United States v. Richard Gerace

Richard Gerace argues that he is entitled to a new sentencing hearing or to withdraw his plea of guilty because the government breached a plea agreement providing that it would “stand silent at sentencing” when it argued against leniency at a subsequent probation revocation hearing. In addition, Ge-race contends that the district court violated Fed.R.Crim.P. ll’s prohibition against judicial participation in the plea bargaining process when it modified the original sentence. We affirm.

I.

Gerace was indicted on April 20, 1989, in the Western District of New York on three counts of bank fraud. Gerace moved to have the case transferred to the Northern District of California pursuant to Fed.R.Crim.P. 20. Prior to the transfer, Gerace negotiated a plea agreement which was memorialized by the United States Attorney for the Western District of New York in a letter dated May 17, 1989. In exchange for Gerace’s plea of guilty to each of the three counts of the indictment, the government agreed to “recommend that concurrent sentences be given and will otherwise stand silent at sentencing, except to respond to any statements made by the defendant or on his behalf which are inconsistent…