RICHARD CHICHAKLI, HAVING LOST HIS APPEAL, FILES A SECTION 2255 PETITION

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals having affirmed his District Court conviction for sanctions violations, the Syrian-American CPA, Richard Chichakli, has exhausted all his appeals as a matter of right, but he is still in there swinging. He has filed one of the very few post-conviction remedies available to him: a Pro Se §2255 Petition.

His Motion to Vacate Judgment and reduce the Term of Imprisonment, Pursuant to 28 USC §2255, by a person in Federal Custody, lists three grounds:

(1) A recent amendment to USSG 3B1.2, of the Sentencing Guidelines, Mitigation, provides for a reduction in sentence, for a defendant who had no ownership right in a criminal activity. Chichakli alleges that he was neither a principal in Samar Airlines, nor was he to receive money. He is therefore entitled to a sentence reduction, he argues.

(2) The Executive Order, under which Chichakli was charged, was subsequently lifted. he is now entitled to a reduction of sentence.

(3) The United States Government had a confidential arrangement with prosecution witness Henry Gayer, which it failed to disclose to the defendant, in violation of Giglio vs. United States. For that reason, he he is entitled to relief.

Curiously, the Court  found that the petition should not be summarily denied, as lacking merit. It has entered a scheduling order, requiring the United States to respond in sixty days, and allowing Chichakli to file a subsequent reply.