National Roundup

New York
Indictment against former Trump advisor is dismissed
NEW YORK (AP) — An indictment against Steve Bannon was dismissed Tuesday over the objection of prosecutors who said it should stand despite ex-President Donald Trump's decision to pardon his former chief strategist.

The dismissal came in a written ruling by U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres, who called it the "proper course."

The Manhattan jurist said it was not the practice of the region's federal courts to remove a defendant from a case's docket without resolving the indictment. And she noted that the pardon does not by itself render a defendant innocent of the alleged crime nor eliminate probable cause of guilt.

"To the contrary, from the country's earliest days, courts, including the Supreme Court, have acknowledged that even if there is no formal admission of guilt, the issuance of a pardon may 'carr(y) an imputation of guilt; acceptance a confession of it,'" she wrote, partially quoting a 1915 court ruling.

A spokesperson for prosecutors declined comment.

Bannon's attorney, Robert Costello, said in an email: "We are delighted that the Judge reached the right conclusion. Winning always beats the alternative. An unconditional pardon is final and it merits the finality of a dismissed indictment."

Bannon had pleaded not guilty to charges alleging he and three others defrauded donors in a $25 million fund to build a wall along the nation's southern border. In July, lawyers for others charged in the case are to submit potential trial dates for later this year.

After Trump's last-minute decision to pardon Bannon before leaving office in January, prosecutors asked the judge to let the indictment against him stand, saying it could leave ill effects on Bannon even without a conviction.

They wrote that dismissing the indictment "could have a broader effect than the pardon itself, among other things potentially relieving Bannon of certain consequences not covered by the pardon."

As an example of lingering consequences of an outlying indictment, the government noted that a commodity broker's application was denied and an instance in which a pardon did not preclude the government from considering the charged conduct in evaluating permit applications.

Prosecutors wrote to the judge after Bannon's lawyers requested that the indictment be dismissed.

In August 2020, Bannon was arrested aboard a luxury yacht off the coast of Connecticut. He was freed on $5 million bail.

Prosecutors said he duped thousands of investors into thinking all of their money went to the wall project even as Bannon diverted more than a million dollars, paying salary to one campaign official and personal expenses for himself.

Connecticut
Former nurse who stole fentanyl used in surgeries sentenced
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) — A former Connecticut nurse who stole fentanyl from patients undergoing surgeries and substituted it with saline has been sentenced to four weekends in prison.

U.S. District Court Judge Janet C. Hall also sentenced Donna Monticone, 49, to three months of home confinement and three years of supervised release on Tuesday. Monticone, of Oxford, pleaded guilty in March to one count of tampering with a consumer product.

Monticone worked as a nurse at the Yale Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility clinic in Orange and knew many of the patients who were receiving fertility treatments there. Prosecutors have said that 75% of the fentanyl given to patients from June to October 2020 was adulterated by saline. Monticone was using the fentanyl she stole herself.

The New Haven Register reported the judge weighed the testimony of people who experienced incredible pain because of Monticone's actions with the fact that she cooperated with the investigation. Monticone started using the drugs as she was getting divorced, though the judge said the court was not able to ascertain the full scope of her familial problems.

Testifying anonymously, patients who underwent surgeries with little or no pain medication said they were treated like drug addicts when they told their doctors the fentanyl was not working.

"It was more pain than I could ever imagine," one woman said.

"My regret and shame runs deep," Monticone said. "Every day, I wish I could turn back time."

Monticone is no longer licensed as a nurse and is barred from working with narcotics again.

Florida
Sheriff settles lawsuit over deputy shooting for $2.5M
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A Florida sheriff's department has agreed to pay $2.5 million to the mother of a man who was fatally shot by a deputy in 2013 while carrying an air rifle that looked like a more powerful weapon, court records show.

The Broward Sheriff's Office deputy, Peter Peraza, was charged with manslaughter in the killing of 33-year-old Jermaine McBean, who was Black. Peraza is Hispanic.

A Broward judge, however, agreed that even as a law enforcement officer, Peraza could claim he felt threatened under Florida's "stand your ground" self-defense law, which gives immunity from prosecution to people who use deadly force to protect themselves or others if they feel at risk of great bodily harm or death. That ruling was eventually upheld by the Florida Supreme Court over opposition from the sheriff's office.

Witnesses said McBean drew attention by openly carrying the air rifle he had just purchased at a pawn shop along a busy street. Deputies were called and confronted McBean outside his Oakland Park apartment complex, which included a pool filled with children.

Peraza said that as deputies shouted for McBean to drop the air rifle, McBean whirled around as if preparing to fire at them. Peraza then shot and killed McBean.

McBean's mother, Jennifer Young, said earlier that her son was "not a criminal" and did not deserve to die the way he did.

"Someone has to pay," Young told the Fort Lauderdale SunSentinel. "It's about the lying and trying to make my son out to be a horrible person. That is what I am upset about."

Peraza's attorney, Eric Schwartzreich, said the case "was and still is a tragedy."

"Deputy Peraza's legacy will be that police officers will have the same protections under the 'stand your ground' law as all other defendants in the justice system," he said.