Schnapp had no choice but to appeal to Judge Moore directly, which ultimately resulted in the donation to Camillus House. While no one has questioned Schnapp's efforts to make his client seem more sympathetic by promoting his philanthropic nature, the salient issue is Moore's decision to become actively involved.
Johnson says he is confident Moore knew that what he was doing was correct and proper. "In this country," he says, "if you get to be a federal judge, then you have a very good overview of what is right and what is wrong."
This is not the first time Moore's judgment has been questioned. In 1992 Moore was a target of a federal grand jury in Brooklyn, which was investigating allegations he had accepted gratuities -- including a trip on a chartered yacht, tickets to a New York Mets baseball game, and seats for the Broadway show *Cats -- from a company that did business with the U.S. Marshals Service while he served as its director from November 1989 until February 1992. Moore, who left the Marshals Service to become a federal judge, claimed that the gifts were part of "normal social hospitality" among old friends.
Moore's friend was John Caldara, one of the owners of a security company that in 1988 won a $115 million contract with the Marshals Service to provide metal detectors and guards at most federal courthouses nationwide. Caldara later confessed that he and his partners paid $75,000 in bribes to rig the selection process and guarantee that his company would submit the lowest bid. Moore had nothing to do with the bid-rigging incident, which took place a year before he became the service's director. But his choice of friends and his decision to accept gifts from a vendor certainly raised suspicions.
In June 1994, after almost two years of reviewing evidence, prosecutors in New York dropped their investigation of Moore. "A determination was made that no criminal charges will be sought," one Brooklyn official said at the time. Hardly a ringing endorsement of Moore's integrity.
The incident raised another problem for Moore. Defense attorneys throughout South Florida are now appealing criminal cases over which Moore presided while he was under investigation. The judge was informed by the FBI in June 1992 that he was the "subject" of a criminal investigation. He kept that information to himself and continued hearing cases. A year later, in October 1993, he was informed that he was the "target" of the investigation, defined by the U.S. Attorney's Manual as "a person whom the prosecutor has substantial evidence linking him to the commission of a crime.... a putative defendant."
Once he was identified as a target, Moore recused himself from trying criminal cases until he was cleared by prosecutors. But defense attorneys say he should have removed himself as soon as he learned he was the subject of an investigation. At the very least, they argue, he should have disclosed that fact to defense attorneys, who speculate that Moore, knowing he was under investigation by the Justice Department, may have tried to curry favor with prosecutors by ruling in their favor.
In September 1994, after reviewing the matter for several months, U.S. District Judge William C. O'Kelley of Atlanta agreed with the defense attorneys and ordered new trials for 24 defendants. "Quite simply, and quite universally, recusal is required whenever impartiality might reasonably be questioned," O'Kelley wrote. "When a member of the federal judiciary is under criminal investigation, he should recuse himself from hearing criminal matters, as the public might perceive him to be biased."
Prosecutors are still appealing O'Kelley's ruling. If new trials must be held, the cost to taxpayers could run into the millions of dollars.
This past Friday, shortly after Sissoko had left Miami, the United States Attorney's Office filed a motion asking Moore to reverse his decision to allow Sissoko to go home before his house arrest is completed.
At the very least, prosecutors argued, if Moore wants to convert Sissoko's sentence to a form of community service, he should be ordered to "personally perform a substantial number of hours of community service (e.g., working at a charitable or nonprofit organization) before he can shift his 'home detention' to his homeland." The judge was out of town Friday and did not rule on the government's request.
As far as Sissoko performing community service, Brother Paul Johnson notes that on November 16 and 17, the Sunday and Monday after his generous donation, Sissoko returned to the shelter and served food for about six hours. His entourage came along to help. In fact, Camillus House normally does not serve food on Sunday, but Sissoko asked that the kitchen be opened. "He wanted it and he paid for it," Johnson says, "so we did it.
