Italian Citizen Indicted For Illegal Reentry

     The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that a federal grand jury returned an indictment today charging an illegal alien from Italy with unlawful re-entry into the United States.

     According to United States Attorney Peter Smith, Luigi Coppola, age 46, a native and citizen of Italy, in the United States illegally, was charged in a one-count indictment by a federal grand jury in Harrisburg today.

     The indictment alleges that Coppola, an alien who was convicted on September 21, 2006, of Terroristic Threats in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, and had been previously arrested and deported from the United States on December 27, 2007, did knowingly and unlawfully reenter the United States. He was located by federal immigration agents in Franklin County, Pennsylvania.

     If convicted, Coppola faces a maximum sentence of up to 10 years of imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.

     This investigation was conducted by the U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Philadelphia. Prosecution is assigned to Special Assistant United States Attorney Brian G. McDonnell.

     Indictments and Criminal Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.

     A sentence following a finding of guilty is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

     In this case, the maximum penalty under the federal statute is 10 years imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant’s educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.