.S. v. Phillips 13cr631. “His testimony was itself revealing and insightful, displaying maturity, decency, and obvious candor.”

Phillips had pleaded guilty to two armed robberies in 1996 and served nine years in prison before being deported to Jamaica. He re-entered the U.S. illegally in 2006 and was arrested in 2013.

Ying Stafford, a solo practitioner, represented Phillips pro bono. Stafford, who is often appointed counsel in federal capital cases for indigent defendants, became aware of Phillips' case through detainees in federal detention. “When I spoke with Shanado and later with his family, I found his story very compelling,” Stafford said. She explained that Phillips had never sought U.S. citizenship, despite being automatically entitled to it after living in the country for five years, following his parents’ acquisition of permanent residency. “He believed he was already a U.S. citizen when he was arrested on the armed robbery charges,” Stafford said. “He thought that if you are in the U.S. for an extended period, you automatically become a citizen.”

Joseph Biggs, key witness in Tartaglione murder case, gets nearly 17 years in prison

Ying Stafford successfully represented Joseph Biggs, a body builder and school security guard, who participated in the murder and kidnapping of four men in Orange County New York. After facing the death penalty was sentenced to 17 years in prison.

The bodybuilder and school security guard who participated in the killing of four men in Orange County — and was the only witness to detail the killings at ex-cop Nicholas Tartaglione's trial last year — was sentenced Thursday to 16 years and eight months in federal prison. Joseph Biggs trembled as he addressed the families of the victims in federal court in White Plains Thursday, reciting a prayer that God forgive him for what he did. “I had no intention of being a part of a drug conspiracy,” he told the families "I understand your feelings toward me, and I pray that one day you can find forgiveness in your heart for me."

But earlier, relatives of Martin Luna, his nephews Miguel Luna and Urbano Santiago and family friend Hector Gutierrez said they were not inclined to do so, that forgiveness was up to God and that Biggs could have prevented the tragedy but instead killed one of the men himself and ruined the families' lives forever.

U.S. District Judge Kenneth Karas and Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurene Comey said the case highlighted the tension in reconciling a cooperator's horrific crimes with their assistance in bringing more culpable people to justice. The judge said he would have had no problem ignoring any mitigation and sentencing Biggs to life in prison had it not been for his cooperation.

When he eventually agreed to cooperate, his "remarkable" assistance was threefold, Comey said: Biggs gave prosecutors details they didn't have and admitted his role when he could have lied to protect himself; he went into painful detail about sexual and racial abuse by Benderoth; and his trial testimony offered the most powerful evidence jurors heard and was why, Comey said, their guilty verdict against Tartaglione was "so swift, so decisive."

Mobster 'Vinny Gorgeous' Avoids Death Sentence In Gangland Hit Trial

Ying Stafford successfully represented Vincent Basciano, aka Vinny “Gorgeous” Basciano against federal capital charges. The jury deliberated less than two hours in federal court in Brooklyn before reaching the decision in the penalty phase at the trial of Vincent "Vinny Gorgeous" Basciano. The jury, which gave him a life sentence, had found the former acting boss of the Bonanno crime family guilty last month of murder, racketeering, conspiracy and other charges. Basciano, 51, cracked a slight smile and nodded at the jurors as they exited the courtroom.

Prosecutors used the unprecedented testimony of former Bonanno boss Joseph Massino to try to portray Basciano as a stone-cold killer who deserved death. Massino -- the highest-ranking member of the city's five Italian organized crime families to ever take the witness stand for the government -- recounted a conversation about the possibility of knocking off an assistant U.S. attorney while the prosecutor dined at his favorite Manhattan eatery to avenge an onslaught of criminal cases brought against the family leadership.

"Let me kill this guy when he comes out of the restaurant," Basciano said, according to Massino, who by mob rules had to sign off on the killing. The government also sought to convince jurors that life behind bars wouldn't prevent Basciano from trying to use visitors to sneak orders to his underworld crew -- a tactic he'd used in the past.

"Even with a life sentence, he will not be stopped," Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Argentieri said in closing arguments. "His mind will always be in the street. ... The defendant has earned the ultimate punishment."

Defense attorney Richard Jasper argued the former owner of the Hello Gorgeous hair salon would pose no threat if imprisoned with other notorious gangsters and terrorists in the fortress-like lockup in Florence, Colo., "the biggest, baddest house in the federal system," where "everybody is in lockdown." He urged jurors to follow their consciences and "suspend the work of death until Vincent Basciano dies in a federal prison by himself -- in God's time, not man's."

The jury indicated on its verdict sheet that it didn't buy prosecutors' argument that Basciano posed a future threat. It also said its decision was based in part on the fact that other mobsters convicted of worse crimes did not get the death penalty.

Throughout the capital case, Basciano was a colorful presence in the courtroom. He had won U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis' approval to wear a wardrobe of five different suits -- one for each day of the week -- and always kept his full hair of gray hair carefully coiffed.

Expensive Federal Death Penalty Case Ends with Life Without Parole

Ying Stafford represented Vincent Basciano in a high-profile federal death penalty case. Basciano, an organized crime leader convicted of murder, racketeering, and conspiracy, was initially facing the death penalty. However, thanks to Stafford's expert legal defense, a unanimous jury in New York voted to impose a life sentence instead of the death penalty.

On June 1, a federal jury in New York, in a death penalty prosecution, unanimously voted to impose a life sentence on Basciano, who had been convicted of murder, racketeering, and conspiracy. The prosecution's lead witness against Basciano was Joseph Massino, a former crime boss who cooperated with the government in exchange for avoiding the death penalty for his own crimes.

Despite Basciano already serving a sentence of life without the possibility of parole, the federal government continued to seek the death penalty. This decision came despite a request from the trial judge, who urged the Department of Justice to reconsider pursuing the death penalty due to its high costs and the likelihood that Basciano would spend the rest of his life in prison regardless of the outcome.

Mafia boss escapes death

Ying Stafford played a pivotal role in the defense of convicted crime boss Vincent "Vinny Gorgeous" Basciano, who was facing the federal death penalty. The jury's decision to spare Basciano's life underscores the challenges prosecutors face in securing a death sentence for Mafia figures. Despite Basciano's serious convictions, including murder, racketeering, and conspiracy, the federal jury ultimately imposed a life sentence, highlighting the impact of effective legal defense.

On Wednesday, after five days of often grisly testimony during the penalty phase, the jury deliberated for just under two hours before sentencing Basciano to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

While U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis ordered that the jurors' names remain sealed, their reasoning can be partially inferred from the verdict sheet. The jurors noted that none of the other individuals who had testified during Basciano's trial had received the death penalty for their crimes.

"There are other members of organized crime who have admitted to an equal or greater number of serious crimes, yet they are not facing the death penalty, much less incarcerated," read a handwritten note on the verdict sheet, endorsed by 10 of the 12 jurors.