Life sentence for Turra drug gang member angers family

[Athene Fuex]

(Philadelphia, PA) - A cousin of the late South Philadelphia drug boss Louis
Turra was sentenced yesterday to life in prison in a ruling that drew howls
of protest from his family.
Gaeten Polidoro, 28, had faced a 20-year sentence on the racketeering and
drug counts on which he was convicted with three associates on March 19.
But his conviction on a charge of carrying a firearm during an abortive June
1995 plot to kill reputed South Philadelphia Mafia underboss Joseph "Skinny
Joey" Merlino drew a mandatory, consecutive five-year term under a tough
federal sentencing provision involving firearms.
And a second firearm count involving a loaded machine gun seized by the FBI
when Polidoro's car was stopped on June 8, 1995, resulted in the mandatory,
consecutive life term.
"Gaet, you're a good guy," cried one woman in the audience. A man was
ejected by deputy marshals after he began yelling obscenities.
U.S. District Judge J. Curtis Joyner explained that the life term was
mandatory and that he had no authority to be lenient. But he also said that
trial evidence proved Polidoro was "actively involved" in his cousin's drug
operation and in the plot to kill Merlino.
"He participated freely and voluntarily," Joyner added. " [ This sentence ]
was the result of his own conduct."
Polidoro, dressed in orange prison sweats and his body rocking with emotion,
angrily denounced federal prosecutors, the FBI, and the plea bargains they
made with other Turra gang members.
"I'm going to take this like a man," Polidoro said of his sentence, "but if
I wanted to, if I decided to be a government witness, this all would be
forgiven. . . . People get away with murder but me. I get caught with a
machine gun, and it's the ultimate penalty."
Still, Polidoro said, faced with the option of cooperating, "I'd rather take
a life sentence."
Defense attorney F. Emmett Fitzpatrick, who argued that Polidoro was a
"gopher at most" for Turra and that he suffered from drug addiction and
manic depression, said he would appeal.
Polidoro was the last of four Turra associates who went to trial to be
sentenced. On Tuesday, Joyner sentenced Brian Davis, 29, a Turra "enforcer"
convicted of being the driver of the getaway car used in a 1995 murder, to
40 years in prison.
On Monday convicted Turra hit man Nicholas Albanese, 34, was sentenced to
life in prison, and Turra adviser Dennis Virelli, 51, was sentenced to 10
years.
All four were charged last August with Turra and his father and uncle, and
eight others in what authorities said was an ambitious, violent gang that
sold more than $1.8 million worth of drugs in the city and South Jersey
between 1990 and 1995 and dreamed of muscling out the city's organized crime
family. Louis Turra, 33, committed suicide in prison on Jan. 7.

[Osmo Ronkanen]

In article <6pud1.1598$s02.1...@news.giganews.com>,

Athene Fuex <af...@texas.net> wrote:
>(Philadelphia, PA) - A cousin of the late South Philadelphia drug boss Louis
>Turra was sentenced yesterday to life in prison in a ruling that drew howls
>of protest from his family.

...

>U.S. District Judge J. Curtis Joyner explained that the life term was
>mandatory and that he had no authority to be lenient.

That is known as the Nuremberg defense. Maybe he should have assumed
such authority.

Osmo

[George Byrd]

In <alt.true-crime>, 4 Jun 1998 21:01:39 +0300,
on "Re: Life sentence for Turra drug gang member angers family"
ronk...@cc.helsinki.fi (Osmo Ronkanen) cast this ASCII:

Mandatory minimum sentences became a popular legislative exercise
since the 1980s, especially for drug crimes. Legislators,
inadvertantly showing that even they had doubts about it, foisted the
responsibility off on commissions by enacting laws that gave the
appointed commissions power to set the mandatory sentences. They then
let the grandstanding governors and president appoint the
commissioners. The commissioners then set mandatory "guidelines" for
sentencing judges, further avoiding responsibility. Thus, nobody is
responsible.

It is the perfect Nuremberg defense. Everybody in the system can
point a finger at somebody else and say "I was only following his
order."

There have been judges who have resigned the bench, or who have
refused to hear criminal cases, or who have refused to hear certain
types of criminal cases, in protest of insanely Draconian statutes and
sentencing "guidelines". But there is always a judge who is willing.

For information on opposition to mandatory minimum sentencing laws,
see <http://www.famm.org/>.

--
Opinions above are NOT those of APAN, Inc.
Opinions above are NOT legal advice.
"Laws do not persuade just because they threaten."
<< Seneca >>

[Osmo Ronkanen]

In article <6l7d8g$9b0$1...@nntp2.ba.best.com>,
George Byrd <geo...@apan.org.SPAM_NOT> wrote:
...

>
>Mandatory minimum sentences became a popular legislative exercise
>since the 1980s, especially for drug crimes. Legislators,
>inadvertantly showing that even they had doubts about it, foisted the
>responsibility off on commissions by enacting laws that gave the
>appointed commissions power to set the mandatory sentences. They then
>let the grandstanding governors and president appoint the
>commissioners. The commissioners then set mandatory "guidelines" for
>sentencing judges, further avoiding responsibility. Thus, nobody is
>responsible.
>
>It is the perfect Nuremberg defense. Everybody in the system can
>point a finger at somebody else and say "I was only following his
>order."

Well here that works the other way around. A typical rapist gets here
suspended sentence on first offense. When politicians are asked about
that they hide behind the independence of courts. This is done
especially if the person who asks uses a real-life example.

Here we have few minimum sentences. Murder for example carries always
life (unless the person was a minor or with diminished sanity). But
as we do not have juries and the verdict and sentence is decided at the
same time then they could reduce of to manslaughter that with mitigating
circumstances has four year minimum. The court can even go further,
with reasons that are written on the decision they can give sentence
that is less than the maximum. Other crimes do not have mentionable
minimum sentences.

>
>There have been judges who have resigned the bench, or who have
>refused to hear criminal cases, or who have refused to hear certain
>types of criminal cases, in protest of insanely Draconian statutes and
>sentencing "guidelines". But there is always a judge who is willing.

Funny that sounds like what was done here on the early century when
Russians imposed illegal laws on us.