Hello everyone, My name is Dan and I am a convicted felon. I owned a private company, no partners or shareholders, so no one including the nanny next door lost 1 penny because of me. I serviced bank ATM's and not 1 customer of mine lost 1 penny. However there was 1 bank that claimed to have lost 2 million dollars but could not ultimately prove it and when given the option of filing a claim with the insurance company that represented my business, declined to do so. And at one point, ther bank agreed to accept $ 20,000 from my company to settle the whole matter. During this same time period, I became critically ill after a surgeon punctured my colon 6 times. The resulting injury caused a severe staff infection which destroyed all the muscles and flesh on and in my abdomen, under my arm and around both sides of my back. The road back to life included 2 Last Rites, 15 surgeries, and approximately 2 years of recovery, during which I borrowed money and used my companies credit cards to survive. I have 3 children, 2 at home and 1 at that time, in college. The resulting injury allowed a fairly substantial malpractice settlement in which I paid back all my debts to the corporation.

Enter The Feds

During this period I was unaware of an ongoing Federal investigation, not refered by the bank that allegedly lost money, but by the same insurance company that represented my firm. Last August I was indicted in the District of NJ, not once but twice on Wire Fraud, Bank Fraud, Structuring and 4 counts of Tax Evasion. I was mortified and vowed to fight to the death. So I fought and fought. The judge was a home team player. Several pieces of evidence including pictures of my medical ordeal not allowed, however the prosecution showed, over and over, pictures of my home and Harley and boat.

Seven weeks of trial, 2000 exhibits, and we even showed who took the banks money, 2 former employee's who are in the custody of the BOP..

4 hours of deliberation and a free lunch........:ham: Convicted

Probation has it at a level 30 with enhancements:fb:

I WAS MARTHAIZED......This site has helped me make peace..Thank You

Another "Futurer BOP Vacationer"....I like your title there!

Welcome to PTO!

Sorry to hear you will be vacationing with the BOP! I am however glad you were able to find PTO and hopefully we will be able to provide you with some useful information!

Diane

Hello and Welcome to PTO.

Hi there!! Welcome to PTO!! All The Best!!

Dan,
Unfortunately, you are in the vast majority of cases that go to trial and LOOOOOOSE! Is that because everyone is guilty? Hell NO.. The Feds have over a 90%+ conviction rate.. Everyone ask yourselves why?? Is it because the juries picked for federal trials are different than those picked for state trials? Not at all.. They are the same people but they only see and hear what the federal judge allows them too.. Dan's case shows this clearly..
I can't speak for all the judges.. I know there are good and fair ones out there, but more times than not the federal judges are much more sympathetic on siding with the prosecution.. DEFINITELY NOT UNBIASED.. Not sure on the statistics of how many federal judges were Assistant U.S. Attorneys prior or at some point in the past, but it would be interesting..

Welcome to PTO Dan.. Sorry to hear about your case.. Hope you are doing better physically and that they sentence you at the bottom of the guidelines.

Fed-X

So sorry. You will find a tremendous amount of support here. I don't know what I would do without the encouragement and advice I find at PTO.

Welcome to PTO

hello...just wanted to welcome you...I am Hilde from belgium...have been here a while, and it is great...hope to see more of you!!!

Stupid question number 1

Can you buy pillows at the commissary ???????

Welcome to PTO... hang in there.

I can't answer your question, but believe me... its definitely not a stupid one :)

mrs

Stupid question number 1

Can you buy pillows at the commissary ???????


Welcome to PTO, and to answer your question-

No, pillows aren't for sale. The BOP will loan you one though. :)

Hello and Welcome!

Welcome to PTO and yes, you will find lots of peace here.

Sheryl

Welcome. So sorry to hear about your situation. When will you be checking into the lodge? For the time being you can always vent here. Keep your chin up.

JDKodiak
Im scheduled to be sentenced May 3, However, the gortex patch that was placed in my abdomin is now seperating from the muscle it was attached to and I am going to need another surgery. Not really sure how im going to convience the Judge and AUSA's, who have no problem taking my kids toys for part of the forfeiture. And yes they took all the proceedes from the malpractice settlement which included my home and both cars. They even considered taking my dog because I paid $ 1500 for him.

JDkodiac
Im not sure why the last reply didnt post but if this is redundant please disregard. Will be sentenced on May 3, however I need another surgery to correct the gortex patch that was placed in my abdomin that is pulling away from the muscle. Dont know how the Judge or AUSA will believe me. They have no problem taking my kids toys for the forfeiture.

Hi Dan

Welcome to the PTO family :)

I'm really sorry to hear about your story. I'm sure you will find much support and a lot of informations here. And no question is stupid, we'll do our best to answer them, so keep them coming.

