Mastantuono Law Office secured dismissals in two separate carrying concealed weapon criminal cases by arguing to the prosecutors that the specific facts, and our client’s character and background, warranted such results. Both cases resolved before Wisconsin’s new CCW law was passed. Once that law goes into effect later this Fall, we expect that there will be many more arrests and cases arising from questions about what the law authorizes and prohibits. Given our vast experience in gun law cases, Mastantuono Law Office will be at the forefront of these cases, and will blog about them here. Stay tuned.
Archive for the ‘Milwaukee County’ Category
Case Results: MLO secures dismissals of carrying concealed weapon criminal charges.
Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011Case Results: UPDATE MLO successfully challenges the constitutionality of law that automatically bars individuals from possessing a firearm following a civil court proceeding.
Tuesday, July 19th, 2011In a decision today, a Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge dismissed the State’s case against our client, in a case further described below. This is a victory for our client, and for our Constitutional right to possess a firearm, particularly in one’s home and for protection. The law authorizes the government to place reasonable restrictions on firearms. However, Attorney Rebecca Coffee successfully argued today that a one-size-fits all prohibition on gun possession, under any and all circumstances, for individuals following a civil court proceeding was unconstitutional as applied to our client.
In Wisconsin, individuals who are subject to a domestic abuse civil injunction automatically lose their constitutional right to possess a firearm, under any circumstances, for any reason. A domestic abuse injunction is granted if a Court finds “reasonable grounds to believe” that the respondent has engaged in, or may engage in, domestic abuse of the petitioner. If a court grants the injunction, the statute automatically requires a respondent to surrender any firearms. This automatic ban does not contain any exceptions, other than for law enforcement officials, including no exceptions allowing an individual to possess a firearm for protection or self-defense in his or her home. The statute also does not make available any argument by a respondent, or finding by a court official, that the particular individual should not be subject to the automatic prohibition. Mastantuono Law Office has argued that this automatic ban of a fundamental constitutional right following a civil proceeding, violates our client’s right under the U.S. and Wisconsin Constitutions to keep and bear arms for self-defense and protection, a right recently re-affirmed by the United States Supreme Court in District of Columbia v. Heller, 128 S. Ct. 2783 (2008).
The case is currently pending before the trial court in Milwaukee. This blog will be updated with the result of the case.
Case Results: UPDATE: MLO successfully challenges the constitutionality of law that automatically bars individuals from possessing a firearm following a civil court proceeding.
Saturday, May 7th, 2011In a decision today, a Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge dismissed the State’s case against our client, in a case further described below. This is a victory for our client, and for our Constitutional right to possess a firearm, particularly in one’s home and for protection. The law authorizes the government to place reasonable restrictions on firearms. However, Attorney Rebecca Coffee successfully argued today that a one-size-fits all prohibition on gun possession, under any and all circumstances, for individuals following a civil court proceeding was unconstitutional as applied to our client.
In Wisconsin, individuals who are subject to a domestic abuse civil injunction automatically lose their constitutional right to possess a firearm, under any circumstances, for any reason. A domestic abuse injunction is granted if a Court finds “reasonable grounds to believe” that the respondent has engaged in, or may engage in, domestic abuse of the petitioner. If a court grants the injunction, the statute automatically requires a respondent to surrender any firearms. This automatic ban does not contain any exceptions, other than for law enforcement officials, including no exceptions allowing an individual to possess a firearm for protection or self-defense in his or her home. The statute also does not make available any argument by a respondent, or finding by a court official, that the particular individual should not be subject to the automatic prohibition. Mastantuono Law Office has argued that this automatic ban of a fundamental constitutional right following a civil proceeding, violates our client’s right under the U.S. and Wisconsin Constitutions to keep and bear arms for self-defense and protection, a right recently re-affirmed by the United States Supreme Court in District of Columbia v. Heller, 128 S. Ct. 2783 (2008).
The case is currently pending before the trial court in Milwaukee. This blog will be updated with the result of the case.
CASE RESULTS: Plea Agreement and Sentencing Hearing in White Collar Crime Case
Monday, March 21st, 2011In a plea agreement negotiated with the Federal Government, a Mastantuono Law Office client received a prison sentence for a white collar criminal case involving a fraud scheme. What the article below did not report is that our client received a prison sentence approximately 20 months lower than the applicable federal sentencing guideline calculation, reflective of his cooperation, his repayment of a large portion of the diverted money, and Mastantuono Law Office’s plea negotiations with the federal government.
Former Car Dealer Sentenced to Prison in Loan Scheme
March 18, 2011
By John Diedrich, Journal Sentinel
A former Menomonee Falls used car dealer has been sentenced to 6 ½ years in prison for bilking $2.5 million from banks in a scheme that involved taking out multiple loans on the same vehicles.
Steve Coffee, former owner of Northwoods Motor Cars, was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Charles Clevert on Wednesday in Milwaukee.
Clevert also gave Coffee, 40, five years’ probation and ordered him to pay a maximum of $2.1 million in restitution, though that amount could be reduced depending on filings in the next few months, according to online federal court records.
