Ringleader of NYC gun trafficking group tries to walk back guilty plea during sentencing

[The Bobster]

Ringleader of NYC gun trafficking group tries to walk back guilty plea during sentencing

Bienvendo Liriano, 35, whined that he “wasn’t in the right state of mind” when he copped to illegal weapons charges in July as part of a deal with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.…

nypost.com

Ringleader of NYC gun trafficking group tries to walk back guilty plea during sentencing​

By
Elizabeth Rosner


September 13, 2022 7:57pm
Updated









New Yorkers sound off about gun violence in the city



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The ringleader of a Washington Heights gun trafficking crew tried to get a Manhattan judge to reverse his guilty plea — before she sentenced him to 15 years in state prison on Tuesday.
Bienvendo Liriano, 35, whined that he “wasn’t in the right state of mind” when he copped to illegal weapons charges on July 11 as part of a deal with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
“Respectfully at this time, I would like to ask the court to take my plea back, I feel like I wasn’t in the right state of mind,” Liriano said in Manhattan Supreme Court Tuesday while facing down the promised 15-year sentence.
But Judge Ann Scherzer wasn’t having it, snapping: “Well, that’s not possible.”
“I remember so very specifically and in such great detail the circumstances that surrounded your guilty plea,” she told the firearms dealer.

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Following his July 2019 arrest as the case was pending, and over the COVID-19 pandemic, the judge said Liriano’s attorney “approached me many many times and worked incredibly hard to persuade me to go lower and to go lower.”

Bienvendo Liriano tried to walk back his guilty plea during his sentencing. Steven Hirsch
“This was a case that was going to require many dozens of witnesses, months of testimony, and you and I discussed this for a long long time– face to face you and me,” she told him.


“Everyone was ready [for trial] and your lawyer even gave up his vacation and we set aside an enormous long period of time to make sure you can have your day in court,” Scherzer continued. “Then you looked me in the eye and told me you have decided you wanted to plead guilty and take 15.”


Liriano had pleaded guilty to charges of first-degree criminal sale of a firearm, criminal possession of a weapon in the second-degree and a felony conspiracy count.

Liriano claimed that he was not in sound mind when he made his plea. Steven Hirsch
Prosecutors say Liriano coordinated the sale of 43 firearms, including 33 semi-automatic pistols; six revolvers and four assault rifles, as well as 353 rounds of ammunition, to an undercover NYPD detective posing as a gun dealer.


The undercover cop bought the weapons over 27 transactions, with prices ranging from $700 to $2,100 per firearm.


Liriano protested to the judge that “this is my first offense… My first violent offense ever.”

Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg praised the sentencing. REUTERS
“For me to get a 15 year sentence for the first offense that I ever had in my life, I believe is a bit excessive for a crime I never manufactured,” he said.


“I understand you don’t wanna go to jail,” Scherzer replied before sending him to an upstate lockup.



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District Attorney Alvin Bragg hailed the sentence, saying in a statement that Liriano sought to flood our streets with dozens of dangerous weapons.”


“We will not allow our neighborhoods to continue to be ravaged by the proliferation of illegal guns and will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to identify and root out this activity,” Bragg said.