Stephen Silva’s mugshot
by Cheryl Dean
This is about the recent sentencing of four of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s friends, especially one (Silva) who was used as a pawn to help convict Dzhokhar and sway the jury to convict him of Officer Sean Collier’s murder. (That murder – for which we do not yet have the real suspect — took place a few days after the Marathon bombing.)
I ask: Is this this the new norm for FBI and Prosecutor to win death sentences?
Stephen Silva was a good friend of Dzhokhar (“Jahar”) Tsarnaev and had been for years. Stephen was shocked, just like all of Dzhokhar’s friends and those who knew him, and did not believe he was responsible for the Marathon bombing.
Rounding Up Jahar’s Associates
Law Enforcement (mainly FBI) quickly zoomed in on all of Dzhokhar’s friends, trying desperately to charge all of them with something. Something that could help the prosecution to ensure the death penalty for Dzhokhar.
They swarmed around their homes in full military style for all the world to see. There would be no shortage of armored tanks, swat teams, snipers, ATF, US Marshals, even drones in one case, you name it, they were all there putting on a big show.
A show to impress and convince the masses that Dzhokhar and his friends were indeed people to be afraid of, and that no stone would be left unturned in harassing, following, arresting, charging, deporting, prosecuting, jailing, and killing them if necessary. And, I almost forgot, using them as pawns in future trials.
Below is the story of Stephen Silva. I will show that he was treated differently from the others – actually he was treated nicely by the court, once he agreed to cooperate, as his testimony was absolutely needed. That is, the case against Jahar requires that he somehow came into possession of a gun. Never had one? Let Silva be the helper!
Silva and the ‘Gun’
Stephen Silva was questioned by the FBI shortly after the Marathon bombing, but he wasn’t arrested. It’s clear that they couldn’t find anything to arrest him for at that time, but that would change; they would see to that.
Early in August 2014 Steven Silva was arrested and charged with eight criminal counts:
Conspiracy to Distribute Heroin
Distribution of Heroin; 18 U.S.C. §2–Aiding and Abetting
Distribution of Heroin; 18 U.S.C. §2–Aiding and Abetting
Distribution of Heroin; 18 U.S.C. §2–Aiding and Abetting
Distribution of Heroin; 18 U.S.C. §2–Aiding and Abetting
Distribution of Heroin; 18 U.S.C. §2–Aiding and Abetting
Distribution of Heroin; 18 U.S.C. §2–Aiding and Abetting
Possession of a Firearm with an Obliterated Serial Number — the defendant herein, knowingly received and possessed a firearm, to wit: a Ruger model P95 9mm pistol, which had the importer’s and manufacturer’s serial number removed, obliterated, and altered and had previously been shipped and transported in interstate and foreign commerce. All in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 922 (k).
This is laughable, since the prosecution was already in possession of the alleged gun. Silva had no gun when he was arrested, and, although the serial number was “obliterated,” the FBI managed to discover that number!
FIRST FORFEITURE ALLEGATION (21 U.S.C. §853) — defendant herein, shall forfeit to the United States any and all property constituting, or derived from, any proceeds the defendant obtained, directly or indirectly, as a result of any such offenses; and/or any property used or intended to be used, in any manner or part, to commit, or to facilitate the commission of, any such violations.
SECOND FORFEITURE ALLEGATION (18 U.S.C. §924(d) and 28 U.S.C. §2461(c} — the defendant herein, shall forfeit to the United States all firearms and ammunition involved in the commission of the offense. [There was no firearm involved in the offense!]
I have pointed out each of Silva’s charges since they look pretty impressive, which is what the prosecution wanted. The media was all over this. The alleged gun that Steven Silva supposedly lent to Dzhokhar, was claimed to be the gun that allegedly killed Officer Collier. How convenient.
Silva, with these charges was looking at a maximum of:
“If convicted of conspiracy to distribute heroin, Silva faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and a maximum sentence of 40 years, according to prosecutors. If convicted of possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number, he faces a maximum sentence of 5 years. Silva also faces a maximum of 20 years for six other drug-related charges.”
This would be extremely daunting and terrifying for a 21-year-old. No doubt the prosecution was blackmailing Silva with a ridiculous sentence, if he didn’t play ball with them.
‘Converting’ Stephen Silva
They told Silva they would seek leniency with the judge, but couldn’t promise anything (wink, wink) provided he would testify against his friend Dzhokhar, and state that he gave that very gun to Dzhokhar.
