Trump Impeachment Lawyer Outlines the Epic Historic Prosecutorial Misconduct of Andrew Weissman in Pardon Appeal
David Schoen: "Andrew Weissmann is the single most ethically bankrupt prosecutor I ever have encountered in 40 years of practicing law."
I wanted to share a compelling pardon appeal attorney David Schoen recently sent to President Trump.
Schoen, who is perhaps most known for representing Trump in his second impeachment trial, exposes the corrupt prosecution of two men, Michael Sessa and Victor Orena, at the hands of Andrew Weissman.
You may remember Weissman from my 2019 trial, where he served as lead prosecutor and fabricated the charges against me.
COMPELLING CASE FOR CLEMENCY FOR MICHAEL SESSA AND VIC ORENA
By David Schoen
Introduction:
Andrew Weissmann is the single most ethically bankrupt prosecutor I ever have encountered in 40 years of practicing law.
The prosecution of Michael Sessa and Victor Orena in Brooklyn in 1992, that led to life sentences in prison for both men, was marked by the most outrageous government misconduct I ever have encountered in 40 years of practicing law.
Andrew Weissmann was the prosecutor in the case against Michael Sessa and Victor Orena.
Of all of the lives Weissmann unfairly ruined through his career of misconduct, the irretrievable harm he did to Sessa and Orena and their families stands alone. He took away 33 years of their lives for crimes they did not commit and withheld the evidence demonstrating that they were not guilty. After over 33 years in prison, the case for clemency for Michael Sessa and Vic Orena is the paradigm for the use of this unique executive power our Constitution provides in Article 2, Section 2, Clause 1.
To be sure, Weissmann did not act alone. He was joined in his corrupt determination to pervert justice, by other misguided prosecutors, including John Gleeson (who later would argue against the dismissal of the criminal case against General Flynn); but Weissmann alone was eventually singled out by the Chief Judge in the Eastern District of New York for his “myopic” view of his ethical obligations in withholding exculpatory evidence in these cases. Shockingly, Weissmann’s boss wrote to the Chief Judge to ask him to remove Weissmann’s name from his Order citing Weissmann’s misconduct and he complied. I have copies of both Orders and the letter asking him to remove Weissmann’s name. I believe this was the first major step in the license Weissmann was given to ruin the many lives he has ruined through his despicable unlawful conduct that has no place in our justice system. Michael Sessa and Vic Orena remain in prison after 33 years for crimes they did not commit. I am working on an entirely pro bono basis to try to secure their freedom because of the gross injustice by Andrew Weissmann.
A Synopsis of the Evidence of Unprecedented Government Misconduct
Thirty-Five years ago, federal prosecutors in Brooklyn alleged that a “war” broke out within an Italian organized crime enterprise known as the Colombo Family. We know today from evidence that has come to light, but that was withheld at the time, that in truth, a brutal mob killer and underboss of the Colombo Family named Gregory Scarpa, working with a corrupt FBI agent named Lindley De Vecchio, fomented the “war” to enable Scarpa and his friends to gain control of the Family. Much of what we now know comes from Scarpa’s son, who committed crimes with and for his father and from other Top Echelon Confidential Informants and indisputable documentary evidence.
Andrew Weissmann knowingly and intentionally withheld all evidence of the corrupt relationship between Scarpa and Devecchio and essentially gave them license to kill, according to a Top Echelon Confidential Informant working for them, who admitted committing 12 murders while working under their watch. At one point, another AUSA questioned Weissmann on why he was not turning over exculpatory evidence to the defense and he falsely and unethically denied that what he knew about this corrupt relationship had to be disclosed.
Michael Sessa and Vic Orena, accused of being a Captain and Acting Boss respectively, were convicted by a jury as a direct result of Weissmann’s corrupt decision to withhold all exculpatory evidence (described in further detail below). Once evidence of the corrupt relationship was exposed after their trials, every single other defendant in directly related trials, including 16 defendants in front of 48 different jurors, were acquitted. The Department of Justice had to completely overhaul its rules for dealing with confidential informants. FBI agent Devecchio was indicted for multiple murders, but Weissmann has to date remained completely unaccountable for what he did in securing convictions and life sentences for Michael Sessa and Vic Orena through perjured testimony and by withholding the most vitally important and directly relevant exculpatory evidence. Sessa and Orena, now 66 years old and 90 years old respectively, have remained behind bars for over 33 years for crimes they did not commit, as a direct result of Weissmann’s misconduct.
The prosecution of the so-called Colombo War cases has been exposed as the single most corrupt prosecution in the history of our criminal justice system. Court opinions, articles, books, and documentaries have been written and made about the corruption and ethical violations that marked the prosecution in this case and all related cases.
In 2005, the FBI cited the corrupt relationship in this case in reporting on why it had to change its guidelines for interacting with cooperating witnesses.
