letters for Jay Cohen/Let's go guys/gals

[Jeff]

As you may have heard or read about, in early March 2000, Jay Cohen was
convicted by a jury on several counts of wire fraud in federal district
court in New York. The case stemmed from Jay's involvement as president and
founder of the World Sports Exchange, a very successful, honorable and
visible online sports book based in Antigua. The facts of the case were not
in material dispute at trial. Jay never denied that he was the founder and
leader of the WSE. His position was at trial and remains today that the
WSE's business is completely legal because it is based in Antigua. Jay and
his defense team have also taken the position that WSE's operations are
based in Antigua and are outside the jurisdiction of applicable U.S. law.
At the bottom of this e-mail are links to a few articles on Jay's case,
which received much national publicity.

Jay is set to be sentenced in late May. The press has written articles
stating that Jay could be sentenced to prision for up to 19 years and fined
a signficiant amount. This is true. However, it is my understanding that
the federal sentencing guidelines for Jay's conviction recommends that the
judge sentence him to prison for 18 months, and that is the most likely
sentence in the case. Jay can also be fined. The judge who will be
sentencing Jay has discretion in deciding on any sentence. For instance,
the judge could recommend a "downward departure" that would allow Jay to
serve no prison time at all. The Judge could also impose a fine and no
prison time. That is why I am writing.

Jay's attorney, Ben Brafman, has asked friends, family, supporters and
well-wishers to write letters asking the Judge for compassion and leniency
in sentencing Jay. If you know Jay or anything about his case, or belive in
his integrity and honesty, I urge you to write a letter on Jay's behalf.
Here are Jay's lawyer's instructions on how to write such a letter:

1. IMPORTANT: Mail the letter to Jay's lawyer, Ben Brafman, at the
following address: Brafman & Ross, P.C., 767 Third Ave., 26th Floor, NY, NY
10017. Mr. Brafman will assemble the letters and present them to the Judge.
Please send them as soon as possible, because the sentencing date is only
four weeks away.

2. IMPORTANT: Even though you are sending the letters to Mr. Brafman, you
should address the letter as follows: Honorable Thomas P. Griesa, United
States District Judge, Southern District of New York, United States District
Courthouse, 500 Pearl Street, NY, NY 10007.

3. Begin your letter "Dear Judge Griesa" or "Your Honor", introduce
yourself, including a little about you and what you do for a living. You
and type or handwrite the letter, but only write on one side of the page.

4. Explain how you know Jay, how long you've known him and under what
circumstances you have known him.

5. Describe why you have a high opinion of Jay, how you personally know his
good qualities. Feel free to state that you are aware he has been convicted
but that does not change your high opinion of him.

6. Please keep the tone of your letter respectful and courteous, and avoid
the urge to criticize the flawed judicial system or Jay's clear innocence.
The tone should be a plea for leniency and compassion. The tone of the
letter should not be an argument to the Judge about how offshore gambling is
legal or ok, because the Judge has clearly rejected that concept. You may
know the Judge is wrong, but this letter is not the time to argue about
that.

If you have any questions about this process, please contact me at the below
address or, contact Melinda Sarafa at Ben Brafman's office, 212.750.7800.

Thank you for your consideration.

Robert Blumenfeld
Mendel Guzman Blumenfeld, LLP
5809 Acacia Circle
El Paso, Texas 79912
915.587.7878
915.587.8808 (Fax)
e-mail: bblu@acaciapark.com

[Bob]

Are you looking for letters from American citizens only or can we international types join in? And should we identify ourselves as sportbettors who have been well treated by Jay and his first rate business, or should we avoid that subject altogether?

[Jeff]

Bob, we should probably email Bob via the email address he left. I posted this on his behalf......I'll see if I can get an answer........

[j]

Jeff,

Reagarding point two, should just the letter itself have the judge's address on it—or should a separate envelope addressed to the judge be sent to Jay's lawyer?

[Jeff]

Here's a response to Bobs questions from an email..........

That's a good question. To answer the first question: Letters can
definitely be written by non-citizens, so let the world join in on this.
The answer the second question: My reaction as a friend of Jay's is to have
the letter writers tell the truth, that is, if they know Jay through dealing
with WSE, then so be it. My reaction as a lawyer is to avoid the subject of
them betting with Jay. I know I'm speaking out of both sides of my mouth,
so, overall, I say, go with the truth. If they want to identify themselves
as betting with WSE, go for it.

[Jeff]

j

I think I would write the letter, address an envelope to the judge, and send it (in a bigger envelope) to the above address.

[Bob]

Thanks, Jeff. I will definately be writing. My father was a judge and I have a deep respect for the legal system and no matter how cynical we all get from time to time about government and justice and what not, in the end everything is run by human beings and sometimes it's possible to make a human connection.

If a large number of letters arrive from around the world, I suppose it will be assumed we are sportbettors, so there is no point in playing that up in our letters. I will take the advice of Jay's lawyer instead of his friend and leave the gambling part unspoken.

[Fedya Fussball]

BW:
I really would like to send a response.
However because of time constraints etc, wouldn't it be appropriate if there were Canned letters that were prepared for locals and foreigners which could be downloaded. All we would have to do is sign and put our names on the letter and send it. I'll pay the 33¢ stamp.

All the facts are clear where this is heading to and why Jay Cohen is being made an example.

FF



[This message has been edited by Fedya Fussball (edited 04-21-2000).]

[Bob]

I just wanted to move this item back up to the top because it has all of the information on where letters for Jay should be sent and how they should be constructed.

[Bob]

There's still time to send your letters in support of Jay!

[AussieVamp2]

or we could put it another way

we look forward to your legal system's continuing to stop legal sportsbetting in the USA

the economics of Australia, England, etc., etc. getting all those lovely tax dollars thank you most profusely.......