Great news for defendant Michael Martinez and another example of carelessness that characterizes ASA Bill Kostrzewski's handling of the Bernardo Barrera mortgage fraud case...

While shuffling through the Bernardo Barrera case file, we came across what amounted to a great Christmas present for defendant Michael Martinez, the man who lent the straw buyer $125,000 to close on the Oak Avenue home purchase that's at the center of the Bernardo Barrera mortgage fraud case.  Take a look at what Mr. Martinez got courtesy of the state back on Christmas eve 2009...

COOL!!  We had previously discussed Mr. Marinez's plea here, let's take a look at the nuts and bolts of that agreement once again...

2. The Court shall adjudicate defendant guilty and shall sentence defendant to two (2) years of Community Control, followed by three (3) years probation.

And then this part...

9. As a condition of Community Control, defendant may not petition the Court for conversion of Community Control to probation until the defendant has successfully completed six (6) months of Community Control and is current in his payment of restitution, cost of supervision and his community service hours. Also as a condition of probation, defendant may not request early termination of probation for two (2) years from the date of this agreement and only if the defendant has successfully completed his requisite Community Control and probation, and has fully paid his restitution and satisfied his community service obligation and cost of supervision. Defendant agrees to extend the term of his probation to the statutory maximum to insure full payment of his restitution obligation.

In an nutshell, the most severe part of Mr. Martinez's punishment is over (if you can call it that), now his probation goes from the weekly meetings (and possibly wearing a lojack) to just regular probation.  Although the plea agreement calls for 3 years of regular probation, based on what we've seen through this modification of probation, he'll more than likely be done in just a year and half.  Good for Mr. Martinez and nice job ASA Kostrzewski!  Boy did you send a message to anyone out there considering committing a crime!


This modification of probation really got us thinking though, so much so that we decided to go back and carefully examine the original plea agreement that was prepared by ASA Kostrzewski.  Let's take a look at it again...

Martinez Plea   

Now, before we dissect this plea agreement keep in mind the following pertinent facts, the agreement was prepared by a VETERAN Economic Crimes prosecutor and that the entire Bernardo Barrera mortgage fraud case is based his interpretation of complicated real estate and mortgage instruments.  We've eluded to ASA Kostrzewski not knowing what went on throughout the transaction that is the basis of his case, not understanding the fundamentals of the transaction, being grossly incompetent in regards to these matters and even worse, being careless throughout the course of the investigation and the subsequent prosecution.  There are several embarrassing incidents and screw ups that can illustrate our claims, but we'll hold off for the time being.


Back to that plea agreement that Mr. Kostrzewski prepared, remember, this entire case is based on accuracy of documents, dates, signatures etc.  Let's take a close look now at the document that Mr. Kostrzewski prepared...

Note the case number outlined in red, F08-36522C.  Moving on to page two...

All good, once again, note the case number outlined in red, F08-36522C.  Page three...

So far so good, page four...

Again, take note of the case number, outlined in red, F08-36522C and last but not least, page five...

WTF WAS THAT?!  Look closer...

WTF is that Bill?  You fcuked up the plea agreement!  The Bernardo Barrera mortgage fraud case is PD080208066734 and in case you forgot, the case number is F08-36522C not F07-44341B!  Are we reading this wrong?  Who do those case numbers correspond to?  Let's see...

Who the hell is Portia Simac and why is her case number on Martinez's plea agreement?!  Bill, this is all about precision!  WTF is this?


Just another perfect example of the incompetence, carelessness and gross negligence that Mr. Kostrzewski has exhibited throughout this case.  Nice work Mr. Veteran Economic Crimes prosecutor!  Does this screw up mean that the restitution that Mr. Martinez has paid is going to the wrong case number?  Bravo Bill!  Amazing how there's nothing but excuses for how you've handled this case and overlooked vital details, isn't this worse than not noticing who the remitter on a check is Bill?  We got an even bigger surprise for Mr. Kostrzewski coming up, this plea is gonna bite him in the ass.  You'll have to be patient though, it's going to be worth the wait...


Toodles and air kisses Bill!