Other Federal Crimes
At Hollander & Hanuka, we handle federal cases in the Fort Myers and Tampa areas besides narcotics cases. We deal with cases involving bank robberies as well as white collar crimes, such as money laundering, racketeering (RICO), and wire or mail fraud. We have also represented clients charged with federal environmental crimes such as protected species violations and illegal dumping.
Florida, in particular, presents opportunities for federal charges that are not commonly seen elsewhere. The crime of Trading with the Enemy is one such charge. It is usually applied to the smuggling in of cigars and other goods from Cuba which, given Cuba's proximity to Florida, makes it a crime unlikely to be charged anywhere else.
Another issue that requires strong representation is that of sentencing under the federal guidelines. Unlike state sentences, which are based on the charges of conviction, the federal system is based on actual conduct. In the state system, when a defendant enters a plea to a charge or crime, he usually will know before hand what his sentence is going to be. The federal system does not work this way. Under the federal sentencing guidlines, a defendant may plead one or more charges, but may not know for certain what his sentence will be until his Pre-Sentence Report is prepared, which can be months later. A defendant's attorney must be familiar with the sentencing guidelines in order to accurately advise his client of the probable sentence before taking the plea.
A defendant's sentence in federal court is based on the entire crime including those acts committed by co-conspiriters. Federal sentencing takes into account prior criminal history and any aggravating or mitigating circumstances that will enhance or reduce the sentence. Mistakes are sometimes made when these sentences are calculated. Prior incidents are included that should not be due to the age of the offense, or the severity level of the current crime may be incorrectly calculated. Any time that the sentence is increased due to aggravating circumstances, the government has to prove that those aggravating circumstances actually exist.
We have a lot of experience dealing with the federal sentencing guidelines. We can take a look at your sentence and make sure it was calculated correctly. We can also check any aggravating circumstances to make sure they were sufficient to sustain the addition to your sentence.