在美国最高法院一系列终止其当前任期的备受瞩目的裁决中，隐藏了Roe诉Wade和scaling back federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions—was a less-noticed decision to take a case next year that could change the fortunes of a convicted New York contractor who was serving a federal prison term for bid-rigging.
Justices agreed June 29 to hear the case that challenges the legal theory behind the 2018 federal bid-rig conviction of Louis P. Ciminelli, the former CEO of a once high-profile Buffalo construction firm, and those of other upstate developers and officials, related to steered state contracts. The “Buffalo Billions” development pay-to-play scheme involved state officials and industry political donors.
The high court will weigh prosecutors' use of the "right to control" theory in the defendants' wire fraud indictments, under which they were found guilty of fraud for deliberately withholding important financial information from business customers, even without clear evidence that they benefited from doing so.
Louis P. Ciminelli, ex-CEO of contractor LPCiminelli, at his 2018 conviction on fraud and bid-rigging charges related to a state-awarded solar factory construction contract in Buffalo, N.Y.
Credit: AP PHOTO/CAROLYN THOMPSON/FILE
Ciminelli的律师以及被定罪和监禁的前纽约州立大学理工学院首席执行官Alain Kaloyeros和Syracuse开发人员Steven Aiello和Joseph Gerardi无法将理论解释给联邦地方法院陪审团或纽约市的美国上诉法院。另一位被告约瑟夫·佩尔科科（Joseph Percoco）是当时的纽约州州长安德鲁·库莫（Andrew M. Cuomo）的前助手，被定罪，根据“诚实服务”法规，检察官说，该法案是根据欺骗公职人员提供的服务权的人申请的。
根据法院文件和新闻报道，律师希望现任最高法院能够同意其主张并扭转定罪。
同时，鉴于最高法院决定审查此案，Ciminelli，Kaloyeros，Aiello和Gerardi的律师赢得了他们向美国地方法院法官Valerie Caproni释放监护权的要求July 1 ordershe signed.
An NBC News local TV station affiliate confirmed that the former contractor CEO, 66, left a federal prison near Tucson on July 2, where he had been serving a 28-month sentence since February, set for release in January 2024.
Kaloyeros was sentenced to a 3-1/2 year sentence, Aiello to three years and Gerardi to 2.5 years. It is not clear when they began serving. Percoco, who was sentenced to six years, now is in a halfway house, according toThe Gothamist。The executives also faced fines, andprosecutors pursued efforts从LPCiminelli和Syracuse房地产公司Cor Development中恢复了高达4000万美元的利润。
Tailoring RFPs
The U.S. Attorney in New York City charged that the defendants rigged selections under Cuomo’s “Buffalo Billions” upstate New York economic development push by tailoring RFPs to include factors that favored LP Ciminelli in Buffalo and COR Development in Syracuse.
The advantage was “unbeknownst to others,” including Fort Schuyler Management Corp, a nonprofit corporation由国家建立to evaluate the bids. The Manhattan federal court jury held that by rigging the RFPs, defendants “deprived Fort Schuyler of potentially valuable economic information that would have resulted from a truly fair and competitive RFP process.”
陪审团判决认可了“电报欺诈理论”，该理论允许被定罪，如果被告证明被告扣留了受害者的宝贵信息，在这种情况下为舒勒堡，可能会影响经济决定。
Evidence introduced at trial showed that wIthout the fraud Fort Schuyler would have considered more, and perhaps stronger contract bidders in response to the RFPs. One company executive testified that his firm decided not to bid on one contract because the RFP’s vagueness left him with the impression that the project was being “steered” toward a local competitor.
并非所有美国上诉法院都支持权利控制作为欺诈案件的基础，被告向最高法院辩称，布法罗数十亿案的案件“提出了理想的工具”来解决差异。一名律师代表一名被定罪的高管说，最高的律师说，最高案Court’s decision "to review these questions necessarily establishes that they are substantial questions, which if resolved favorably to the defendants will result in reversal of their convictions."
两位在该领域经验的律师告诉ENR，法院已同意审理此案，使Ciminelli和其他高管将被免除。新利18备用首席律师迈克尔·德里本（Michael Dreeben）告诉《泰士》Albany Times-Union.
But a Supreme Court win for the defendants “could hurt bid-rigging prosecutions,” an attorney who asked to be anonymous, told ENR. “The current conservative court is notorious for narrowing property theories.”