As noted, the lead FBI agent, Devecchio, was indicted for multiple murders directly related to these cases. Devecchio was exposed as having picked sides, as he celebrated murders, while providing information to Scarpa in order to facilitate the murders. Weissmann was a part of it all, knowingly withholding evidence of the corrupt relationship between Devecchio and Scarpa in what then Chief Judge Sifton characterized as a “reprehensible” and “myopic withholding of evidence” (referring specifically to then AUSA Andrew Weissmann’s conduct). At the time Judge Sifton made that finding, the revelations of corruption had not even begun to reflect the scope of what actually transpired.
Judge Edward Korman was the first federal judge to begin to learn about the withheld evidence and he ordered it disclosed and found it relevant to go before a jury in the so-called Colombo war cases after Sessa and Orena were convicted. Following the disclosure of the corruption evidence, as noted above, 16 defendants were acquitted in 4 different courtrooms before 4 different juries. Then, in 2016, Judge Korman finally openly expressed the obvious in no uncertain terms - FBI agent Devecchio clearly was providing information to Scarpa to facilitate the murders he was committing.
The following excerpt from the 2007 decision in People v. Devecchio, 2007 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 7827, *4*4 (Kings Co. Sup. Ct., Nov. 1, 2007) is revealing:
“What is undeniable was that in the face of the obvious menace posed by organized crime, the FBI was willing, despite its own formal regulations to the contrary, to make their own deal with the devil. They gave Scarpa virtual criminal immunity for close to 15 years in return for the information, true and false, he willingly supplied. Indeed, this Court is forced to conclude that Scarpa’s own acknowledgment of criminal activity to the FBI could only be explained by his belief that the agency would protect him from the consequences of his own criminality, which the record suggests is what they did.
Not only did the FBI shield Scarpa from prosecution for his own crimes, they also actively recruited him to participate in crimes under their direction. That a thug like Scarpa would be employed by the federal government to beat witnesses and threaten them at gunpoint to obtain information regarding the deaths of civil rights workers in the south in the early 1960s is a shocking demonstration of the government’s unacceptable willingness to employ criminality to fight crime. It is redolent of the current mindset of some in the government who argue that the practice of terror and torture can be freely employed against those the government claims are terrorists themselves: that it is permissible to make men scream in the name of national security. These are shortcuts that devalue legitimate police work, their yield is insignificant and the cost to the fundamental values they debase is enormous.”
Devecchio has now openly admitted knowing full well that Scarpa was committing murders while on the street acting as his informant.
See also, Report of the Special District Attorney In the Matter of the Investigation of Linda Schiro by Judge (ret.) Leslie Crocker Snyder. Additionally, the Brooklyn District Attorney listed other crimes committed by Devecchio, all while under Weissmann’s supervision and control.
All of this evidence and much more was withheld from Messrs. Sessa and Orena in their prosecution and it completely undercuts the integrity of the conviction and the sentence imposed.
The corruption and illegal/unethical withholding of evidence did not just stop with the concealment of the Devecchio/Scarpa relationship that was driving the war and that was responsible for most of the murders that occurred.
Specific Examples of Outrageous Misconduct in Each Case
Michael Sessa:
Michael Sessa is 67 years old. As a result of his conviction in this case for a crime he did not commit, he was sentenced to life in prison and has now spent over half of his life in prison. Prior to this case, he had never been convicted of a crime. During his time in prison, despite being locked up on false charges, he has had a perfect institutional record and according to the BOP, he poses no security risk if released.
The magnitude and relevance of Weissmann’s misconduct in the Sessa case is beyond belief. First, Weissmann charged Mr. Sessa for a murder he knew Sessa had nothing to do with because a government informant already had come clean and admitted to committing the murder himself, and that Sessa had nothing to do with it. Weissmann nevertheless refused to dismiss the charges until long afterwards. Tellingly, with respect to the murder for which Weissman got Sessa convicted and is serving the life sentence, the victim’s widow is one of Mr. Sessa’s biggest supporters, maintaining since Day 1 through today that she knows Michael Sessa had nothing to do with her husband’s murder. The victim was Michael Sessa’s friend and Mr. Sessa has at all times vehemently denied any involvement in the murder.
Long after Mr. Sessa’s conviction, the following was uncovered:
During the investigation, police were provided with information concerning the suspects in the murder charged against Sessa. The list of suspects only was uncovered long after the trial. It included Gregory Scarpa, the mob killer working under Devecchio and Weissmann. Nowhere was Mr. Sessa’s name on that list.
Prior to his trial, Mr. Sessa suspected that Scarpa might have had a corrupt relationship with the prosecution and specifically asked whether the source of information against him, known as “CS3” was Scarpa. Weissmann and his partner convinced the court that they should not have to disclose that information and that it was not relevant. Of course, it turned out to be Scarpa who had multiple motives for lying, including the fact that he was a primary suspect in the murder, according to witnesses.
We also now know that multiple witnesses reported seeing the victim alive long after Mr. Sessa was with him and long after the time the prosecution claimed at trial he was killed.
Weissmann withheld from Mr. Sessa at trial the facts that a primary trial witness against him was paid a tremendous amount of money for his service to the government and that he had convictions for rape and other crimes. The only other relevant witness against Sessa later acknowledged on tape to a private investigator that he had lied at trial and had been directed by Weissmann to lie. This pattern by Weissmann was confirmed by other confidential informants working with Weissmann and his team.