The case was described by Assistant U.S. Attorney Greg Haanstad in his sentencing memo as a “large-scale bank fraud.”
According to court documents, Coffee had threatened an attorney and a former employee, suggesting he knew a gang member who would come after them.
Almost a year ago, Coffee pleaded guilty to bank fraud. He has been cooperating with authorities but has remained behind bars since his arrest.
In his memo, Haanstad recommended 6 ½ years in prison, noting Coffee had no criminal record but that the size of the fraud required a prison term. Coffee’s attorney, Craig Mastantuono, asked Clevert for 50 to 60 months, saying in his sentencing memo that Coffee paid about $1.5 million of the amount defrauded from the banks. Mastantuono also noted Coffee’s cooperation and added that he has mental health issues that contributed to the crime.
According to the court documents, Coffee had owned Northwoods Motor Cars for nearly three years.
The business had a second location in Rosendale, west of Fond du Lac.
In 2007, Coffee began arranging for numerous loans to be taken out on the same vehicles, according to documents. He recruited more than 30 people to act as straw buyers and had them apply for 100 fraudulent loans, totaling more than $2.5 million.
Federal agents with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service learned about the fraud in 2009 when a Waukesha County man told authorities that when he tried to renew the registration on his 2007 Toyota Camry, state officials said he no longer owned the car. In fact, the Camry had been “sold” three other times, all while the Waukesha man continued to drive the car. Coffee made it appear another car in the scam was sold seven times in five months.
It appeared the state and the banks did not verify that there were other loans on the vehicles.
After the loans were made, Coffee made some monthly payments, Haanstad wrote in his memo, but added “they were made in large part to keep the scheme afloat.”
As federal agents closed in, Coffee fled. He bolted from his Washington County home and headed to northern Wisconsin. He sketched out a “to do” list that included tasks such as getting a new birth certificate, library card and fishing license for himself and obtaining new identities for his children.
Coffee called a lawyer, James Gende II, who represented one of Coffee’s former employees in a sexual harassment case against Coffee, Haanstad said.
“I have this customer that is a crazy big black ghetto Vice Lord guy that basically will do me any favor,” Coffee said on the recording. “I’m just calling to let you know that I’m having him come after you and (the former employee) for payback.”
In response, Gende said: “I don’t understand what you are saying, Steve.”
“It’s a threat,” Coffee replied. “I’m gonna go now because I’m sure you’ll be meeting him shortly.”
CASE RESULTS: Client facing a maximum prison term of 32 years receives 14 year sentence.
Thursday, February 3rd, 2011Motorcyclist Gets 14 years for Drunken Crash That Killed Passenger
February 2, 2011
By Bruce Vielmetti, Journal SentinelA 27-year-old Milwaukee man with four prior drunken driving convictions was sentenced Tuesday to 14 years in prison for the high-speed motorcycle crash that killed his girlfriend last summer on the 27th Street Viaduct.
Sengthavanh Phengphonsavanh was a passenger behind Shaun Ackerman when the yellow Suzuki GSZR 600 he was driving slammed into the back of a pickup truck as both vehicles traveled north on N. 27th St. near Clyborn Ave. about 2:50 a.m. July 11. A witness estimated Ackerman was going at least 70 mph.
Phengphonsavanh, 29, was killed instantly. Ackerman was thrown into the bed of the pickup and suffered serious head injuries. The pickup driver was also injured.
A blood sample taken from Ackerman at the hospital about two hours later showed an alcohol concentration of 0.19, more than double the level considered evidence of intoxication.
Ackerman pleaded no contest in November to homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle-second or subsequent offense, and injury by intoxicated use of a vehicle.
According to the criminal complaint, Ackerman had been convicted of drunken driving in 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2006.
At the sentencing hearing, his attorney, Craig Mastantuono, said Ackerman had finally begun to turn his troubled life around since he met Phengphonsavanh. He successfully completed probation from his fourth offense drunken driving, had steady employment as a roofer and was taking more responsibility since he and Phengphonsavanh had a daughter in 2007. They lived together with Phengphonsavanh’s parents and her three other children from a prior marriage.
That small success may have led Ackerman to conclude, wrongly, that he could drink socially, Mastantuono said.
Assistant District Attorney Kevin Shomin said the couple had been out drinking that evening. Ackerman went home early but went to pick up his girlfriend when she couldn’t start her motorcycle. As they turned north onto the viaduct, Ackerman cracked the throttle on the speedy sport bike.
“That the love of his life is gone at his hand is probably something I don’t think he’s ever going to get over,” Shomin said.
Ackerman tried to commit suicide in jail last month, Mastantuono told Circuit Judge Kevin Martens, but later came to the realization that was a selfish move and was now ready to live with his guilt and sorrow.
The victim’s father, speaking through an interpreter, said his family is falling apart over the crime. “I live in torment every day,” he said. “No one knows the hurt I’m feeling now.”
