Benanti v. USA

Filing 43

JUDGMENT ORDER: 1 Motion to Vacate/Set Aside/Correct Sentence (2255) filed by Michael Benanti, 34 SUPPLEMENTAL MOTION to Vacate filed by Michael Benanti are hereby GRANTED in part and DENIED in part. Petitioners convict ions as to Counts Two, Four, Eight, Eleven, Fifteen, Eighteen, and Twenty-two are hereby VACATED. The petitioners sentence shall be corrected to an aggregate term of imprisonment of life in addition to 55 years of imprisonment, which will run consecu tively to petitioners other sentences. This action is DISMISSED. The Court CERTIFIES that any appeal from this action would not be taken in good faith and would be totally frivolous. Therefore, any application by petitioner for leave to proceed in f orma pauperis on appeal is DENIED. See Fed. R. App. P. 24. Any appeal from this order will be treated as an application for a certificate of appealability, which is hereby DENIED because petitioner has not made a substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right and jurists of reason would not dispute the above conclusions. See 28 U.S.C. § 2253; Fed. R. App. P. 22(b); Slack v. McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473, 484 (2000).Signed by District Judge Thomas A Varlan on January 6, 2022. (JAN)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE
MICHAEL BENANTI,
Petitioner,
v.
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Respondent.

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Nos.: 3:20-CV-194-TAV-DCP
3:15-CR-177-TAV-DCP-1

JUDGMENT ORDER
For the reasons stated in the memorandum opinion filed contemporaneously,
petitioner’s 28 U.S.C. § 2255 motion [Doc. 1] and petitioner’s counsel’s supplemental
motion [Doc. 34] are hereby GRANTED in part and DENIED in part. Petitioner’s
convictions as to Counts Two, Four, Eight, Eleven, Fifteen, Eighteen, and Twenty-two are
hereby VACATED. The Clerk is DIRECTED to CORRECT petitioner’s sentence as
follows:
•

Petitioner shall retain life sentences as to Counts Three, Seven, Nine, Ten,
Fourteen, Sixteen, Seventeen, Twenty-one, and Twenty-three (with Counts
Nine, Sixteen, and Twenty-three to be merged) to be served concurrently;

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Petitioner shall retain a sentence of 240 months as to Count One to be served
concurrently with the above counts;

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Petitioner shall retain a sentence of 180 months as to Counts Five, Twelve,
and Nineteen to run concurrently with each other and the above counts; and

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Petitioner shall be sentenced to a 60-month term of imprisonment as to Count
Six and shall retain two 25-year terms of imprisonment as to Counts Thirteen
and Twenty, all to be served consecutively to each other and the above
counts.

Thus, in sum, petitioner’s sentence shall be corrected to an aggregate term of
imprisonment of life in addition to 55 years of imprisonment, which will run consecutively
to petitioner’s other sentences.
This action is DISMISSED. The Court CERTIFIES that any appeal from this
action would not be taken in good faith and would be totally frivolous. Therefore, any
application by petitioner for leave to proceed in forma pauperis on appeal is DENIED.
See Fed. R. App. P. 24. Any appeal from this order will be treated as an application for a
certificate of appealability, which is hereby DENIED because petitioner has not made a
substantial showing of the denial of a constitutional right and jurists of reason would not
dispute the above conclusions. See 28 U.S.C. § 2253; Fed. R. App. P. 22(b); Slack v.
McDaniel, 529 U.S. 473, 484 (2000).
ENTER:
s/ Thomas A. Varlan
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

ENTERED AS A JUDGMENT
LeAnna R. Wilson

CLERK OF COURT

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