All my bets wishes
Phil

Dan,

Hi and welcome to PTO. I am sorry to hear of your situation, and can only reiterate Fed-X's words of wisdom. We will be here for you as you take this journey, and walk the road so many of us have been down. Just remember, there are no stupid questions! Somebody will usually have an answer for you, and if we don't we will try and find it.

Stay strong!

Hi Dan,

Can you tell me about the feds taking your house. Did you agree to sell it. Or has it been part of the forfeiture? And they will sell it at auction? Then your wife is paid her half? They are after my house. I've been told if I don't agree to let them have it thru the plea agreement then they will take it thru forfeiture. What do you know about this?

Thanks,
Sheryl

I feel so bad for you Dan! The feds really su-k! Once they get it in thier head to get you, innocent or not, they do. Actions like this should be a wakeup call to us all to get active politically and work to have our voices be heard!

Sheryl
We agreed to sell the house to offset some of the forfeiture. We also agreed to sell just about everything else to...They came for my cars yesterday and I sold some jewlery. My tractor and horse trailer are on Ebay.

Thanks Fl Lisa..This has been a true experience..Thanks so much to Mach 1 also for the letters.. I am holding on strong.

Dan,
My pleasure! We're all here for you! "Non Carborundum Illegitimo" My Latin is a bit rusty ... Translation ... Don't let the Ba-tards get you down!! Keep your head held high, and this too shall pass!! Be the cat on the screen door ... LOL!!

Good luck Dan

I hope your wife and kids are taking this well. It takes a lot of strength to get through this kind of mess. Also I hope the medical problems are properly taken care of. I'll be thinking of you on the 3rd and do hope you will get a decent break at sentencing.

Welcome Dan,PTO is a world of info., but mostly it's a family....a real smart well informed (mainly 1st hand) family. I hope everything works out good for you next week. I'll find out about my 91 objections on my PSI re-write 4/30/04,So...I'll be getting my sentenceing date pretty soon....Hang in there...

Wow, you were right about sending me to read your story. I am so very sorry that you have a "story". It really is something about the feds not being able to recognize truth from fiction...but it appears once they deem what is true...they don't change their mind. Funny thing though, after I was convicted, and I got the pleasure of being fingerprinted by the FBI . . . the lead agent told me he wished he had known someone was lying to him - in regards to the bank in my case. Funny how they can recognize the truth after the fact.

I hope that they were able to postpone your sentencing and you get a downward departure - is your attorney trying for anything? One other question, since there are some similiarities in your case to mine - did you proffer? I chose not to - and I have always wondered if they had heard my side from me prior to trial - they might have believed me. I guess that is wishful thinking.

I'll be praying for you, your wife and your children. God Bless.

Wow, you were right about sending me to read your story. I am so very sorry that you have a "story". It really is something about the feds not being able to recognize truth from fiction...but it appears once they deem what is true...they don't change their mind. Funny thing though, after I was convicted, and I got the pleasure of being fingerprinted by the FBI . . . the lead agent told me he wished he had known someone was lying to him - in regards to the bank in my case. Funny how they can recognize the truth after the fact.

I hope that they were able to postpone your sentencing and you get a downward departure - is your attorney trying for anything? One other question, since there are some similiarities in your case to mine - did you proffer? I chose not to - and I have always wondered if they had heard my side from me prior to trial - they might have believed me. I guess that is wishful thinking.

I'll be praying for you, your wife and your children. God Bless.
My Sentencing was postponed till June 21st which gives me additional time to sell all my wordly possessions and fork over the cash to the goverment. I dont expect the judge in this case to allow anything in the way of PSR objections or downward departures because this guy goes home at night and celebrates all the carnage he inflicts on the constitutionon a daily basis, by depriving defendants the ability to defend themselves properly. This judge actually made the statement at sidebar that a piece of evidence I was trying to introduce, which was an official goverment document from the New Jersey State Department of Banking, which also had direct relevence to how I operated my business, was not a license for me to steal " the banks money :angry: " . The whole entire court room heard it. All the way to the back. I was on the stand and you should have seen the jury react. My heart sunk. I did not proffer anything because we did not want to tip our hand for trial. Like you said...they get one thing in there mind and it stays...Feel free to contact me any time.

Hi Dan...

Hang in there my friend. It sounds like you're experiencing Federal justice at it's finest. I had a similar situation, but different circumstances. I owned a finance company and I falsified 11 credit applications to assist people in getting auto loans. I added downpayment $$ to the apps...every finance guy in every dealership in America does it. One guy didn't make his payments, the bank contacted him and he said that I told him I'd take care of all of his bank problems for him. Well, that launched an investigation of all my loans. They found the 11 bad ones, contacted the customers and had them sign affidavits against me. I was charged with 11 counts of bank fraud, 11 counts of wire fraud(the apps were faxed in), 11 counts of mail fraud(the contracts were mailed to the bank), and 11 counts of money laundering(the bank's checks went into my account, and I paid the dealers for the cars). Then the government fashioned my PSI to fit the charges. Pictures of my house, my cars, our neighborhood...it was awful. I pled to one count of bank fraud and got 12 months.

