Press Release, PR
Department, New York, September 4, 2013 -. The Portela Law Firm, P.C.
successfully persuades the Nassau County District Attorney’s office to reduce
two counts of Filing a False Instrument in the First Degree to a single
violation of disorderly conduct, which is not a crime.
May 30,
2013
In early July of
2012, G.C. entered the doors of the Portela Law Firm, P.C. in a
panic: he had recently been arrested on two counts for filing a false instrument
in the first degree, a Class E Felony. As a permanent resident, G.C. was
extremely concerned that a conviction on these charges would result in a
cancellation of his green card and a removal order to take him back to the
Dominican Republic. His concerns were justified, but the Portela Law
Firm, P.C. was there to help.
G.C. entered the United States in
the early 1980’s with a tourist visa. Several years after the tourist visa
expired, he married a U.S. citizen and applied for a green card. His application
was denied and Immigration and Naturalization Services (“INS”) ordered his
removal in the mid 1980’s. G.C. avoided INS surveillance when he obtained a
fraudulent birth certificate and passport under another name (T.B.) and used
those documents to acquire a New York State driver’s license in the mid 1990’s
under the false name, T.B.
G.C. lived and worked using the
false name of T.B. until 2006, when he married his partner of nine years, who
was a U.S. Citizen. At this point in time, G.C. had four children who were all
United States Citizens as well.
On these grounds,
G.C. re-opened his immigration case and successfully obtained
permanent residency status in April of 2007. At this time, G.C. went back to
using his original name.
When G.C. went to
the Department of Motor Vehicles (“DMV”) to apply for a new
driver’s license, the driver’s license application form asked: “Have you ever
applied for a Driver’s License using another name?”
G.C. answered,
“No.”
For five years,
nothing happened to G.C. When his license was set to renew in February 2012,
G.C. went to the DMV and applied for a renewal. Again, the application form
asked: “Have you ever applied for a Driver’s License using another
name?”
And once more,
G.C. answered, “No.”
Three months later, in mid-June of
2012, G.C. was arrested by the New York State Police for two counts of Penal Law
§ 175.35, Filing a False Instrument in the 1st degree: One count for
each time G.C. said on his driver’s license application that he had not used a
different name in the past when applying for a driver’s license.
G.C. was shocked, scared,
concerned, and clueless. One minute he was a lawful permanent resident on his
way to becoming a citizen, the next minute he was being charged with serious
felony crime and in jeopardy of losing his legal status, his family, his job,
and his whole life in the United States.
Under the immigration laws, if a
permanent resident is convicted of a Crime Involving Moral Turpitude (“CIMT”)
within five years of obtaining their permanent residency, they can be
deported.
Unfortunately for G.C., Filing a
False Instrument in the 1st degree is a CIMT and he was charged with
this crime within five years of acquiring his green card, thus making him
deportable if convicted.
G.C. was arraigned on July 25,
2012 in Nassau County’s First District Court. The Nassau County District
Attorney’s office, known for being the toughest District Attorney’s office in
the State of New York requested $2,000.00 bail and
that he remain in custody while the case is pending. The Portela Law Firm, P.C.
argued that G.C. be released on his own recognizance, considering his strong
family ties to the local community, his work history, and his clean criminal
record. The Judge released G.C. without setting bail and adjourned the case for
a pre-trial conference on July 31, 2013.
On July 31, 2013, The Portela Law
Firm, P.C. arranged a meeting prior to the pre-trial conference with the
assigned Assistant District Attorney on the case, Jessica Cepriano.
At this meeting, the firm pushed
for a non-criminal disposition to the case, arguing that G.C. did not
intentionally lie on the application, that he had disclosed his fraudulent name
to INS when he applied for his green card in 2007, and that he had spent thirty
years in this country working and providing emotionally and financially for his
family. The firm went into particular detail about the educational successes of
his children, the strength of his marriage, how he paid taxes to the government
for thirty years and the fact that G.C. was truthful with INS about his prior
false identity: that when he applied for his driver’s license in 2007 using his
original name, he thought everything had been cleared and that he was starting
fresh; that when he renewed his driver’s license in 2012, he had moved past that
dark chapter in his life almost five years and had used his original name when
applying for his license in 2007 without any consequences.
The firm’s
meeting with ADA Cepriano lasted forty-five minutes and at the conclusion
of the meeting, the Portela Law Firm, P.C. pushed for a reduction from the Class
E Felony to a charge of Penal Law 240.20, which is Disorderly Conduct.
Disorderly Conduct is a violation and not a crime and carries no negative
immigration consequences.
ADA Cepriano responded that she
would have to talk to her supervisor and her investigators before making an
offer of Disorderly Conduct.
The Portela Law Firm,
P.C. and ADA Cepriano then went before the Judge and requested to
adjourn the case for a possible disposition. The case was adjourned to October
1, 2012.
In between July 31, 2012 and
October 1, 2012, The Portela Law Firm, P.C. made several phone calls to ADA
Cepriano and left messages. In the alternative, the firm submitted written
arguments on G.C.’s behalf to ADA Cepriano via email to strengthen the argument
already made to her on July 31, 2012.
On September 28, 2012, ADA
Cepriano contacted the firm and communicated that based on the content and
substance of our meeting on July 31, 2012, and the emails she received from the
firm since that time; she decided to reduce the two Class E Felony counts to a
single Disorderly Conduct charge, a mere violation.
When G.C. received this
information, he was thrilled and relieved at the same time.
The Portela Law Firm, P.C.
successfully negotiated a deal with the toughest District Attorney’s Office in
New York that left G.C.’s criminal record clean with no immigration consequences
whatsoever.
On October 1, 2012, G.C. pled
guilty to the violation (not a crime) of Disorderly Conduct and the Judge stated
on the record, before a packed court house, “Your attorney did a great job for
you.”
G.C. has applied for his
citizenship and continues to live happily with his wife and children.
If you are charged with a serious
crime as a US citizen or a Legal Permanent Resident, contact the Portela Law
Firm, P.C. to defend your rights. To learn more about @Portelalawfirm
visit us on http://portelalaw.com, or call to 212-927-7363, for Uptown Manhattan
Offices, to 718-424-5000 for Jackson Heights or to 212-965-9458 for
Madison Avenue offices.
