104

For a man of Bergman's age and status, money does not come first, the most important thing he has accumulated in his life is fame and status, as long as the reputation does not stink, even if he suddenly becomes poor, he can quickly recover.

On the contrary, although he is rich, he falls into social death, which is more uncomfortable for such a successful person than real death.

Bergman's wisdom should not have been able to understand the truth of this, but why did he choose to confess despite Rushberg's insistence?

And one of them is bribing members of Congress, as a businessman to accuse promising politicians, and the risks are obvious, why would he do this?

Although Roseberg wrote in her memo that "Instead of accepting counsel's advice to let the trial decide everything, Bergman agreed to resolve the issue by out-of-court agreement, faced with the high attorney fees that might be supported, concerns about his health, and fears that the stirred public sentiment would influence the jury's proper verdict and lead to a trial outcome against him." ”

But it still makes people feel ominous.

Edward decided to ask Bergman about it, and there were so many secrets in this case that made people feel chills.

The more this happened, the more he admired Roseberg's courage.

The more information you have before the trial, the greater the success of the case, otherwise it is easy to find yourself in a helpless situation in court.

It was past eleven o'clock in New York, but Bergman was still waiting for him in his office.

"Thank you for coming, Ed." Bergman said.

"No need to thank me, Miss Rushberg happens to be my constitutional law teacher, and I was caught on an errand by her." Edward smirked.

Bergman laughed and said, "Mizrasi Rabi and I are old friends, he said, your personality is very similar to his, if you don't want to, then the outside world is usually difficult for you to change." Well, it's definitely not coming to talk to me so late, tell me what you want to ask. ”

"It's simple, why did you decide to make a plea deal with Hines. Don't prevaricate me with the fear of dying in prison. That's certainly your concern, but I'm sure there are other factors out there. ”

Bergman sighed and sat back at his desk, the light shining on his face, making the large number of age spots stand out, "Okay, I can tell you, but I want you to keep it a secret for me." ”

"Okay, I swear I'll never tell anyone about it."

"They," Bergman sighed, "threatened me that if I didn't plead guilty out of court, even if the court found me not guilty, they would charge my only son, Albert, on similar charges." ”

"Yes, he is also involved in the management of some nursing homes, but many times, he is just an executor, although I am old, I still control all the properties, I know that this money is not easy to make, so I am very careful not to involve him in any work that may cause trouble."

"I was very careful and forward-looking, but I still overestimated the professional ethics and ethics of the other party." Bergman's face was bitter.

"I have been in this country for more than 30 years, my son is my most precious treasure, and I will never allow him to make any mistakes, can you understand this feeling?"

Edward was silent, and even if Bergman was lying, he was powerless to face such a lie.

It reminded him of his mother's pain at the Yom Kippur ceremony, and of his father, whom he had never met, who had given him his life and surname at the cost of the most, and who was probably similar to Bergman's thoughts at the moment.

"Ed, I know what you're thinking. Believe me, Bernard Bergman may not be a good man, but a good father, and I swear to God that what I just said is true. ”

"I see," Edward felt weak, unable to even maintain his standing position, leaning limply against the couch, the old, musty smell reassuring him.

It was a familiar smell to him in his infancy, and in the dark, damp little house of SH, Josephine spent day after day with her young son in her arms.

"Bergman was not afraid of anyone, I had a confrontation with the most vicious gangsters in New York, and it was not me who retreated, but I had no other choice in the face of Hines. Even if it's for me to admit to paying bribes to David Hill. ”

"You know what that means?" Edward couldn't help but interject.

"Of course, I'm not a child, and in fact it's not good for me. At the time, I panicked when they threatened to sue Albert, and Hines seized the opportunity to bring the conversation to David Hill. ”

"Actually, I have the power not to answer this question, a constitutional right to silence, and I know it's a serious crime, much worse than having cockroaches in the kitchen, so I ask for a 'quid pro quo waiver' plus a promise not to trouble Albert."

Exchange immunity is when the offender is granted complete immunity from prosecution for the crime to which he confesses.

In simple words, it is, "As long as you recruit you, I will let you go back, and you will be fine from now on." ”

"That's fair and reasonable. The granting of quid pro quo immunity is a common tool used by prosecutors. Edward said

"However, Hines refused......"

"Why?"

"Hines fears that if David Hill's lawyers knew that I had made a quid pro quo waiver for confessing to bribery, they would have gone all out to attack the credibility of Bergman's testimony and the purity of Bergman's motives for testifying in David Hill."

