With the US likely to seek a jail term between 57 and 71 months for former Guyana Health Minister Dr Noel Blackman on his oxycodone conspiracy conviction, his attorney John Bergendahl has made a plea for a lower sentence.
In a letter to New York Judge Joanna Seybert on Thursday, Bergendahl said a lower sentence on the 68-year-old Blackman would allow an earlier return to Guyana where his skills as a vascular surgeon can be well-utilised.
Bergendahl told the judge that the US government has accepted that its original guideline of 78 to 97 months of jail for Blackman was based on false premises and it has been agreed that the base will be between 57 and 71 months.
Bergendahl said that the original US base level offence was computed using a “somewhat overestimated quantity of oxycodone tablets equating to 422.1 kg of marijuana under the United States Sentencing Guideline drug equivalency table. The correct base offense level should be 24 based upon an agreed to actual quantity of 1920 oxycodone tablets equating to 385.92 kg of marijuana”.
Counsel further argued that since Blackman had no prior convictions the imprisonment base should be 57 to 71 months.
Arguing for a lower sentence than this, he said “We begin by stating the obvious. The unlawful dispensing of oxycodone is a serious crime and has resulted in a number of adverse societal consequences within the community. Moreover, a custodial sentence is the appropriate norm for an individual convicted of an oxycodone offence. Nonetheless, the personal history and characteristics of Dr. Blackman mitigate in favour of a sentence below the advisory guidelines range”.
He said Blackman’s father passed away when he was only 12 years old. “Because of the financial consequences of his father’s untimely passing, he and his two sisters were sent to live with relatives. Despite his family circumstances, Dr. Blackman persevered and was ultimately rewarded with the opportunity to further his education in the United States. He
received a Bachelor’s Degree in Zoology from Howard University in Washington DC. Following graduation, Bergendahl said he was admitted to Hahneman Medical College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and graduated with a medical doctor degree in 1977. Between 1977 and 1982 he completed his
residency and internship in general surgery and following that he completed his residency in vascular surgery.
“Upon completing his residency in vascular surgery, Dr. Blackman opened and maintained a private medical practice in New York. Desiring to make a positive contribution to the lives of his fellow countrymen, he entered public service in 1989 by returning to Guyana and assuming the position of Minister of Health. He served in that capacity and as an executive member of the World Health Organization and as a member on the Council of Health Ministers of the Caribbean community until 1992”. Bergendahl said that during his tenure as Minister, Blackman was instrumental in implementing system-wide improvements to healthcare in Guyana and oversaw the construction of multiple healthcare clinics in various communities.
“These new facilities provided expanded diagnosis and treatment capabilities for a number of chronic diseases. He also spearheaded the founding of primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare systems in remote areas of Guyana”, counsel said.
Infectious diseases
He added that in the late 1980s and early 1990s Guyana was plagued with a number of infectious diseases.
“Under Dr. Blackman’s watch, a program was established for the diagnosis, treatment and education of persons with AIDS; a national infant/child vaccination program was established that successfully resulted in a decrease in infant mortality rates; and yet another program led to the successful reduction in the incidence and mortality of patients with malaria”, counsel stated.
In 1992 he said Blackman returned to New York and reentered private practice. For the next 20+ years he often kept offices in what can best be described as socio-economically disadvantaged communities.
“During this time he often personally provided medical and surgical care and treatment to members of these communities for little or no compensation. From 1992 up until the time of his arrest, Dr. Blackman continued to devote a significant amount of time and effort to helping improve the quality and availability of medical care in Guyana. Dr. Blackman frequently returned to Guyana. During those visits he would regularly consult with Guyanese doctors and participate in the creation of individualized treatment plans for their patients. In addition, utilizing his skills as a vascular surgeon he regularly performed operations requiring techniques not possessed by other Guyanese doctors”, counsel added.