Let’s face it, any 21-year-old would make this plea deal and say or do anything the prosecution wanted, and that’s exactly what happened. Silva sadly testified for the prosecution at Dzhokhar’s trial and stated everything he was expected or told to say.
He said he was hiding the gun at his house for a friend of his and he lent it to Dzhokhar. Note, however, that at sentencing the prosecution and his defense (lied) said that he purchased the gun to protect himself from robbers! This was a lie both by the prosecution and Silva’s lawyer. (The proof is in the court trial transcript.)
On December 22, 2015, after a year and a half, Stephen was finally sentenced. Out of a threatened 30 possible years in prison, Silva was sentenced to only 17 months, the exact time he had been held in jail for, and he was freed. From 30 years down to 17 months! Wow.
I want to point out that the six drug-related charges were a ‘product’ of the FBI. They got an informant or agent to provide the heroin and somehow enticed Silva to sell it for them. He had not sold heroin before. I’ll show here some of the tweets that came from Milton Valencia, a reporter in the courtroom
Making Things Nice for Silva
From the sentencing of Stephen Silva:
Shapiro, his lawyer, charges the Feds used an undercover to lure Silva into heroin in order “to get his cooperation” against Tsarnaev.
“there was no gun at arrest, it is a platform for fingering #tsarnaev“
Judge Wolf finds that Silva sold heroin, was part of government case. “He didn’t have a plan to sell heroin.”
Prosecutor Levitt saying his recommendation is based on “substantial assistance” of Silva. “The defendant started cooperating on the first day.” He recommended only 24 months.
Judge saying he is giving the same sentence he would have given, even if the guideline range was higher, the one government wanted.
“Despite a friendship with (Tsarnaev) that went back many years…he decided what the right thing was from the moment of his arrest.”
Judge recognizing his cooperation from onset. “That reflects a sincere determination to separate yourself from your past.”
Silva’s judge, Wolf, sees it was a big risk testifying in such a high profile trial, but, “You were prepared to take the risk and that reflects a lot as well.” So all in all Silva cooperated and was treated extremely well by the judge and prosecutor.
You see, Silva’s testimony at the Tsarnaev trial was absolutely key. It allowed the prosecution to place that specific gun in Dzhokhar’s hands, even though Dzhokhar himself never had any gun in his hands at any time before the Marathon or after his capture. Tsarnaev was likely convicted of Collier’s murder on the testimony of a scared, 21-year-old who had been set up and blackmailed by the prosecution.
Who knows if Silva ever even had a gun, or ever gave it to Dzhokhar? We may never know because FBI persons are liars and cannot be believed.
Comparison with Three Other Friends of Jahar
Another strange thing about the Silva case, is the nice way he was treated. Compare this to other friends of Dzhokhar’s who were arrested, for example, Dias Kadyrbayev.
Dias made a plea deal to testify against Dzhokhar (but eventually was not called to do so), to reduce his sentence from something ridiculous down to 6 years, for his part in obtaining from Dzhokhar’s dorm room, and throwing away, a useless backpack belonging to Dzhokhar, that had nothing to do with the Marathon bombing.
It was Dias’ girlfriend Bayan who screamed at him to throw it away. She was not prosecuted — after she agreed to testify against her lifelong friend and boyfriend, (and another friend, Azamat Tazhayakov) and tell the court that they took the backpack and threw away the backpack. That’s what he got 6 years for – he is now in prison!
Plus, at Azamat’s sentencing, the Prosecutor wanted the step-father of Officer Collier to give an “impact statement,” saying that if Azamat had called the FBI when he saw Dzhokhar’s picture on the news and identified him, Officer Collier would still be alive. The judge harped on this.
Azamat Tazhayakov was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison plus 3 years probation, for obstructing justice, just for agreeing with his friend Dias in taking the useless backpack and a couple of other things from the dorm room and throwing the backpack away.
Dias’ girlfriend Bayan testified at his trial and helped to convict Azamat. Dias was vilified for not calling the FBI right away, so that Collier’s life could have been saved! Imagine – although many people in Boston likewise were mum.
