E.Y. was setup by a ‘friend,” who was a paid government confidential informant ( more commonly known as a “CI”). E.Y. had no idea that his friend was actually out to set him up. The paid informant had been paid over $200,000 by the government, for setting people up during his time as a paid informant. E.Y. knew none of this.
One day E.Y.’s “friend” called him and asked if he wanted to buy some cocaine or if he knew anyone that would be interested. E.Y. eventually negotiated the purchase of 2 kilos of cocaine for one of his neighbours. E.Y. was never supposed to receive any cocaine. He was only going to be paid a finder’s fee for making the connection between the two parties.
When it was time for the group to meet up, the Drug Enforcement Agency (“DEA”) was there. Not E.Y.’s “friend.” E.Y.’s neighbour, who had significant criminal history, plead guilty and agreed to testify against E.Y. in hopes of receiving a reduced sentence . E.Y. had no criminal history and decided to proceed to trial, with the defence of entrapment.
Prior to trial, Temani discovered that the government informant had been an illegal immigrant with a long criminal history. Temani wanted to call the CI as a witness at trial, but the government refused to provide his name. In fact, at this point in the case, the government only planned on calling one witness at trial, the case agent. Temani was able to cleverly use the CI’s criminal history and the information she’d received from her client, to identify and subpoena the CI to trial.
During trial, E.Y.’s neighbor testified against him, despite changing his story numerous times. The CI was forced to testify. The CI’s credibility was so bad that the judge scolded him about making false statements under oath. The CI was paid $5,000 for setting up E.Y., and the government had given him a VISA to stay in the United States for his work in setting up people like E.Y. The jury deliberated a little more than a day. After several hours of deliberations, the jury gave an inconsistent verdict of guilty on the conspiracy count, and not guilty for the attempted possession count.