Case 1:02-cr-00743-CM Document 412 Filed 06/28/19 Page 1 of 7

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA )

)
VS. )
) No. 1:02 CR 743-7
)
PETER GOTTI, ) MOTION FOR COMPASSIONATE RELEASE
)
Defendant )

The defendant Peter Gotti, by his counsel, respectfully shows the Court

pursuant to the First Step Act of December 21, 2018, 132 Stat. 5194, 18 U.S.C.

3582(c)(1)(A)(i), and 18 U.S.C. 3582(c)(1)(A)(ii) that:

1. The defendant on July 29, 2005 was sentenced to a term of 300 months. He

is now in BOP custody at FMC Butner, North Carolina.

2. He has been in custody in this case since June 4, 2002. As of July 4, 2019,

with BOP good time, he will have served 235.5 months. His BOP release

date is May 5, 2032. He has completed the sentence he received in United

States v. Gotti, No. 1:02 CR 606 (EDNY).

3. Peter Gotti has the following serious medical conditions, documented by his

BOP medical records and by records of the Duke University Medical Center

where he has received care also while in the BOP system:

A. Cardiomyopathy with a severe eccentric mitral valve regurgitation.

B. First degree left bundle branch block; mild to moderate left

ventricular global heart dysfunction.

C. Atrial fibrillation

D. Likely cancerous growth in at least one lung

E. Hypertension cardiovascular disease

F. Arterial hypertension

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G. Hypothyroidism

H. Cardiac arrhythmia

I. Congestive Heart Failure

J. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

K. Early stage renal insufficiency

L. Gout

M. Osteoarthritis

N. Gastric reflux

O. Bilateral glaucoma

P. Rheumatoid arthritis

Q. Hyperlipidemia

R. Enlarged prostate

S. Total blindness in left eye

T. Hearing loss

U. Borderline anemia

V. Early onset dementia

4. Under the actuarial tables in Section 8-46 of the General Statutes of North

Carolina, Peter Gotti has a life expectancy of 9.5 years. His medical

condition however has lessened his true life expectancy significantly.

Seventeen years of prison have taken a toll on him. The health of his heart

and lungs has deteriorated markedly in recent years. His vital organs have

been compromised by disease, and the continual use of high risk

medications to treat the various illnesses has dramatically diminished any

chance that he may have had to recover from his conditions. He is taking

two anticoagulants. His cardiopulmonary system is constantly at high risk

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of failure. His heart health is very poor, highlighted by poor cardiac ejection

fraction factors accompanying serious disturbance of his pulmonary

functionality.

5. Peter Gotti is 79 years old, born November 15, 1939. He is certainly long

out of warranty. No life insurance agent in his right mind would sell him a

policy, given all his serious medical issues. Keeping him incarcerated at this

point is expensive and counterproductive. According to the most recent AOC

memorandum of August 1, 2018, it costs $36,300 a year to house someone

in the BOP system, and surely the cost is higher for Peter Gotti in a federal

medical center. In contrast, the cost of supervised release supervision by a

USPO is $364 a month, likely less for Peter Gotti. When the time comes,

Peter Gotti understandably wants to die at home.

6. In hindsight Peter Gotti made a terrible mistake in going to trial rather than

pleading, and that mistake cost him significantly in the length of his

sentence. He has had no prison infractions. Compassionate release now

would in no way minimize the severity of his offense, nor endanger anyone

or anything. He is very seriously ill and clearly on an end of life trajectory

and in a debilitated medical condition.

7. Prison has rehabilitated Peter Gotti, as it is supposed to. He is not at 79 the

62 year old who committed the offenses in this case and in the case in the

Eastern District of New York, nor does he in any way deny his guilt or

responsibility. Being incarcerated now for 17 years plus has caused him to

reevaluate his thinking and reconsider his moral values. No longer does he

try to justify his actions or defend the choices he made that brought him to

prison. He wants now to tell anyone who will listen that there is truly zero

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benefit to unlawful activity. He has hurt other people, including family

members, and he wants to spend the balance of his life making amends as

best he can. He also wants to help others not make the life mistakes he

made.

