August 2, 2007

VENEZUELAN MAN SENTENCED FOR IMMIGRATION OFFENSE

The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont stated that John Piter Cabello, 37, a native of Venezuela, was sentenced on August 2, 2007, in United States District Court in Brattleboro, Vermont, to 57-months imprisonment following his guilty plea to an immigration offense. United States District Judge J. Garvan Murtha also ordered Cabello to serve a two (2) year period of supervised release and pay a $100 special assessment. Cabello is likely to be deported after his prison term.

According to court records, as part of a plea agreement with the government, Cabello agreed to plead guilty to an Indictment which charged him with being found in the United States on February 24, 2007, having been previously deported without having received permission from the Attorney General to apply for readmission, and after having been previously convicted of an aggravated felony, specifically, selling cocaine and crack cocaine. Defendant was arrested after he was discovered by United States Border Patrol agents in Derby, Vermont attempting to enter the United States without inspection.

The case was investigated by agents with United States Border Patrol. Mr. Cabello was represented by Assistant Federal Public Defender Elizabeth Mann. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Barbara Masterson.