Anyway...I did my time at a camp as you will I'm sure. The good news is that it's not as bad as you're thinking it'll be. I was at FPC Oxford in Wisconsin. It was tough being away from my family, but the actual place wasn't that bad. You can't buy pillows, but get all the documentation you can get about your health situation and what "special" things you will need. If you have allergies...you can get a new foam pillow instead of the old, rotten feather ones. If you need to have 2 pillows for neck, head, shoulder ailments, get that in writing from a doctor NOW. Whatever meds you need or like to take, make sure you have a doctor's written note that you need them. Once you get there you'll get a quick check over by some PA who probably can't speak english and will be in a hurry to get back to the coffee room, so your health issues are a big concern. If you prepare fully you should be ok.

I hope you get the bottom of the guidelines...it sounds like you should.

If you have any questions, PM me and I'll be happy to answer them.

Greg

Hi Dan.
So sorry to hear about your situation. I'm appalled at how many similar situations I've heard about here at PTO and from my boyfriend who is at a camp in OK. He had problems with the IRS and tried to fight the feds instead of entering a plea bargain and ended up with 41 months compared to his partners who got probation. Moral of the story--you can't fight them. He was guilty of tax evasion, but not of conspiracy which is what they convicted him of. Anyhow, camp hasn't been too bad, and there have been some positive things come out of it for him, so hang in there. Your attitude will make all the difference. Will be praying for you and your family. This is a great site as I'm sure you've already discovered.
Jeanene

Gosh.. this federal stuff seems scary!!! Your story is sad... I wish you and your family the best of luck!!!!!!!!

Lisa

Dan,
Welcome to PTO. I talked to a few guys at FCI Coleman Low where my husband is at until his transfer to a camp. LOTS of horror stories. My husband's judge was the same guy who ordered the Chief Justice of Alabama to remove the 10 commandments. He was semi fair but coming down to sentencing - he went down the middle. Over 40 letters from friends, relatives, his employer -etc. I do not know if any helped. with Mand Min -I wanted to yell at him that a rapist gets less time and we had -0- victims, -0- $$ lossed -drug conspiracy -the feds favorite -

Welcome and keep us updated! Tell your wife -we are here for her also. I was pregnant with my 2nd when he was taken in.

Carolyn

so sorry to hear about your case. I will pray for you.
My husband is in Maxwell FPC. He was sentenced to 60 mos though the prosecutor asked for 42 mos. Sadly it was a public case and the judge decided to make an example out of him. He is in for obstruction of justice. He colaborated with the FBI. He was treated very well by everyone except by the judge. The prosecutor pleaded with the judge but nothing. The feds took all the proceeds from our home even though me and our daughter were left out with nothing. However, God never abandon us and we have accepted His will.
May the Lord bless you and your family,
Maria

Dan,
Unfortunately, you are in the vast majority of cases that go to trial and LOOOOOOSE! Is that because everyone is guilty? Hell NO.. The Feds have over a 90%+ conviction rate.. Everyone ask yourselves why?? Is it because the juries picked for federal trials are different than those picked for state trials? Not at all.. They are the same people but they only see and hear what the federal judge allows them too.. Dan's case shows this clearly..
I can't speak for all the judges.. I know there are good and fair ones out there, but more times than not the federal judges are much more sympathetic on siding with the prosecution.. DEFINITELY NOT UNBIASED.. Not sure on the statistics of how many federal judges were Assistant U.S. Attorneys prior or at some point in the past, but it would be interesting..

Welcome to PTO Dan.. Sorry to hear about your case.. Hope you are doing better physically and that they sentence you at the bottom of the guidelines.

Fed-X
The feds need almost no evidence to convict. The state refused to prosecute my husband because, hello, he was never caught with anything or doing anything. I won't lie, my husband was dealing some drugs .. but not the quantities the feds tried to say he was dealing. He was ultimately charged with "conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute." It cost him his life. If he was convicted by the state he would have been home long ago .. instead he is in year 13 of his life sentence.

I'm sorry about your ordeal Dan, good luck and hold on to your faith!

Sorry people that will take a person's dog! As you can tell, I am a dog person. I will keep you in my prayers that they will at least take mercy on you and let you stay out until you have surgery and are on the way to recovery. Believe me, no one in there has ever gotten the same medical treatment that a person recieves while at home. Amazing how they show only what they think will get a person convicted. Good luck to you!