Another friend, Robel Philippos, was under house arrest for 2 years, then sentenced to one year in jail, for lying to the FBI!!!!! Robel’s “lie” was that he said he was asleep and didn’t hear Dias and Azamat discussing whether to throw out the useless backpack. So years of his life have already been taken, just for that. None of these four friends knew anything about the bombing before it happened. Isn’t this stunning?
But at Silva’s sentencing the judge gave no self-righteous demeaning speech like all the other friends got, but praised this defendant over and over. Silva received no fine, no mention of confiscating his “assets” purchased by drug money, nothing, just freed.
My Opinion
I don’t blame this kid, Silva; I am glad he is free. One less person for the prison corporation to torture and profit from. He lost 17 months of his youth in jail, and was forced to turn on his best friend (which may have caused Jahar to be now on death row). Plus, he’s got a criminal record, all for selling drugs for the FBI.
We don’t know the details of what or how the FBI got Silva to sell the drugs, or what or how they got him to accept a plea deal (blackmail as I call it). I’m sure it wasn’t pretty. He was framed and used for something the prosecution deemed very, very important to their case against Dzhokhar. Stephen Silva, too, was a victim.
So many lives have been ruined in this case, and I’m not even including the deceased and the injured victims here. Many other innocent people have been jailed, deported, or died mysteriously, but that can be told in another article.
This goes to show what the FBI and US Attorneys Office do (on a regular basis) to get what they want. It’s criminal, and they are the ones who should be in prison. Yet it continues, unpunished, and obviously with the full approval of the US “justice” system.
They really should change their name to “the US prosecution prison system.” That’s what it really is. No justice is involved at all. Just winning at all costs, no matter who is innocent or guilty. The FBI, prosecution, and judges conspire together to win. This is the US “justice” system. Justice or freedom no longer exist in the US.
— Cheryl Dean is an armchair court-watcher. She reads the transcripts carefully and puts two and two together.
Dzhokhar never had a gun. He was set up and used as a patsy while Silva was used as a pawn. I doubt Silva sold drugs unless he was threatened into it. When the government decides they are going to create a false flag event, they use whoever they decide to use. I’ve always felt the only crimes committed were by the government, the media, and the participants of the fraud — no one who was blamed had anything to do with it.
I don’t know that Officer Sean Collier ever existed, let alone whether he was murdered by someone. I do know that no Tsarnaevs killed him. I read somewhere that Tamerlan and Collier knew each other through the boxing gym and on good terms. If they had gone to see Collier, it would have been for advice.
It’s important to recognize those who have died in the line of duty. That said, this memorial to Officer Collier must without a doubt be the biggest, most expensive memorial ever. It seems like anyone and everyone who was even in the vicinity of the Boston Marathon bombing and aftermath was also recognized, decorated, honored or promoted, just for doing their jobs. It makes me wonder why. After all it was a citizen who found Dzhokhar, not law enforcement.
Just part of the ‘smoke and mirrors’ in the operation. The dumbed-down public will buy into the imagery – heck, nobody would build something like that unless it was ‘true’.
I wonder what the guy/s who killed Collier thinks of this edifice. You can bet that they wouldn’t be all choked up about it.
Dinkum, Terry, and All, Please watch this — it is less than 2 mins. At .54 she says we see Collier in the car. No we don’t. We don’t see anyone. As for the “brothers” they could be any two guys walking across the parking lot. I want to know how jurors could sit there and not scream “Hello? Hello! Where’s the evidence?”
Again I want to say that I sat in the Moakley courtroom in July 2013 when the Friends of Jahar (that Cheryl discusses in this article) were on trial for “hiding” a backpack. Would somebody please tell me how they could have been tried as accomplices or accessories re Jahar, when Jahar himself was not yet on trial till 2015? What if Jahar got cleared in 2015 — as he should have. Would Dias and Azamat be acquitted? And if so, they could sue for malicious prosecution. I hope I, the taxpayer, would not get fleeced to pay the bill for their compo. (We often have to pay when he FBI gets caught.)
Honestly, the 12 jurors in this case should be put in an institution or in prison because they are either brain dead or they were pre picked and paid to play along with this sham trial by the prosecution and judge. If showing 2 little ants on the ground is proof that someone (anyone) killed someone (anyone), then any of us can get arrested any time for any crime. This is how the whole trial was, no proof of anything!
Cheryl, I understand what you are saying about people.. when you say..
