A man charged with bid-rigging has convinced a federal judge to throw out the indictment against him after a four-year gap in written correspondence between his attorneys and prosecutors. “While the delay was not designed to gain a tactical advantage for the government, the delay nevertheless demonstrates a lackadaisical attitude towards prosecution that cannot be tolerated under our system of justice,” Eastern District Judge Arthur Spatt (See Profile), sitting in Central Islip, wrote in United States v. Montecalvo, 05-cr-924, on May 21, dismissing the indictment with prejudice.
John Montecalvo was indicted in December 2005 on two counts of mail fraud conspiracy for his role in an alleged scheme to artificially inflate prices for two Long Island repaving projects. Throughout 2006, Montecalvo’s attorney negotiated with the Eastern District U.S. Attorney’s Office on a plea. In December 2006, the government sent a proposed cooperation agreement to Montecalvo’s attorney, who returned proposed modifications. The prosecutor then responded the revisions needed to be reviewed by other prosecutors. Montecalvo said he got no further response over the next four years.
