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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Plaintiff, vs. . . . . . . .

Docket No. Washington, D.C.

Defendant. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

TRANSCRIPT OF BEFORE THE HONORABLE JUDGE REGGIE B. WALTON UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

For the Government:

Attorney's Name Address City, State, Zip

For the Defendant: 15 16 17 Court Reporter: 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Attorney's Name Address City, State, Zip

Cathryn J. Jones, RPR Official Court Reporter Room 6521, U.S. District Court 333 Constitution Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20001

Proceedings recorded by machine shorthand, transcript produced by computer-aided transcription.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

WITNESSES On behalf of the Government:

Direct
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Cross

Redirect

WITNESS (By attorney (By attorney } ) )

E X H I B I T S
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Government's Exhibit Number

Identified Page #

Admitted

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 motion.

P R O C E E D I N G S THE DEPUTY CLERK: Calling the case of United

States of America versus Amaro Goncalves, John Mushriqui, Jeana Mushriqui, Ofer Paz, Israel Weisler, Michael Sacks and Marc Morales. Counsel, please come forward and identify

yourself for the record. MR. LIPTON: Joey Lipton, Laura Perkins and

Matthew Solomon for the government. THE COURT: Well, Mr. Lipton, I received your This motion appears

Couple of questions for you.

as I read it to address the remaining defendants who have not had a trial yet. And I believe it addresses the seven

defendants against whom there have been hung jury verdicts; is that right? MR. LIPTON: THE COURT: That's correct, Your Honor. Okay. So your motion will be as to

all of those defendants; is that right? MR. LIPTON: THE COURT: Correct. Now it kind of begs the question,

where are we with regard to Mr. Alvarez, Mr. Spiller and Mr. Geri. They've entered guilty pleas. Only two of them,

however, entered guilty pleas as to a count in this case as I recall it. I think Mr. Alvarez and Mr. Spiller pled

guilty to a conspiracy count. MR. LIPTON: All three of those pled guilty to the

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conspiracy count and the charged conduct.

The only

exception is Alvarez pled guilty to real word charges. THE COURT: So as to those three defendants is it

the government's position the Court should set a status hearing in the near future to address where we go from there as to them? MR. LIPTON: I think that that would be We have reached out to defense And in fairness to those

appropriate, Your Honor.

counsel for those defendants.

defendants we wanted to give them an opportunity to be heard on those issues. And so we are going to be meeting with We hope it won't take too

them in the near future to do so.

long both coordinating schedules with them and the two offices; the U.S. Attorney's office and the Fraud Section. We hope to have that accomplished shortly and then we can report back to Your Honor as to where we stand with those three defendants. THE COURT: As to Mr. Bistrong, of course, he

didn't plead to any of the counts in this indictment? MR. LIPTON: THE COURT: That's correct. And I guess it was only Mr. Spiller.

Mr. Spiller and Mr. Geri only pled to counts in this one? MR. LIPTON: Correct, they both pled guilty to

Count one, the conspiracy charge. THE COURT: Very well. So with regard to them the

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Court will need to have further proceedings in the not too distant future to address those issues. Very good. And

then as to Mr. Bistrong, of course, I will set a sentencing date at some point down the road. Is there anything else from the government's prospective other than the Court ruling on this motion that the Court needs to do at this point? MR. LIPTON: no. THE COURT: MR. LIPTON: THE COURT: Very good. Thank you, Mr. Lipton? Not from the government, your Honor,

Thank you, Judge. Do any of the defense counsel have any

questions or issues they'd like to raise as to this? MR. ANDALMAN: Your Honor, only this is obviously

ministerial, but the order that the government presented didn't name the defendants. Obviously, we'd like to make

sure that whatever order issues from the Court has Mr. Gonzalez's name on it. And also that the Court perhaps

provide for return of his passport. THE COURT: Obviously if I grant the motion any They

and all conditions of their release will be vitiated.

will be entitled to the return of any funds they posted and any documents they turned over or anything like that. that will be taken care of in due course. MR. ANDALMAN: Thank you, Your Honor. So

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THE COURT: a few brief remarks.

Anyone else?

Okay.

Then let me make

This appears to be the end of a long

and sad chapter in the annals of white collar criminal enforcement. Unlike takedown day in Las Vegas, however,

there will be no front page story in the New York Times or the Post for that matter tomorrow reflecting the government's decision today to move to dismiss the charges against the remaining defendants in this case. it what sells newspapers. The good news, however, is that for these defendants, agents, prosecutors, defense counsel and the Court we can get on with our professional and personal lives without the constant strain and burden of three to four more eight week trials hanging over our heads. I for one hope this very long, and I'm sure very expensive, ordeal will be a true learning experience for both the Department and the FBI as they regroup to investigate and prosecute FCPA cases against individuals in the future. Two years ago, at the very outset of this case I expressed more than my fair share of concerns on the record regarding the way this case had been charged and was being prosecuted. Later, during the two trials that I presided Funny isn't

over I specifically commented again on the record regarding the government's very, very aggressive conspiracy theory

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that was pushing its already generous elasticity to its outer limits. Of course, in the second trial that elastic

snapped in the absence of the necessary evidence to sustain it. In addition, in that same trial, I expressed on a number of occasions my concerns regarding the way this case had been investigated and was conducted especially vis-a-vis the handling of Mr. Bistrong. I even had an occasion,

sadly, to chastise the government in a situation where the government's handling of the discovery process constituted sharp practices that have no place in a federal courtroom. Notwithstanding all of this water over the dam, and there has been a lot of water, I'm happy to see and I applaud the Department for having the wisdom and the courage of its convictions to face up to the limitations of its case as revealed in the past 26 weeks of trial and the courage to do the right thing under the circumstances. Having served at the higher levels of the Department, I know that that was not an easy decision. They

never are, when so much has been invested, and the agents and the prosecutors are so convinced of the righteousness of their position. I for one however am confident this will be

in the end a positive, if not painful, lesson that results in better prosecutions of individuals in the future under the FCPA. As for the defendants, I hope the healing process

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is a swift one and that they get back to their normal lives in the very near future. Finally, I would be remiss if I did not comment on the tireless and spirited effort by the defense counsel from all over the country who came here to try these very lengthy and complicated cases under difficult circumstances and some even pro bono. Their hard work and effective advocacy are a

testament to how strong our criminal defense Bar is nationwide. And so without further adieu I grant the government's motion to dismiss. The defendants are excused.

And I will set hearings in the near future to determine the status of those cases where guilty pleas have already been entered. The Court stands in recess. [Thereupon, the proceedings adjourned at ]