Another daughter and a son sat with their father, while another daughter sat with Ackerman’s sister, Jennifer Jones, on the other side of the courtroom. Jones and her husband have agreed to raise the couple’s little girl. The victim’s other children have gone to live with relatives in Colorado and Milwaukee.
Martens said Ackerman is a high risk to reoffend, with significant treatment needs, noting that even though he had “every reason and incentive to do otherwise, he still fell prey to the siren call of alcohol.”
In addition to the 14 years, Marten imposed 10 years of extended supervision when Ackerman is released. He also ordered a concurrent sentence of eight years in prison and four of extended supervision, for the count of injuring the pickup driver.
Ackerman made only a short, tearful statement to Martens:
“I loved her very much, and I’m so sorry.”
CASE RESULTS: Mastantuono Law Office goes to trial in Ambien-intoxicated driver case.
Wednesday, January 19th, 2011Ambien OWI Charge is a Nightmare for UW-Milwaukee Student
January 18, 2011
by Jim Stingl, Journal SentinelI can understand why Kelly Davis doesn’t think she’s guilty of intoxicated driving, even though she was weaving all over the road in the middle of the night and was unable to perform field sobriety tests.
The intoxicant was not alcohol but Ambien, a sleep aid notorious for causing some users to walk, eat and even drive in their sleep.
“I do not think an OWI is the right punishment for me. I did not drink or do recreational drugs. I took my prescribed medication and then had a reaction to it,” the 22-year-old told me. She is a full-time student at UWM majoring in elementary education.
Her lawyer, Craig Mastantuono, has tried explaining all this to Elizabeth Miles, the assistant city attorney for Whitefish Bay, but the prosecution is going forward. The trial is Wednesday evening in front of village Judge Paul Christensen.
The village’s lead attorney, Chris Jaekels, said the law doesn’t require that someone intended to drive while intoxicated, just that she did. Davis is being prosecuted for her actions, not for her mental illness, he said.
Mastantuono has taken it one unusual step further. This week he sent a letter to Village Board trustees, asking them to speak up or intervene. He explained that Davis, who has no prior record, was taking Ambien prescribed by her doctor and that she suffers from depression and bipolar disorder with resulting insomnia.
“Our position is that the village is in a unique position to take a progressive approach to prosecution of young persons with mental health issues through alternative and treatment-oriented means,” he wrote. “Essentially, my position is that Ms. Davis’ citations were the result of her mental illness rather than a willful violation of village traffic laws, and that this young person has taken significant strides since the incident to improve her mental health treatment and recovery.”
The case began at 2 a.m. on Nov. 19, 2009, when Whitefish Bay police spotted Davis driving erratically and pulled her over on E. Henry Clay St. She was dressed for bed and had her pet cat perched on her shoulder. She was confused and kept falling asleep.
Davis made two statements to police that don’t help her defense. According to the incident report, she said she had taken two 10-milligram Ambien tablets that night, twice the usual dosage. She also said she planned to go right to sleep at her east side Milwaukee apartment, but decided instead to drive to a gas station for something to drink.
Davis told me she’s not sure if she took one pill or two, but that her doctor said it was OK to take two on nights when she was having an especially hard time sleeping. A blood test after her arrest found the level of Ambien was at the top of the acceptable therapeutic range.
Davis said she doesn’t know why she supposedly said she drove intentionally.
“I don’t believe that I consciously left my apartment. Due to my depression, I don’t leave my apartment unless I have to. Besides, there is a BP (gas station) close to my apartment along with a Walgreens that I would go to if I needed anything, and I was pulled over not close to my apartment at all,” she told me.
She does not remember any of that evening until the dawn came and she found herself at the police station, she said. Her father picked her up and drove her to Geneva, Ill., where she’s from. She’s been re-evaluated and taken off Ambien, which her doctors believe caused the unintended driving and also some hallucinations.
Her lifelong doctor from Geneva wrote to inform the court that he does not believe she was voluntarily driving. A toxicologist hired by the defense says Davis was in a state of parasomnia and amnesia as a result of the Ambien, and that this would explain her zombielike driving.
“I feel that I have told my whole story and bared my soul, and there is no compassion or understanding at all from the prosecution,” Davis said.
Clearly, Kelly Davis was a menace on the streets that night, and in fact struck some unknown object with her Buick. But does this incident really fit into the scourge of drinking (or drugging) and driving? Mastantuono is asking for dismissal or deferred prosecution and a requirement that Davis continue with her treatment and steer clear of any more traffic or criminal violations. That sounds reasonable to me.
But not to the city attorney. “She took more than she was supposed to take and drove impaired. From our perspective, that is why we are prosecuting this case,” Jaekels said.
He added that the village trustees have no power to make him pull back from prosecution, short of tossing him out of the appointed job. In his 20-year tenure, he’s never seen the defense pitch the board this way.
If the first-offense OWI ticket is upheld, Davis faces a license suspension of six to nine months, a fine of $500 to $1,000 and substance abuse counseling.
Just like a real drunken driver.