By Kyle Lawson
Staten Island Advance, N.Y.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — A former Staten Islander turned notorious Miami con man claims he is being unfairly denied communication with Trump’s pardon czar, regarding an ongoing 20-year sentence at a Supermax facility.
James “Jimmy” Sabatino, 48, was convicted in 2017 of stealing millions of dollars’ worth of jewelry while posing as a music industry executive, in a scheme he orchestrated from behind bars. Prosecutors also alleged ties to the Gambino crime family.
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A one-time resident of Dongan Hills, Sabatino is serving a 20-year-sentence at the Federal Bureau of Prisons’ Supermax facility in Florence, Colorado.
In a motion filed Oct. 7 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, his attorney argues his client is the only inmate in America blocked from writing the president’s pardon czar, Alice Johnson.
According to Florida-based attorney, Israel Encinosa, restrictions placed on his client as part of a plea agreement with federal prosecutors were designed to prevent him from contacting criminals, not the Office of the Pardon Attorney.
“The intent and purpose of the communication restrictions is to prevent the Defendant from continuing to control his criminal organization from prison,” Encinosa writes in court documents.
“There is no reasonable argument that the defendant’s communication with pardon czar Johnson and government employees at the ( Department of Justice ) would allow or enable the defendant to do that,” the document continues.
“The defendant submits that the intent and purpose of the government’s denial is for no other reason other than to obstruct his ability to apply and advocate for a pardon/commutation.”
Under the terms of the plea agreement, Sabatino only is allowed to speak with his attorney and his stepmother. Two calls a month with his stepmother are monitored by the FBI. Encinosa argues in court documents that his client “is generally considered the most restricted inmate in the United States.”
“I think what is most interesting in this motion is that Jimmy is the only inmate being prohibited from this communication,” said Encinosa in a statement to the Advance/SILive.com. “Are they just trying to silence him? To obstruct his ability to submit and advocate for a pardon/commutation.
“My guess is that (the Office of the Pardon Attorney ) is unaware, and that particularly Ms. Johnson will be shocked to learn that Jimmy is being prohibited from communicating with her.”
The Justice Department and Johnson did not respond to a request for comment Monday. The agency’s website notes that because of the government shutdown, there is no one available to answer questions.
Bamboozled luxury stores: Feds
Federal authorities say Sabatino, who they claim was affiliated with the Gambino crime family, orchestrated many of his cons while being held in Miami federal prison. In part, by conspiring with prison guards and using smuggled cellphones.
Sabatino posed as a music business executive and bamboozled luxury stores and high-end brand representatives into sending pricey jewelry, watches and other swag to his confederates for free, federal authorities said following his 2016 indictment.
The scheme ran from Oct. 24, 2014, through July 18, 2015, the indictment stated.
Sabatino, then 39, e-mailed, texted and telephoned his marks, all while he was behind bars serving time for probation violations and defrauding luxury hotels, according to the indictment and a Miami Heald report.
Sabatino created several e-mail addresses and pretended to be affiliated with Sony Music Entertainment and RocNation, an entertainment firm founded by the rapper Jay Z, authorities said.
Using the alias “James Prolima”— one of several he used over the years— he contacted luxury stores and brand representatives and finagled them into shipping the expensive watches, jewelry, clothing and handbags to co-conspirators in Florida.
Sabatino, a then Miami resident, told the victims he’d feature their wares in music videos for the likes of Jennifer Lopez and Justin Timberlake, and promotional materials being filmed and produced in that city, federal prosecutors said.
He vowed the goods would be returned and signed letters of responsibility to that effect, the indictment said. To give the appearance of legitimacy, Sabatino’s e-mails displayed the Sony and RocNation logos, said the indictment.
The swag included Tiffany watches and bracelets, Audemars Piguet watches, Jimmy Choo handbags and shoes, Judith Leiber Couture clutch bags and Alexander Wang tote bags, the indictment said.
Sabatino and a fellow inmate, George Duquen, 53, of Davie, Florida, told their female conspirators to peddle the merchandise at pawn shops and other locations and dump some of the cash into their prison commissary accounts, said the indictment.
Companies ended up sending Sabatino more than $10 million in jewels, most of which have never been recovered.
Career con-man
Sabatino has spent all but a few weeks of his adult life behind bars for running scams from Miami to London.
When he was 18, he called the Fed Ex station in Broward County, Florida and convinced them he was the president of the Miami Dolphins, CBS News reported in 2023.
He told them he needed to retrieve two crates of envelopes the Dolphins had just shipped and ended up with $268,000 worth of Super Bowl tickets. He was sentenced to two years in that incident.
When he was 37, while being held in Miami-Dade Corrections custody, he claimed he scammed the city into using taxpayer money to fix a lazy eye he had since he was a child, according to the Miami Herald.
12’ X 7′ cell
Sabatino’s 12-by-7-foot-cell at the ADX Florence facility is equipped with a bed, desk, bathroom, shower, and a separate recreation cage, according to court documents.
The cell has a camera equipped with night vision and sound for 24/7 audio and visual surveillance, which is monitored and recorded by both the Federal Bureau of Prisons and the FBI.
Sabatino’s restrictions in Supermax have been modified several times. The most recent change came in 2019 when he was ordered separated from and prohibited from associating or communicating with any other inmate, his attorney noted in court documents.
