Legal Information Center

Matthew Galluzzo, a criminal defense attorney, after a six week trial in the Bronx, recently convinced a jury to acquit his defendant of the most serious murder charge on the indictment. The client was instead convicted of a lesser manslaughter charge, meaning that he will not be facing the life sentence that he would have…

Matthew Galluzzo, a criminal defense attorney and former Manhattan prosecutor, appeared on Fox 5 New York to share his thoughts and analysis of the judge’s decision to grant Adnan Syed a new trial. Adnan Syed’s murder conviction was made famous by the NPR podcast “Serial”. The TV segment is available here: http://www.fox5ny.com/news/167860570-story

Federal criminal charges for solicitation of a minor It is a serious federal crime to for an adult to solicit a minor (under age 18) across state lines for sexual purposes. Pursuant to 18 USC 24221 and 2423, it is illegal to: Defenses against federal criminal charges for solicitation of a minor There are many…

On March 23, Matthew Galluzzo appeared on Fox 5 as an expert legal commentator to discuss the Brooklyn District Attorney’s decision to recommend a non-jail sentence for Peter Liang, a former police officer convicted of manslaughter for accidentally killing Akai Gurley in a Brooklyn housing project. A link to the TV segment and interview is…

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…

Rape and sexual assaults involving doctors and mental health providers. Under New York law, every sexual crime against another person involves the element of a lack of consent by the victim. A minor may be too young to legally consent to sexual contact, a person may be too intoxicated to consent to sexual contact, and…

Literally millions of people visit New York City as tourists every year, and a large percentage of them fly into and out of one of the two major airports: LaGuardia Airport (LGA) and John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). Of those people, many will carry a small knife or other innocuous weapon for personal protection…

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…

There are several federal statutes which prohibit the act of taking or giving a bribe to a governmental official. The “general” federal bribery statute is set forth in Title 18 of the U.S. Code (“U.S.C.”) section 201. The federal law prohibits any person from corruptly, whether “directly or indirectly” giving, offering, or promising anything of…