“It’s important to recognize those who have died in the line of duty. ”
but.. duty to who? to serve and protect who? everything i read these days.. in reports from the USA, is about police.. killing civillians.. unarmed.. children, people in their beds!!?? on and on it goes.. and it is only a matter of time until it all comes here.. we always follow..
I dont mean to sound callous, but it is like when i hear people fawning over anyone in a military uniform, the “thankyou for your service” BS.. what service?
this goes back a bit…
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article31168.htm
anyway.. they are not serving us, and their only duty, is to people who wish to harm us. i understand, they may feel they have limited alternative options.. and they may be as much a victim in the whole scheme of things as the patsies they help condemn.. but i find it hard to feel compassion, or sympathy for them, when they are part of the problem, and in most cases, enthusiastic, willing participants.. do none of them understand what is going on??
I mean .. what are they thinking!? or wait.. perhaps they are incapable of any sort of cognition.. it seems that particular trait may actually be an employment prerequisite.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/court-oks-barring-high-iqs-cops/story?id=95836
… obviously the juries are chosen along similar criteria. I doubt a trial by judge would give anyone any better odds either..
we need a revolution.. pitchforks and torches time I think.. can we put someting like that on https://www.getup.org.au/ ?? lets march on the mongrel bastards.
Dear Citizens, if there is new legislation next week to confiscate pitchforks, you will know that Fair Dinkum cuased it!
http://i.imgur.com/O79uGQR.jpg
Cheryl, You’re a hoot.
you too Mary, that’s what I like about you (plus uncovering and telling the truth for the sake of humanity)
>:(
Don’t be glum, Chum! Get up and fight them off! They are now looking so silly it should be easy.
I wish some Mom of a kid who bought drugs from Silva (if in fact that ever happened) would rush forward to sue the FBI and also to prosecute them. After all, even a sting operation has real victims. HAPPY NEW YEAR, FAIR DINKUM. 2016!
thats not glum… thats MAD! but yeah, it honestly brings tears to my eyes.. not thinking of myself, but when I think of all those that have sufferred, and of my kids..
“Get up and fight them off?” and like Terry says.. “and jump in the deep end of the pool.” ???
Im not scared, I have had fights before.. and I can tread water for quite a while.. I’ll have a go at anything, but at what? at who? I dont even know which direction to start swinging.. and even if I did, what are the odds, when they make all the rules?
Its a wonder they have to keep setting up these false flags, it is a wonder people are not really out there, blowing shit up for real, taking out a few “yer honours” and ‘honourable members” .. but they are never the targets? why not? I guess because it wouldnt cause the same outrage, people would actually be happy..
we need a new system.. total anarchy.. THUNDERDOME!
( two men enter, one man leaves ) that’ll do me..
speacking of anarchy..
http://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/david-graeber-are-you-an-anarchist-the-answer-may-surprise-you
in 2016 and beyond, may the Bluebird Of Happiness, crap down your chimney!
“and of my kids..”
Fair, that is something I couldn’t get my head around. Here I was busting my ass and taking all sorts of grief. This is when my wife and I didn’t have any kids, let alone grandkids – when we are gone, that’s the end of it. Why was I taking all this crap when I didn’t need to?
Yet, I would see my fellow Australians with kids and grandkids turn a blind eye to what was going on.
Fork me, what kind of people are these?
Terry, it was 1990, my first child was a only couple months old.. I remember like it was yesterday, I walked to the shops to buy some milk, and there it was, the newspaper headline in gigantic typeface – screaming at me.. “IT’S WAR!”
I thought.. WTF have I done.. should i even be having kids? what sort of a world am I bringing them into? what right do I have .. Well, being selfish, now we have three.. ( one of each I tell them as they look at me like Im an idiot ) – the world keeps spinning round, so far, and I have been very happy, mostly. I am very grateful, even for the times of grief, despair, hoplessness.. without which, I might not recognise the times I should be counting my blessings.
I left formal education around my 17th birthday, just walked out on it, sick of the constant canings.. I could take the pain, but the look on their faces as they took a run up swinging that stick.. was too much.
so I stuck my thumb out and humped my bluey around the country.. only stopped when I met someone silly enough to marry me.
I remember I met a fella once, who told me that his lifes ambition was, that when people were gathered at his funeral, there would be none there that would have anything bad to say about him. I liked that.
