The accused of Last Miske receives 30 years when a big case for organized crime ends

Note from the publisher: This article was originally published on Ilind.net and published again with the author's approval.

The hearing of the conviction of Lance Bermudez, the last of around 18 co -accused and employees of the late Michael J. Miske Jr., took place this week in the Federal Court of the Supreme judge Derrick Watson. It lasted five years, almost until this day, since an indictment against the Grand Jury was not sealed and Misske was arrested on July 15, 2020 in a raid before dawn and traced with co -accused.

With strong words for the accused and his lawyer, Watson Bermudez condemned a total of 30 years in the federal prison. Almost 20 family members and friends sat quietly in the courtroom when the judgment was announced.

The condemnation of Bermudez marked the end of the case in which one controlled and directed by Misk, which was controlled and managed over the course of two decades, from a child from Waimānalo on the streets in Kailua to a productive car thief and drug dealing growth. Misske would become a widely feared crime boss that had several known companies, several house-though a luxury house in Portlock with a view to the ocean and reputation of violence, which brought critics to silence, scareed up, robbed, deprive or defraud their victims from retaliation.

The case became the most complex criminal proceedings in the history of Hawaii and this judicial district, in which more than 2 million pages of documents were finally involved, including almost 300,000 pages with accounting documents from its business and personal finances. Hundreds of gigabytes of digital files included data extractions from 150 digital devices such as telephones, computers, hard drives, thumb drives and DVDs with over 200,000 video clips and masses of text messages as well as more than 200 hours of audio and video recordings.

Bermeudez announced himself guilty in September 2022, part of Miske's Racketeering Conspiracy, Meth and Cocaine Trade and Armed robbery, and agreed to work with the prosecutors.

The deputy US lawyer Michael Nammar opened the hearing by describing Bermudez as an important member of what the prosecutors described as Miske Enterprise, an “incredibly violent” person, a “loose cannon” on whom Misske relied, and he thought that he was untouchable because he was protected by his cooperation with miss.

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Nammar recited a litany of crimes that were attributed to Bermudez. Eighteen racketeering criminal offenses. Three drive-by shootings. The attempted murder of a Waimānalo man and burning of the van, which was assumed to be used in the kidnapping and murder of Johnathan Fraser. Eight “brazen” armed robberies from drug dealers and illegal scope in which some victims “were tied up, beaten, beaten and stamped” with pistols. And more.

“Everyone had their role,” said Nammar, “being as a shooter.”

In view of this crime history, Nammar said that the government had recommended a prison sentence of 327 months at the upper end of the applicable federal guidelines. He said it was a fair prison sentence, even after a several level reduction through guidelines of the federal conviction for “essential support” in cooperation with prosecutors.

Myles Breiner, lawyer of Bermudez, emphasized that his client had worked together with prosecutors despite repeated threats. He described the proposed 327-month prison sentence as “outrageous” and instead asked for a lower prison sentence of 10 years, whereby the mandatory minimum penalty was charged with conviction due to the drug trade.

Breiner compared Bermudez to Delia Fabro-Miske, the daughter-in-law of Mike Miske, who received an 84-month prison sentence. In comparison, it would be fair to give Bervudez a 120-month sentence, Breiner argued.

But Watson was not influenced by Breiner's comparison of Bermudez with Fabro-Miske and scolded Breiner because he had proposed this.

“Fabro-Miske was not an angel,” said Watson. “But she was also not violent, there was no claim that she committed a single act of violence, in particular the 18 identified Mr. Nammar.”

Bervudez was the most violent of all 18 co -accused and employees of Miskske, who are guilty in these and related cases.

“Others were violent,” said Watson, “but the number of different violent acts, the Brazernness, would not be wrong to say that it was unprecedented.”

Bermeudez ran in 2016 and 2017 during a crime stroll “Amok”, said Watson.

“I don't think it is an exaggeration to say that he terrorized this city and this county to a greater extent than anyone else I can remember,” he said.

Watson pointed out that the 120-month judgment requested by Breiner was the legally permissible minimum penalty alone.

“It is an Asinine recommendation, that's exactly what it is and insulting among other things,” said Watson to Breiner. “It is outrageous, ridiculous and every other adjective that you can imagine to describe something that obviously won't happen.”

Watson also noticed that Bermudez was not the only Miske employee who was threatened to work with prosecutors.

“Many others threatened to retaliate by the abuse and members of his company,” said Watson and “others stood with greater theaters of retaliation”, but still appeared as witnesses.

And although Bermudez initially cooperated and provided useful information about several crimes, he ultimately refused to “testify against misconception during the trial,” contrary to his declaration of consent and his statements to the government “.

Watson thus imposed a 30-year prison sentence of the drug accusation that had a maximum possible prison sentence in prison. Additional 20-year sentences were triggered for both the conspiracy and for armed robberies, both to run at the same time as the longer sentence.

And that was the end of the criminal proceedings against Mike Miske and his gang. Misske was convicted of a jury in 13 cases last year, including several obligatory lifelong prison terms, but died of an overdose in Fentanyl in Honolulus federal apprenticeship until it was convicted. At least 18 others were convicted, most of them who now meet prison terms in federal custody.

“It is the highlight of a long street,” said Watson.

Although the criminal proceedings in front of judge Watson have been completed, there are still several open procedures.

Hours after the hearing, Breiner filed an application for withdrawal as a lawyer at Bermudez. In an accompanying jury said Breiner said Bervudez wanted to appeal to his prison sentence and that “potential for a conflict of interest in the appeal procedure on the basis of a potential claim to ineffective advisory support”.

Breiner asked the court to appoint another lawyer in order to take over the appeal to the 9th US Court of Appeal.

John Stancil, Mike Miske's younger half-brother, also has an objection to his 20-year prison sentence, which is pending on the 9th circuit. The complaint was postponed several times at the request of his lawyer.

And the government's civil lawsuit, which is the decay of Miskske's personal and business assets, which is estimated to have around 25 million US dollars, is currently outstanding comparative negotiations between the government and the lawyer, who represents the trustees of Michael J. Miske Jr. Revocable Living Trust.

In a joint status report on the lawyer represented by the incumbent US lawyer Kenneth Sorenson and lawyers, as well as two of the three financial institutions that represent outstanding mortgages to Misskehmen, the parties stated that there are ongoing discussions between the government and the trust in the sale of some wealth values during the case.

In the meantime, an unrenal successor to the Miske Trust was appointed, “and is working on receiving relevant account information from the applicants from financial institutions”.