Scott Brettschneider, an attorney admitted to practice in
the state of New York since 1987, was convicted today by a federal jury in
Brooklyn of conspiring to make a false statement and making a false
statement. Specifically, Brettschneider
wrote a false letter to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to assist an inmate in
gaining entry to a substance abuse program in order to fraudulently obtain an
early release from prison. The verdict
followed a five-day trial before United States District Judge Carol Bagley
Amon. When sentenced, Brettschneider
faces up to five years in prison.
Richard P. Donoghue, United States Attorney for the Eastern
District of New York, announced the verdict.
“Brettschneider, a longtime attorney, has been found guilty
by a jury of brazenly violating the law he was sworn to uphold by scheming to
write a phony letter to help his client get into a drug treatment program and
become eligible for early release from prison,” stated United States Attorney
Donoghue. “This Office is committed to
protecting the integrity of federal programs for drug abuse treatment, to
ensure that help is available for those truly in need and not those merely
looking for a get-out-of-jail card.” Mr.
Donoghue thanked the Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office,
and the Queens District Attorney’s Office for their outstanding assistance on
the case.
The evidence at trial proved that between October 2014 and
January 2015, Brettschneider, Charles Gallman and Reginald Shabazz-Muhammad
conspired to make false statements in a letter to a BOP employee regarding
inmate Richard Marshall’s treatment for substance and alcohol abuse in an
effort to help Marshall fraudulently gain entry to the Residential Drug Abuse
Program (RDAP) at United States Penitentiary Lewisburg in Pennsylvania. In an October 24, 2014 call on Gallman’s
phone that was intercepted by law enforcement, Marshall explained to
Brettschneider that he needed a letter from a “drug program” to which Brettschneider
responded, “alright, alright, we’ll work on that Monday. Ok, I know who to talk
to.” Brettschneider, Marshall and
Shabazz-Muhammad, who claimed to be the director of program services at
Muhammad Mosque No. 7, falsely stated that Marshall had previously been
enrolled in the Mosque’s treatment program between 2003 and 2010 to reduce his
purported “active drug dependence.” An
inmate who is accepted into the RDAP and successfully completes the treatment
program is eligible to receive up to a year off his sentence.
Marshall pleaded guilty to conspiracy to make false
statements, and was sentenced on October 6, 2018 to three years’ probation and
a fine of $1,500. Shabazz-Muhammad
pleaded guilty to making false statements, and was sentenced on January 30,
2019 to two years’ probation and a fine of $1,000. Gallman pleaded guilty to conspiracy to make
false statements and to violating the Travel Act for bribing a witness, and was
sentenced on March 20, 2019 to three years’ imprisonment.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Organized
Crime & Gangs Section. Assistant
United States Attorneys Andrey Spektor, Lindsay K. Gerdes and Margaret Gandy
are in charge of the prosecution.
The Defendant:
SCOTT BRETTSCHNEIDER (also known as “Mighty Whitey”)
Age: 62
Mint Hill, North Carolina
Defendants Who Previously Pleaded Guilty and Were Sentenced:
CHARLES GALLMAN (also known as “T.A.”)
Age: 57
Queens, New York
RICHARD MARSHALL (also known as “Love”)
Age: 57
Charlotte, North Carolina
REGINALD SHABAZZ-MUHAMMAD
Age: 63
Queens, New York
E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 18-CR-123 (CBA)
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