Filed: Mar. 28, 2017
Latest Update: Mar. 28, 2017
Summary: ORDER VIRGINIA M. HERNANDEZ COVINGTON , District Judge . This cause is before the Court pursuant to Frank Mongelluzzi's Notice of Pendency of a Related Case and Request for Reassignment of Case (Doc. # 29), which was filed on March 22, 2017. The Court construes the Notice as a Motion to Transfer and denies the Motion as explained below. Discussion Frank Mongelluzzi and Anne Mongelluzzi are husband and wife and are both criminal defendants in separate federal cases. Anne Mongelluzzi has
Summary: ORDER VIRGINIA M. HERNANDEZ COVINGTON , District Judge . This cause is before the Court pursuant to Frank Mongelluzzi's Notice of Pendency of a Related Case and Request for Reassignment of Case (Doc. # 29), which was filed on March 22, 2017. The Court construes the Notice as a Motion to Transfer and denies the Motion as explained below. Discussion Frank Mongelluzzi and Anne Mongelluzzi are husband and wife and are both criminal defendants in separate federal cases. Anne Mongelluzzi has b..
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ORDER
VIRGINIA M. HERNANDEZ COVINGTON, District Judge.
This cause is before the Court pursuant to Frank Mongelluzzi's Notice of Pendency of a Related Case and Request for Reassignment of Case (Doc. # 29), which was filed on March 22, 2017. The Court construes the Notice as a Motion to Transfer and denies the Motion as explained below.
Discussion
Frank Mongelluzzi and Anne Mongelluzzi are husband and wife and are both criminal defendants in separate federal cases. Anne Mongelluzzi has been charged with tax fraud in case 8:15-cr-325-T-17MAP. Frank Mongelluzzi has been charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution in case 8:17-cr-25-T-33JSS. Both Anne and Frank Mongelluzzi have entered guilty pleas, the guilty pleas have been accepted, and both Defendants are awaiting imposition of sentence.
At this time, Frank Mongelluzzi has filed a Notice calling to the Court's attention that his case is related to the case against his wife. He requests an Order transferring his case to the Honorable Judge Elizabeth A. Kovachevich, United States District Judge, to be consolidated with the case against his wife under Local Rule 1.04(b). The Local Rule states in relevant part:
TRANSFER OF RELATED CASES BEFORE TWO OR MORE JUDGES. If cases assigned to different judges are related because of either a common question of fact or any other prospective duplication in the prosecution or resolution of the cases, a party may move to transfer any related case to the judge assigned to the first-filed among the related cases. The moving party shall file a notice of filing the motion to transfer, including a copy of the motion to transfer, in each related case. The proposed transferor judge shall dispose of the motion to transfer but shall grant the motion only with the consent of the transferee judge.
Local Rule 1.04(b), M.D. Fla.
Here, the Court agrees that the two cases share related facts, but nevertheless determines that they should remain separate cases. Guilty pleas have been accepted in both cases and the only matters left for adjudication are sentencing. The two cases need not be consolidated for sentencing to be accomplished.
Accordingly, it is
ORDERED, ADJUDGED, and DECREED:
Frank Mongelluzzi's Notice of Pendency of a Related Case and Request for Reassignment of Case (Doc. # 29), which the Court construes as a Motion to Transfer, is DENIED.
DONE and ORDERED.
