Not Guilty of Major Charges in Federal Racketeering Murder Conspiracy

When Jim first received the call from his client that he was charged with being a high ranking Young General in the nationally known gang, the "Bounty Hunter Bloods," he knew his client's life was on the line.  The United States Attorney's Office in the Eastern District of Michigan is known as one of the toughest, most sophisticated, and best prepared in the nation.  When one is charged with a RICO conspiracy, the devil is in the details, as the charge itself is not nearly as bad as the underlying crimes that make up the charge.  In the Bounty Hunters case, this included over seven murders, firebombings, car jackings, armed robberies, gun sales, and major narcotic trafficking.  

At the nearly two month long trial, Amberg and Amberg attorney Jim Amberg was relentless in going after the over 50 witnesses that the Government presented.  Using everything from facebook evidence to powerpoint presentations, the trial culminated in Jim's epic cross-examination of the Government's main snitch witness.  After the cross was over, the Marshal guarding the courtroom shook Jim's hand and said that he had saved his client's life!

When the verdict was read, Jim's client was found not guilty of all of the mayhem and all of the gun charges.  Instead, he was simply found guilty of the base RICO charge, which was not surprising considering his client had in his possession a book containing the names and ranks of every member of the gang, with his client's name as one of the three head members.

At sentencing, the client's two co-defendants who went to trial received 30 years in prison.  As to the ten cooperating defendants, they mostly received decades long sentences.  But when Jim's client was sentenced, he received a sentence of three and a half years, with a halfway house.  This was far less than the 17 years the Government argued for and 22 years less than the plea that was offered to the client had he pled guilty.  Bottom line, Jim's client went from a future in prison to a future of freedom.