“On many occasions he travelled to remote areas of the country to perform surgery under less than ideal conditions. Again, these professional services were provided for little or no compensation. At other times, Dr. Blackman was instrumental in assisting Guyanese citizens to come to the United States for medical treatment that could not be performed in Guyana. Upon their arrival in the United States he often operated on these individuals free of charge. Dr. Blackman has also remained involved in striving to improve the level of education and opportunity for students in Guyana’s medical schools. In that regard he has worked in conjunction with other doctors in the United States to assist in placing Guyanese students in internship programs in quality hospitals in this country in both Brooklyn, New York and Atlanta,Georgia”, counsel asserted.
Scholarships
Bergendahl said that Blackman has provided approximately 12 scholarships to disadvantaged students who have shown promise as future doctors.
“Dr. Blackman’s sense of civic duty led him to establish a television station in Guyana in 1992. The station was initially founded for the purpose of educating and providing moral reinforcement to marginalized populations in Guyana. Until recently, 80% of the station’s on air time was devoted to non-revenue producing educational and religious programming. Revenue shortfalls were often covered by Dr. Blackman. This station is available to all political parties and people in all walks of life who want to have access to the airwaves to pass on knowledge and
information to the general public”, he argued in the letter to the judge.
“Finally, over the years Dr. Blackman has devoted time and resources to various youth sport organizations in Guyana. For example, in the mid-1990’s he was the benefactor of a soccer program that took impoverished young men and women off the streets and enriched in their lives by housing them, feeding them and providing their training. Dr. Blackman’s public service and civic and charitable contributions during the last three decades have been wide ranging and substantial. The circuit courts of appeal have recognized that the good works, public service, and civic and charitable contributions of a defendant are sufficient to justify a sentence varying downward from the advisory guideline range”, counsel asserted.
Bergendahl also contended that there are two other significant consequences of Blackman’s guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute oxycodone. Blackman, he said, has forfeited his medical licence and will no longer be permitted to practice in the US. Further, since he is not a US citizen, Bergendahl said that it is unlikely that he will be permitted to remain in the US on release from custody and would likely be deported to Guyana. He argued that these could be considered as sentencing factors.
Counsel further contended: “Dr. Blackman is now 68 years old, and as the (pre sentence report) indicates, he is not in the best of health. A sentence of even 36 months would equate to approximately a quarter of his remaining life expectancy. “Beyond that, the additional sanction of deportation increases the severity of the sentence. Thus, the combination of a custodial sentence and deportation not only reflects the seriousness of the offense of conviction, it also provides just punishment.
“Moreover, a variant sentence will promote respect for the law in the eyes of the public. In fact, it has been suggested that too harsh a sentence of imprisonment may work to promote not respect, but derision of the law if the law is viewed as merely a means to dispense harsh punishment without taking into account the real conduct and circumstances involved in sentencing.
“As noted, Dr. Blackman is 68 years old and has no prior convictions or arrests. That combination of age and lack of prior criminal history support the conclusion that the prospects of recidivism are virtually nonexistent. Finally, a below the advisory guideline sentence will provide a societal benefit unique to this case. As more fully discussed above, the country of Guyana sorely lacks the ability to provide quality medical care (and especially surgical care) for its citizens. Dr. Blackman remains a vascular surgeon with a wealth of knowledge and experience. As perhaps the only trained vascular surgeon available in Guyana, he would be in a unique position to offer care to patients and advice to doctors needing his expertise upon his return to the country”.
Blackman is due to be sentenced on May 12. Blackman who entered a plea deal with the US was taken off of a plane on February 7th 2016 which was preparing to leave for Guyana from JFK Airport.
On February 25th, 2016 a US grand jury indicted Blackman and Wascar Castillo, the former office manager of a Queens pain management office where Blackman previously worked for conspiracy to distribute and distribution of oxycodone.
Castillo who was jointly charged in New York with Blackman for conspiracy to distribute oxycodone has been jailed for 36 months. His sentence was handed down on March 31, 2017.
