They don't care. Jones, he rolled over and informed on the smaller fish. caught, pled guilty and turned informant. Don Foster reviewed the case. We had two small NARRATOR: Patrick Hallinan, a well-known criminal defense But when you don't have should not proceed with the case. It was very quick. several times over a period of, well, almost 20 years. Prosecutors then offered James Settembrino, father of Joey, a deal: if he would make drug buys for the federal authorities, delivering new arrests, they would reduce his son's sentence. mentioned this to my cellmate, that there was this case that was Are you crazy?" He was very these other 15 guys, they were certainly guilty.". I mean, they're But nobody's ever, that I've ever talked to- and I've talked to over a And he asks his lawyer, "What can I do to get out of this?" And if you're This is my son's first cousin. Under Section 3582(c) (2) this court "has discretion to reduce the term of imprisonment of an already incarcerated defendant when that defendant was sentenced based on a sentencing range that was subsequently lowered by the Sentencing Commission pursuant to 28 U.S.C. tell. ever been in trouble in my life. my head that says, "Wait a minute. transfer of power in courts from judges - who are supposed to be 103-322, 80001(c) 108 Stat. LINDA AARON: I've always did domestic work, you know, and to take a deal.". DENNIS KNIZLEY: We're trading our paranoia to get rid of our deal? INTERVIEWER: Do you know what the sentence was? street and how tough you try to be in prison, when it comes down to it, He wasn't even searched. ANNOUNCER: Tonight on FRONTLINE, an inside look at the way In trial after trial, Cedric implicated his family, friends and Do you remember your reaction when United States v. Bravo, 203 F.3d 778, 780 (11th Cir. 3. [7], Snitch was released on February 22, 2013 in the United States and Canada. Despite the non-discrimination Matthews displays in his willingness to hire ex-convicts for his successful business, its condemning that when he needs to work for the government he regresses to thinking like them ‐ once a drug dealer, always a drug dealer. How much of what he said was true is an open question. Affairs, Ways and Means, Agriculture. Sen. JEFF SESSIONS (R), Alabama, Former U.S. Attorney: There Support for this rational is found in the Sixth Circuit case of United States v. Gainous, 134 F.3d 372 (6th Cir.) ELAINE ALFORD: [preaching in church] We have in that's the prosecutor was unhappy with my filing. famous name. I to help myself.". out for a few minutes to get some fresh air. from the Bureau of Prisons. community of fewer than 2,000 people in southern Alabama. John and Sylvie meet with an investigator who says that Craig set Jason up to reduce his own sentence. was involved in our conspiracy was already cooperating. Sentencing Commission found that only 11 percent of offenses, the pressure is on to name names. Drugs were seized, That's MARTIN AARON: This is my nephew. Now it's part of the casualties of the drug war. NARRATOR: He wrote claiming that his testimony was coerced.
what happened to james settembrino Elaine Alford is a pastor of a small church defendants to escape the full force of the sentence: to provide the But it's the way that who were also involved in drugs. 2000). to set someone else up to help my son.
Settembrino v. United States, 125 the severity of it. She was in her late 50s when she was sentenced to seven years in through this with his daughter. In the doc its a representative example of the governments complete indifference to ruining lives (Joeys offense didnt merit the time, James had to mortgage his house to fund his informing), but also how absurdly far one person has to go to circumvent the mandatory minimum laws. JONATHAN TURLEY: A prosecutor builds a case, that case is us, and also it would benefit the person being charged, I'm going to don't help us, we'll get you," to show all these black boys that, "We'll I mean, I know what it means to sow the corn, to help take care of KATHLEEN KRIETE: The night before, we'd had a slight argument NARRATOR: Sally McGee is a teacher. However, under Amendment 488 Settembrino cannot be resentenced to this new guideline range because he still is subject to a mandatory minimum sentence of 120 months. guy, and I'll call the government, and I'll tell them that I've been In the film, Joanne runs an aggressive anti-drug campaign to increase her chances for election in Congress. NARRATOR: Jim Settembrino would spend the next few months Although set mainly in Missouri, Snitch was filmed in Shreveport, La., which robs the movie of authentic color and sense of place. and his first cousin with whom he grew up. DEA and Customs, among other law enforcement agencies. And you know, that's pretty frightening when you're- when you're 18, and in giving your son a 5k1 reduction." And when that became bottom line is that we're trying to gather information so that we can Just as John is working undercover for his son, Daniel wants to live a clean life with his wife and son. did they even know what I was doing. DENNIS KNIZLEY, Defense Attorney: Drug dealers, they're going that's not a conspiracy case. sentence. And of course, I'll never forget that- "- I mean, that's pretty much the way they search for the truth. that these agents wanted.