There is a great deal more misconduct that allowed Weissmann to secure Mr. Sessa’s conviction and life sentence. There is no way to make up for the 33 years taken from Mr. Sessa and his devoted wife and family; but it is long past time for him to be released from prison to make the best new start on life that he can. In the cruelest of ironies, the life sentence imposed on him for a crime he did not commit is in sharp contrast to the average sentence for murder imposed in federal court in cases in which the defendant actually did commit the murder.
Victor Orena:
Victor Orena is over 90 years old and, like Michael Sessa, has been continuously incarcerated in connection with this case for three decades, since 1992, for a murder he did not commit. He is terminally ill, according to the Bureau of Prison records. He suffers from a multitude of serious physical and mental health conditions, including advanced Dementia/Alzheimer’s disease, serious heart ailments, and other rapidly progressing ailments. He is delusional and does not know who he is or where he is, as his medical records unequivocally reflect.
The following are some of the documented serious medical conditions from which he suffers: Alzheimer disease, diabetes, abdominal aortic aneurysm with recent increase in size, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, benign prostatic hyperplasia, glaucoma, gastroesophageal reflux disease, osteoarthritis, degenerative joint disease in both hands and knees, anemia, complete atrioventricular block, and pacemaker use. He is unable to function without full-time assistance and requires a wheelchair to move. He spends the majority of his time in bed, unable otherwise to function. He has the best possible score for any risk of violence under the BOP assessment system. Mr. Orena also has an excellent institutional record over 33 years, with undisputed evidence of his efforts helping youth at risk through the NAACP and others, and bettering himself, including receiving his ordination as a minister, before the onset of dementia. He has the support of many loving family members who just want him home for his final days.
Mr. Orena also is serving a life sentence based on his conviction for a murder he did not commit. Most significantly for your consideration of this request for clemency, Mr. President, is that we now know that Andrew Weissmann knowingly withheld evidence that he had which would have completely undermined the integrity of the conviction. Weissmann’s misconduct in this regard truly is shocking and has cost Mr. Orena 33 years of his life.
Mr. Orena also has vehemently denied his involvement in this crime at all times. We now know that the prosecution had strong reason to believe Mr. Orena was not at all involved in the murder and that Orena did not even know how, why, or by whom the victim, Thomas Ocera, was killed.
One of the government’s Top Echelon Confidential Informants, Frank Sparaco, an admitted organized crime member, has come forward and has revealed that while working for the government on the Colombo prosecutions, he regularly was encouraged to lie and his lies were knowingly facilitated by the government. Sparaco also was given free rein by Weissmann and Devecchio to commit murders, including murders charged as so-called Colombo War murders. In fact, Sparaco admitted to committing 12 murders, all with the prosecutors’ knowledge and at the behest of the Agent Devecchio, working under Weissmann. One of the prosecutors on the instant case reportedly was forced to disclose what it knew about three Colombo War murders Sparaco committed in 2011.
But the most directly relevant revelation by Sparaco for the instant purposes relates directly to the Ocera murder, and it was supported by an exculpatory report of investigation Sparaco recently provided, which at all times had been withheld by the government. As reflected in the report of investigation, Sparaco gave an interview to the prosecutors on December 4, 1989, long before the Orena and Sessa trials, and he told Weissmann and his team in no uncertain terms that it was John Gotti, not Mr. Orena, who authorized the Ocera hit. Further, he expressly told them not just that Orena had nothing to do with it, but that Ocera was killed against the wishes of the Colombo family and he explained the reasons why Gotti had him killed. Despite obtaining this information from their own Top Echelon Confidential Informant, Weissmann nevertheless prosecuted Vic Orena for the murder and got him a life sentence for it, while withholding at all times the interview with Frank Sparaco which completely undermined the integrity of the conviction. Had Sparaco not come forward to us recently with this information, we still would not have known it. This is absolutely shocking and exposes Weissmann’s evil in full fashion.
Conclusion
There are many more relevant facts that have been discovered in recent years that further undermine the integrity of the convictions in the Sessa and Orena cases. It literally could and has filled volumes; but I have tried to provide the most salient facts here, mindful of your very busy schedule.
Sentences imposed on these men for lesser charges they were convicted of at trial through the prosecutors’ misconduct have all been fully served already. But the life sentences for murders that Weissmann and his team knew these men did not commit and withheld evidence from them that would have led to their acquittals remain.
Without a grant of clemency, Mr. President, these two men will remain in prison for the rest of their lives as a direct consequence of Andrew Weissmann’s outrageous misconduct. Based on all of the foregoing and much more, Mr. President, I ask you most respectfully to grant a full pardon to Michael Sessa and Victor Orena or, at a minimum to commute their sentences to time served after more than 33 years in prison.
Respecfully,
David Schoen
The full letter can be downloaded below:
Lowest of the low
Weissmann should be disbarred and prosecuted for this and other crimes. Disgusting.