"Well, it's understandable that the prosecutor will think that you deliberately framed David Hill in order to get away with it, so that no matter what the court decides, they can use it as a counterattack in public opinion, and the odds are very good."

"Yes" Bergman nodded, "Miss Ruthberg said the same, but Hines did not give up, he must take this case down, for this reason he repeatedly tossed and turned, and there is a plan for today's agreement to plead guilty." ”

Specifically, the parties found a new solution, but with the same goal: a federal judge to sentence a sentence for a crime (choosing the lesser charge of violating the federal food ordinance and then treating it lightly on the basis of a guilty plea), but without requiring a state judge to formally guarantee in advance that the agreement would be followed.

Instead, after the federal judge pronounces the sentence, the state special attorney recommends to the state sentencing officer that the sentence not be added to the federal court's sentence, and the state court immediately decides.

That would seem like a no-brainer, but Hines said federal Judge Frankl was known for his fairness and strictness and that he would not give a heavy sentence, while State Judge Leyard was understandably cautious and did not make a written commitment.

And it will also prevent David Hill from continuing to look for trouble later.

At the same time, during the negotiations, Judge Leyard also publicly stated: "I have told lawyers and prosecutors that I generally accept the prosecutor's recommendation to impose a minimum penalty, and I see no reason to make an exception this time." ”

This is actually a verbal promise, which is rarely made in public by judges, but once it is made, it means that it will not be broken.

Of course, he also warned Bergman that "no matter what the federal court decides, the state court will probably rule in the wrong case."

Because these conversations had to be recorded, Judge Leyard's "threat" was unanimously regarded as a mere formality, after all, there was a consensus that "Bergman will only be sentenced once", that is, federal judge Frankl will pronounce the sentence!

"So, in the end, an agreement was reached, and I pleaded guilty to bribery, but Hines promised to sentence me lightly through judicial technical means, and the bribery was only listed on the appeal, in fact, as long as I was sentenced to a few months in prison for violating federal health regulations."

No wonder.

It dawned on Edward why Bergman had only been sentenced to four months in prison - a heavy sentence for a cockroach in the kitchen, but for bribes to a member of Congress, hehe, three glasses of wine, if Millican had the rule.

Now he seems to have been opened to the second vein of Ren Du, and he knows the ins and outs of this case.

"So what role did federal prosecutor Solomon Bronheim play in this case?" He asked again.

"Solomon, I only met him once when he signed the plea agreement, and the fact that it was State Special Attorney Charles Hines was involved from start to finish," Bergman shook his head.

"At the beginning, he targeted me, began to question me in various ways, and finally he led the prosecutor and the court to make a plea agreement. I just don't understand, in that case, it would be good if he took this case alone, why drag Solomon in......"

"yes." Edward also scratched his head, "Forget it, it's not a big problem anyway." Maybe it was Hines who curry favor with Solomon......"

Bergman nodded, "Who knows what they're thinking?" I was sentenced to four months for having cockroaches in the kitchen, but the fact that the judiciary is crawling with cockroaches still doesn't affect the greatness of this country. ”

"So, Eddard, I hope you will help me, I trust Miss Ruthberg's abilities and vision."

Seeing that he could not ask anything, Edward got up to take his leave.

Back in the small building, he leaned back on the couch, sleepless, and his mind was still on the case.

The pieces that should be there are all the pieces, and I can finally put together a complete picture.

But it seems that there is still something missing.

That's why, Judge Leyard, who is in charge of the case on the New York State Supreme Court, "broke the contract."

He dug through the file and carefully studied the plea agreement again.

As he gradually learned about the case, this agreement also showed more in his eyes.

In the annex to the agreement, he saw something unusual.

Solomon's proposal, let's call it the "federal/state joint case-handling" model, is not original, there have been several precedents in history, but with the gradual completion of the law and the improvement of the judicial system, it has been rarely seen in recent years, and it is not mentioned in the classroom.

The core of "joint office/state joint case handling" is "at the same time".

This is a formal element of justice.

Judging from the previous cases, the Joint Office/State Attorney submitted the same appeal letter to the Joint Office/State Judge at the same time in different places, and the judge signed for it; The verdict will be released at the same time, and the same sentencing decision will be made for two different crimes, and finally the issue of combined enforcement.

But in Bergman's case, Judge Leyard of New York dropped the chain, not only sentencing Bergman to two years in prison, but only two days after Judge Frankl of the federal Federation handed down the sentence.

As a result, the "federal/state joint case-handling model" was beaten up by his action in terms of form, content, and even demerits, forming a judicial joke and a mess.