I have tried to live my life along those lines. and so proud of my kids, Ive not said anything like that to them, but they live it anyway…
when Im gone, ill hope there will be no bad words, and at least l’ll rest easy knowing that, mainly because of my missus, there will be 3 more people doing good things in the world than there would be, if I was never here at all. They are fighters, if they get knocked down 7 times, they get up eight… so proud.
I doubt I will outlive you Terry, but if I do, I’ll say nice things.
I’m so glad to be out of all that, over the years it has a corrosive effect on your life. Just reading Cheryl’s article tends to bring it all back. It took me 5 years before I could actually laugh at the absurdities I ran into. “His Honour”, serve and protect, horse hair wigs and pomp and ceremony, it is like some absurd parallel universe where UP is DOWN.
Tsarnaev never had a chance with the ‘defence’ counsel he had. He was being undermined from the git go. Even with a legitimate defence counsel he would have had problems considering the assets they were willing to deploy against him. They have unlimited assets, you may only have your wits.
You can’t imagine the dirty tricks that get played, veiled threats, tapped phones, missing documents, judicial corruption, I could go on and on. Since they aren’t going to play by the rules, I decided neither would I. I broke a few Bar rules along the way, not enough to get disbarred, but I pushed the envelope more than a few times.
I’m 68 now and out of that crap. If a young person wants a real life adventure at the coal face, then get out from behind the computer, turn off the TV and jump in the deep end of the pool. – It builds character, revenge is best served cold, payback is a bitch, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, and a few other clichés…
sometimes defense lawyers and other lawyers do get disbarred, but why is it that prosecutors never or very rarely get disbarred? It’s not like the evil they do is not known, it is known, yet nothing happens. I can only assume their behavior is exactly as the DOJ/gov wants it to be. The justice system seems to be an absolute farce, existing only to give the “appearance” of justice to the duped citizens.
IMHO, Cheryl Dean, you are not gazing up high enough. It isn’t that they’re doing what Loretta Lynch, or, previously Eric Holder, wants. Ask: what do those atty generals want, and why? Who is running Obama? Who ran Eisenhower?
I’ll betcha if we identify the Bozos at the top, everyone will be relieved. Maybe even the Bozos themselves will be glad the jig is up. I reckon they need a holiday.
You’re probably right Mary, but it’s not like the rest are innocent, because they go along with it, they are the actual ones doing the horrible damage to citizens and they sure don’t seem to mind. If they were decent people or had an ounce of integrity they would quit their jobs, but that’s not the case. There is no excuse for what they do.
Mary I totally agree with you, One must look further at the top, and over the top (the real one that rule that country) – the dreaded political agenda!
Cheryl, in the Port Arthur case the Tasmanian state prosecutor (DPP) was elevated to the status of the Commonwealth DPP after his showmanship in Bryant’s case. He moved to the nation’s capital in Canberra and practiced his skills there for the Federal government (I dislike capitalising that word, government).
Awards, medals, promotions – heck just look at Obama with a Noble PEACE Prize.
Every prize and title is suspect. I learned that from the Hidden History of WWI book by Docherty and Macgregor. Nearly all the sinful players ended up as a Baron, Knight, or something.
Terry, I am really sad for you that the Law was not a joy. As a recent graduate (2011), I can say that not one word was ever breathed on the subject of corruption in any of the courses I took. I guess that is pretty corrupt itself, as it leaves the student with no weapons to use in the real world.
Maybe the two more progressive schools of law, Flinders and Qld Uni of Technology, have a way of mentioning it.
Hang on for five oclock tonight when Dee publishes Keith Noble’s “Barristerial Initiative. I guess Keith is right to speak angrily. I have been advising him to tone it down. But why?
Stupid me. Stupid well-brought-up me. TOO POLITE.
It’s all so appalling and may seem hopeless to change anything, but people have to try or it’s game over for everyone.
Petition: 1250
Silva’s lack of integrity will bring him misery for the rest of his life. He will have to live knowing that his lie alone is what brought the death penalty for his best friend (well Dzhokhar does not need enemies when he has that kind of friend).
Integrity is the key to a better world – there is an army within each person, and that army serve to protect not only ourselve but all of mankind.
Glory be to God. I have just found a most comprehensive report on the way several more fof Jahar’s friends were treated by the Federal Bureau of Indigestion. Please see this:
http://whowhatwhy.org/2015/06/18/looking-for-a-longer-jail-sentence-cooperate-with-fbi/