Articles Posted in Federal Criminal Law

The Law Office of Matthew Galluzzo recently earned an excellent result for our client in Brooklyn federal court (the Eastern District of New York). Our client was originally arrested at JFK Airport in 1990 and charged with lying to a U.S. Customs agent about a significant amount of cash that he had in his possession…

18 USC Section 2423 Federal criminal law prohibits a wide range of activities relating to transporting people and/or traveling across state lines or internationally for the purpose of engaging in illegal sexual activity. Specifically, 18 U.S.C. § 2423 prohibits four types of activities and carries very severe penalties. First, 18 U.S.C. § 2423 makes it…

Defense attorney Matthew Galluzzo recently earned a stunning trial acquittal in a federal sexual abuse case that had been extensively covered in the press. The client, charged with one count each of sexual abuse on an airplane (18 U.S.C. 2244(b)) and assault on an airplane (18 U.S.C. 113(a)(5)), went to trial in Brooklyn federal court…

Foreign citizens and drug importation charges at JFK, Newark, and LaGuardia Airports (federal controlled substance crimes) American demand for illegal drugs, combined with harsh federal and state laws prohibiting their sale and possession, has created a black market that can be extraordinarily lucrative for illegal drug traffickers. Enticed by the potential to make significant amounts…

Every year the FBI and federal law enforcement investigates a number of serious crimes that were alleged to have occurred onboard cruise ships. State police occasionally investigate these sorts of crimes, but generally speaking, crimes that occur on the high seas fall under federal jurisdiction (if pursued by American law enforcement at all). The authority…

Two indictments were unsealed today in federal court in New Jersey and Brooklyn charging nine individuals with having participated in a unique scheme to profit illegally from stolen insider information. Many of the defendants have connections to the Ukraine, and their names are Vitaly Korchevsky, Vladislav Khalupsky, Leonid Momotok, Alexander Garkusha (Brooklyn) and Ivan Turchynov,…

From time to time, an individual en route to the United States via commercial airplane gets arrested for groping or getting into a fight with another passenger. Because these crimes do not occur on U.S. soil, they generally fall under federal jurisdiction. Specifically, 49 U.S.C. § 46506 confers “special maritime jurisdiction” upon those criminal acts…

Recently, federal law enforcement authorities announced the arrests of 71 people in the New York City area in connection with an alleged child pornography production and distribution ring. The federal charges most often applied to the creation, manufacture, possession and distribution of obscene materials involving minors are typically the following: 18 USC § 1466A, 18…

In New York, a person arrested for possessing or distributing child pornography can be prosecuted by either the state or federal authorities. As a matter of practice, the accused is most likely to be prosecuted in state court if he is arrested by state police, and in federal court if arrested by federal agents, but…

One of the most common criminal charges in the federal system is a violation of 18 USC 922(g). This chapter makes it illegal for certain persons to possess firearms. Notably, this charge in this subsection does not depend upon the type of firearm possessed, though that factor can affect the potential penalties for the offender.…