Opinion
8:19-cr-398-VMC-SPF
09-28-2022
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, v. MARIA BASSI LAURO
ORDER
VIRGINIA M. HERNANDEZ COVINGTON UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
This matter comes before the Court pursuant to Defendant Maria Bassi Lauro's Motion to Modify Sentence (Doc. # 109), filed on September 27, 2022. The motion is denied without prejudice.
I. Background
Ms. Lauro pleaded guilty to three counts of making biological agent and toxin hoaxes on March 25, 2021. (Doc. # 80). This Court sentenced her to a term of imprisonment of six months on June 23, 2021. (Doc. # 92). Ms. Lauro was ordered to surrender for service of her sentence at the institution designated by the Bureau of Prisons no sooner than November 1, 2021. (Id.).
Ms. Lauro has filed four motions to extend her surrender date. (Doc ## 98, 102, 104, 106). Ms. Lauro filed the first motion on October 15, 2021. (Doc. # 98). Ms. Lauro claimed that she needed knee replacement surgery and heart surgery. (Id.). The Court granted the motion and extended Ms. Lauro's surrender date to February 1, 2022. (Doc. # 99). Ms. Lauro filed the second motion on January 26, 2022, claiming complications from her knee surgery delayed her necessary heart surgery. (Doc. 102). The Court granted the motion and extended Ms. Lauro's surrender date to April 2, 2022. (Doc. # 103). Ms. Lauro filed the third motion on March 28, 2022, again claiming complications from the knee surgery had delayed her heart surgery to April 28, 2022. (Doc. # 104). The Court granted the motion and extended Ms. Lauro's surrender date to June 28, 2022. (Doc. # 105). Ms. Lauro filed her fourth and self-described final motion on June 24, 2022, claiming that her heart surgery had been delayed again due to insurance coverage issues. (Doc. # 106). The Court again granted Ms. Lauro's motion and extended her surrender date to September 30, 2022.
Now, Ms. Lauro has filed a Motion to Modify Sentence, on the eve of her surrender date and when the Court has been closed due to an impending hurricane. (Doc. # 109). Without any explanation as to why she waited until the last minute or why she failed to consult with opposing counsel, Ms. Lauro requests that the Court reduce her term of imprisonment of six months to home confinement. (Id. at 4). She argues that any term of imprisonment would be “life threatening” due to her medical conditions and ongoing need to “to be seen regularly by a cardiologist.” (Id.). The motion is denied without prejudice.
II. Analysis
The Court has granted all four of Ms. Lauro's extension requests, totaling nearly eleven months, to allow her to address her health issues. Now, three days before she is set to surrender, she has filed a motion to try to avoid prison entirely.
The Court is very troubled by the timing of this motion. Ms. Lauro does not explain why she filed this motion so close to her surrender date. Indeed, her motion only refers to Ms. Lauro's chronic health conditions. (Doc. # 109 at 4-5).
The Court is also concerned that Ms. Lauro did not consult with the United States before filing this motion. The Court will not grant a motion filed without consulting the government, and without providing any emergency reason for filing, on the eve of Hurricane Ian's landfall in Florida. This motion could have been filed weeks ago, giving the United States time to weigh in and the Court time to fully consider it.
Ms. Lauro pleaded guilty to a very serious crime, and the Court is very disinclined to allow Ms. Lauro to avoid imprisonment entirely without a clear explanation of what emergency has arisen that would lead to this filing at the eleventh hour. Furthermore, there are prisons with medical facilities well positioned to serve prisoners with serious medical conditions.
Accordingly, it is
ORDERED, ADJUDGED, and DECREED:
(1) Defendant Maria Bassi Lauro's Motion to Modify Sentence is DENIED without prejudice.
(2) Ms. Lauro is directed to self-surrender or self report at her designated Bureau of Prisons site on September 30, 2022.
(3) If Ms. Lauro feels she cannot surrender on September 30, 2022, then she should explain to the Court in detail the emergency preventing her from surrendering on that date. Ms. Lauro will need to show the nature of the emergency, including if necessary, filing medical records in camera to show the immediate need for delaying her term of imprisonment. If Ms. Lauro believes Hurricane Ian will prevent her from surrendering, then she needs to explain the exact circumstances preventing her from traveling.
DONE and ORDERED.