8. Upon release, Peter Gotti will live with his daughter, Diane Pietrofeso, at

8907 157th Avenue, Howard Beach, New York-11414. She and his son,

Peter Gotti Jr., who also lives in Howard Beach, will be his primary

caretakers. He will have Social Security benefits as well as other earned

retirement benefits. He will be covered by Medicare and will obtain

additional comprehensive coverage, as well as Medicaid supplemental

insurance.

9. Social workers at FMC Butner are assisting Peter Gotti with release

planning.

10. All administrative remedies for seeking compassionate release directly from

the BOP have been exhausted, hence this motion.

11. Peter Gotti clearly meets the BOP standards, set out in Policy Statements

5049.49 and 5050.50 for Compassionate Release. He also meets the

compassionate release criteria of 18 U.S.C. 3580(c)(1)(A)(i) and Section

1B1.13, Federal Sentencing Guidelines, and the Commentary to Section

1B1.13. He is on an end of life trajectory and in a debilitated medical

condition.

12. The factors set out in 18 U.S.C. 3553(a) will, in this instance, be satisfied by

compassionate release and USPO supervision. Peter Gotti had no criminal

record prior to this case and the case in the Eastern District of New York at

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age 62. He has zero interest in reoffending and is instead focused on keeping

body and soul together.

13. Kevin Zeich was granted compassionate release, but died at FMC Butner

before he could fly home to California, United States v. Zeich, No. 1:93 CR

5217 (E.D. California). Judge O’Neill in Fresno helped in lobbying the BOP

for Zeich’s release, twice calling the General Counsel in an attempt to speed

the process up. As did Judge Fuste in San Juan, in United States v.

Olivera, No. 3:13 CR 111 (D. Puerto Rico), in which Edmundo Olivera died at

FMC Butner before he could get to the airport. And, in United States v.

Cheatham, No. 3:06 CR 95 (E.D. Tennessee), the first such case under the

First Step Act, Judge Varnam in Knoxville ordered the release of Steven

Cheatham on January 31, 2019. Chetham though died later that day at

FMC Butner, unaware he was a free man. These are the scenarios we do

not want to see in this case. Decisions about sentencing “[should] not be

left to employees of the same Department of Justice that conducts the

prosecution.” Sester v. United States, No. 566 U.S. 231, 132 S.Ct. 1463, 182

L.Ed.2d 455 (2012). This Court, not the Government, must evaluate the 18

U.S.C. 3553(a) factors as they apply to Peter Gotti.

United States v. Garcia, No. 2:11 CR 935 (C.D. California) was a case very similar to

this one, as are United States v. Evans, No. 4:15 CR 15 (S.D. Texas), United States v.

Adams, No. 4:09 CR 115-3 (N.D. Texas), United States v. Leggitt, No. 4:12 CR 306-6

(E.D. Arkansas), United States v. McGraw, No. 2:02 CR 18 (SD Indiana), United States

v. Bakowski, No. 8:09 CR 491 (MD Fla), United States v. Brittner, No. 9:16 CR 15 (D.

Montana), and United States v. Peterson, No. 7:12 CR 15-1 (EDNC).

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14. There is, we submit, every good reason to grant this motion expeditiously,

and truly no good reason not to.

15. Upon release, Peter Gotti will be under the supervision of a USPO in the

Eastern District of New York for the term of supervised release ordered in

the judgment entered July 29, 2005.

WHEREFORE, pursuant to the First Step Act of December 21, 2018, 132 Stat.

5194 and 18 U.S.C. 3582(c)(1)(A)(i) as amended, the defendant Peter Gotti, by his

counsel, respectfully prays the Court:

1. For compassionate release from BOP custody, to live at the home of

his daughter, Diane Pietrofeso, in Howard Beach, New York under the

supervision of the USPO for this Court for the term of supervised

release in the judgment of July 29, 2005 herein.

2. For such other and further relief as the Court may deem just and

equitable

Respectfully submitted,

/s/ James B. Craven III

James B. Craven III
NC State Bar 997
Attorney for the Defendant Peter Gotti
P.O. Box 1366
Durham, NC 27702
(919)688-8295
JBC64@MINDSPRING.COM

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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I have this day served Government counsel electronically:

Geoffrey S. Berman, Esquire

United States Attorney
One St. Andrew’s Plaza
New York, NY 10007

This day of June 2019.

/s/ James B. Craven III
James B. Craven III