Anyone seeking to find alternative methods to fight drug addiction, and the crimes committed to fuel a habit, can pause in the offices of many politicians who have laundered millions of dollars in drug money. Every time a drug dealer goes to court, a lawyer somewhere just laundered drug money. Nationally, 40% of all sentences are for drugs. 265,800 people are estimated to be incarcerated for drug offenses at the end of 2006. As the RI Dept. of Corrections puts it, “while the percentage of prison population incarcerated for drug-related offenses has nearly tripled from 7% in 1977 to 18% in 2005, it is believe[d] that this is an underestimate of the role that drugs have played in increasing RI’s prison population.”
Money Laundering: “(1) Whoever, knowing that the property involved in a financial transaction represents the proceeds of some form of unlawful activity, conducts or attempts to conduct such a financial transaction which in fact involves the proceeds of specified unlawful activity—” The Federal Statute goes on to discuss the myriad ways in which people touching such illegal money are guilty. Odd it does not include money flowing into the bank accounts of the lawyers.
Let us get into an example:
Providence Mayor David Cicilline opened his Rhode Island law office in 1988. He had an instant clientele because his father, Jack Cicilline, was the reputed “Mob Lawyer” for the Patriarca Crime Family. Hollywood romance aside, the Cicillines have been close to many criminals for decades, and when it comes to courts and politics, it’s all about Who You Know.
ANATOMY OF COMPLICITY:
It is well-known that David Cicilline is also brother to attorney John Jr., who went to prison for shaking down drug dealers. Basically he took $100,000 from some heavyweights ($70,000 cash) and asked them to snitch on others. He would pass the information on to Juan Giraldo and Lisa Torres, who would get law enforcement to make the busts and Cicilline gets “credit” in his plea bargaining. It also turns out that Giraldo was a major drug dealer in his own right, and had to plead out to 6 years in federal prison. Topping that off, Mayor Cicilline’s former driver was also a drug dealer, who happens to be the husband of his long-time friend- all caught up with Cicilline's police department.
Over two years in Providence (2005-06) there were 33 arrests for homicide. And not many more throughout the state of Rhode Island. Clearly, an attorney isn’t going to buy his yacht with murder cases. Meanwhile there were 248 arrests for sale/manufacture of drugs. There were 684 arrests for possession. Such numbers rise every year. Granted, not every case yields $100,000 fees, but there were 3,688 drug arrests in Rhode Island in 2006. I can tell you from experience with hundreds of drug defendants between 1993 and 2010, two things:
- The typical fee from a lawyer on a drug case is $5,000 to $10,000. 99% will never go to trial, and this is not a trial fee. This is a plea bargain fee. Taking our middle year between David Cicilline’s “prime” drug laundering years of 1988-2002 to the heyday of 2010... those 3,688 arrests would yield fees of $18.4 million to $37 million dollars. Money going straight to the pockets of criminal defense attorneys. Per year. Much of it in CASH.
- The three names on the tip of any defendant’s tongue have historically been Cicilline, Bevilacqua, and Murphy. David was the go-to-guy as he was both the “son of Jack” and a state representative (1994-2002). Nobody cares who is a talented lawyer because nobody goes to trial (98% of cases are plea bargains). Jack was buddies with Joe Bevilacqua, the RI Supreme Court Judge who was eventually thrown off the Bench because it was clear he was far too close to the criminals- apparently that looks a little awkward in the public perception, that he might not be so partial. Joe Sr. was indeed the most powerful person in the legal profession. (A good person to hire into your sphere).
Just to show that the Cicilline-Bevilacqua partnership wasn’t a flash in the pan. John Jr. and Joe Jr. were also partners. And yes, John Jr. went to jail and Joe Jr. went to jail (Joe Jr.’s brother John, former Senate Majority Leader, couldn’t stop it either- even "connections" have limitations). All of whom made a killing off of drug money. And as for William Murphy, who served as the Speaker of the House for so many years... it is actually part of the pitch: “He the Speaker of the House, he gonna pull some strings for me.” Is the average drug dealer so astute as to know their political representatives? Most couldn’t even tell you what district Murphy represents, or which area Cicilline represented. They just knew the connections, and passed it along.
So just how much money has David Cicilline banked from the War on Drugs?
At a modest 3,000 cases per year, it is conceivable that a big name like David Cicilline quickly got an easy 5%. (I would have guessed 50% if you asked me in 1995). So that is 150 per year. Let’s assume the super modest $5000 per case. That is $750,000 per year. From 1994-2002, that is $6 million. A modest figure... before taxes. Assuming it was all reported. (And assuming he is not a partner in his firm and gaining a cut off of other lawyers representing drug defendants over the past 8 years.) $6,000,000. All laundered into legal fees.
Now, given this example, can America count on criminal defense attorneys (and their friends) to take a new approach to the Drug War? I asked David Cicilline this at Drinking Liberally, and he deftly dodged the question while talking about “rehabilitation” and “reentry” and all that liberal talking points nonsense. I don’t think I asked it directly enough.
Mayor Cicilline: Do you think that you can have an honest assessment of the Drug War when you have laundered about $6 million as an attorney... and many of your brethren are still doing the same? Furthermore, are you partner in any firm that continues to generate money from drug clients?