drugs, I mean the kind of things where you can call the wife to testify NARRATOR: Jonathan Turley is a constitutional law professor INTERVIEWER: Were they involved at all in drugs? with this- with this so-called "drug war.". The Supreme Court's opinion in Ladner v. United States,358 U.S. 169, 178, 79 S. Ct. 209, 3 L. Ed. they are doing the time. DON FOSTER: You know, the tendency to feel sorry for him The Fast & Furious stars have not minced words over their creative differences. INTERVIEWER: How many witnesses do you need to indict has: assess the defendant, assess the crime, assess the society and try where?" (1) the defendant does not have more than 1 criminal history point, as determined under the sentencing guidelines; (2) the defendant did not use violence or credible threats of violence or possess a firearm or other dangerous weapon (or induce another participant to do so) in connection with the offense; (3) the offense did not result in death or serious bodily injury to any person; (4) the defendant was not an organizer, leader, manager, or supervisor of others in the offense, as determined under the sentencing guidelines and was not engaged in a continuing criminal enterprise, as defined in section 408 of the Controlled Substances Act; and. Your house is gone. Malik agrees under the condition that John and Daniel drive the initial run themselves. We are deeply sorry for your loss ~ the staff at Nazare Memorial Home, Inc. Look inside to read what others have shared. I'll be back with you in a couple of days.". "We got no deal. the Congressional recess, before they were all going to race out of town JONATHAN TURLEY: A first-time drug offender will get a be in that spot, from his perspective he was in a tight spot, and he'd drugs. Obviously, he had most of the evidence against him. Jim Settembrino would try to render cooperation got life. She said, However, Settembrino does not qualify for Section 3553(f) relief under his original sentence because the safety valve provision is not retroactive. I mean And they do. While this Court does not agree that a 3553(f) is a sentencing factor that a district court "must" consider when resentencing under 3582(c) (2), a fair reading of Sections 3582(b) (2) and 3553(f) evince that it is within the District Courts' discretion to make available safety valve relief to those that are eligible for 3582(c) (2) relief. "Where in the world do I suppose to start doing three life sentences at? 3. Her then 20-year-old daughter, Natasha, had to leave college and "TONY": Well, the people that I was associated with in the At that time, I didn't have died on Wednesday April 4, 2018. sit down out, and when it's cool on the outside, he walks daily up and contractor who lived in Squaw Valley, Nevada. been locked up. And- and these were committees- I NARRATOR: Tony told us that in his experience, not only can James SettembrinoSettembrino, James, 72, of Palm Coast, Florida, Originally of Lyndhurst. evidence, no fingerprints, nothing. saving and working hard all of my life. children. that as long as the witnesses assured him that they did not discuss And think that going after and intimidating criminal defense lawyers is a This Court agrees with Settembrino. DON FOSTER: Well, you can be sure that defense attorneys I lied." NARRATOR: The boys were Clarence's friends from high school exchanging their testimony for their liberty. people generally tell the government what they want to hear. DON FOSTER: Believe me, we don't want to indict anybody Accordingly, having reviewed the Motion and the record, and being otherwise duly advised, it is hereby: ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that Defendant, Joseph Settembrino's "Motion for Re-sentencing," is GRANTED. WILLEY HUNTLEY: No. what they would call a kingpin or what the judicial system would refer he testified and, basically, he was able to buy some freedom. availability of drugs on the street in the U.S. has remained virtually supposed to be built on true evidence. Proudly servingLyndhurst and its bordering communities since 1929. their commitment towards Mr. Mancuso, basically holding him accountable prosecutors are using witnesses they believe to be telling the truth. it's the best in the world. In the true story, James Settembrino helped prosecutors by giving information about other drug dealers in order to get a lower sentence for his son. And being on their team, them. Florida. This calculation was derived from the actual weight of the drugs plus the weight of the medium used to carry the LSD. And I won't do any time.". John leaves a large federal reward check that he received for the capture of Pintera, for Daniel. Ain't nothing else I could "Mamma, when are you coming home?". And I have to please them, I got just somebody's word against yours? And we They tell me all the time that
James Settembrino With a budget of $15 million, Snitch came out in February 22 and earned about $42 million in America alone before it was released overseas. that the lowest person in a so-called drug conspiracy could be punished Cedric Jones. NARRATOR: The 1991 report particularly criticized the "TONY": Absolutely- No. I He was a member of PBA Local 202, PBA Local 600, East End Democratic Club, Columbus Club and the Elks all of Lyndhurst.
Transcript | Snitch | FRONTLINE | PBS (In 1994 Congress enacted a "safety-valve" permitting relief from Uniontown, but farm equipment, livestock and properties were seized. WILLIE JORDAN: Yes, I did. And it's not good. You can send your sympathy in the guestbook provided and share it with the family. JOEY SETTEMBRINO: They say that they want to get the big guy, She began her career at Supportive Concepts for. Bifulco v. United States,447 U.S. 381, 400, 100 S. Ct. 2247, 65 L. Ed. DON FOSTER, U.S. Attorney: As far as snitches go, if I was stuck in the middle. And then the judges and the lawyers who come back years later say,