Exhibit 1 — USA v. Smith (Dkt. 51.1)

Record facts

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois · No. 1:20-cr-00922 · Doc. 51-1 · 2023-01-05 · Docket on CourtListener

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Exhibit 1 
Case: 1:20-cr-00922 Document #: 51-1 Filed: 01/05/23 Page 1 of 4 PageID #:217

SUMMARY OF CONVERSATIONS WITH CARLOS SMITH
I was hired by Bedi & Singer LLP to assist in the sentencing memorandum of Carlos Smith. As
part of my duties, I interviewed Carlos about his medical, military, family, and social history. On
November 2, 2022 and November 28, 2022, I had two conversations with Carlos where we spoke
via Zoom. The following is a summary of these conversations.
Carlos was born on June 24, 1964, in Chicago, Illinois, to Lillian and Julius Smith, Sr. Until
Carlos was seven years old, he lived with his parents and his three siblings in the Altgeld
Gardens Housing Project in Chicago. Carlos recalls this as a perilous and gang-infested
neighborhood where he was endangered just walking down the street. Carlos’ father moved the
family out of the projects and into the South Shore neighborhood, which according to Carlos,
was no better. Gangs were prevalent in South Shore, and Carlos recalls he was constantly being
robbed, jumped, or attacked. Carlos related that female gang members would try to start a fight
so their male counterparts would have a reason to “jump you.” Often when he and his brother
would go to the store, they would be intimidated by gang members who would hold a knife to his
brother’s throat. When this occurred, Carlos recalled that he would give them “everything he
could.” Carlos vividly remembers being jumped by gang members and thrown through a
window, just because they thought it was “funny” and it “gave them something to do.”
Carlos was also threatened by individuals whom he believed were there to protect him. On two
occasions, he was jumped by a Chicago Police Officer, robbed, and dumped in Latino
neighborhoods that were generally hostile to young Black men.
The violence Carlos encountered did not stop at his front door, but rather permeated his home, as
well. Carlos’ father was an alcoholic who lashed out at family members when drunk. Carlos
remembers “my father hit me hard and a lot.” His father struck him on his back, legs, arms, in
short, “everywhere.” No one in the family was immune from his father’s rage. Carlos remembers
watching his mother sobbing as his father pummeled and kicked her. One of Carlos’ most
horrifying memories was when his father picked up the baby bed his sister was sleeping in and
hurled it across the room, imperiling her life. Carlos recalls one night his father came home
drunk and kicked down the locked door when his mother refused his father entry. The day-to-day
unpredictability of his father’s moods was terrifying for Carlos, his mother, and his siblings.
In 1982, Carlos graduated from South Shore High School in Chicago, where he ranked 45th in
his class of 252 students. Carlos had initially planned to attend college upon graduation, but he
had a cousin who was “doing well” in the United States Air Force. Carlos decided to follow in
his cousin’s footsteps and enlisted in the Air Force in 1983. He was stationed in San Antonio,
Texas; Minot, North Dakota; Fairbanks, Alaska; Pasadena, California; and South Korea. He
attained the rank of E3, Airman First Class, and received the Air Force Training Ribbon.
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While in the Air Force, Carlos served in the Military Police. As a security specialist, Carlos
recalls his most challenging assignment was the year he spent as a peacekeeper on the border
between North Korea and South Korea. Though Carlos did not see active combat in the Air
Force, his position exposed him to perilous and uncertain circumstances. Carlos had “Top
Secret” security clearance where, among other responsibilities, he was trained to patrol against
crime, perform security checks for explosives, carry and authenticate missile codes, and secure
airports. Carlos provided security for United States resources and assets.
Currently, Carlos lives with his mother, Lillian Smith, and serves as her primary caregiver.
Lillian is in poor health as she suffers from hypertension, liver and kidney disease, and
undergoes dialysis. She is weak and prone to falling, especially when she is by herself. Recently,
his mother fell hard enough to sustain bruises to her face.
Carlos makes sure his mother has groceries in the house and food to eat. He counsels her on her
nutritional needs, helps her with errands, cleans the house, picks up medication, and drives her to
her doctor’s appointments. Most recently, it has fallen to Carlos to drive his mother to her regular
dialysis appointments. Dialysis has created its own issues for Carlos’ mother. On December 22,
2022, she was bleeding so profusely that, for a time, it looked as though she would require
ambulance transport to a hospital for a blood transfusion. She does not have the funds for
in-home nursing care and relies on Carlos’ assistance on a daily basis.
Carlos has coped with mental health issues for years that have only been recently diagnosed.
These are discussed at length in the Presentence Report and the Sentencing Memorandum. They
will not be detailed here, other than to say that Carlos is willing to reengage in services as he
knows he cannot confront his issues on his own.
Carlos does, however, wish to address one aspect of his participation in RDAP that is
enumerated in the Presentence Report. In this section, he is described as being “manipulative”
towards his family as well as in other disparaging terms. (PSR, ¶90) Carlos recalls that as part of
the program, he had to pay restitution. One goal of the program was for Carlos to “find his own
way” without relying on family members to assist him financially. According to reviews from
RDAP, Carlos was “lying and manipulating loved ones for money.” Carlos regrets that his
behavior was described in this belittling manner. Carlos would have much preferred not to ask
his family for money. Still, he was desperate “not to be thrown out of the program for financial
irresponsibility.” Carlos recalls he was trying to get a job. However, he could not work in the
kitchen, the woodshop, do janitorial work, or do a myriad of other tasks because he could not
wear boots or other safety footwear because of his constant foot pain from his years in the Air
Force. Carlos was committed to finding work, so he took classes to become a tutor. Carlos was
successful and passed the training to become a tutor. However, for some period of time, Carlos,
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unfortunately, had no choice other than to ask his family members to help him. He wishes the
situation would have been otherwise.
Carlos profoundly regrets his involvement in the pending case, but he knows he must look to the
future. Carlos knows it is time to turn his life around. He understands he must take responsibility
for his actions so this same situation does not recur. At 58 years old, Carlos realizes he is too old
to continue to cycle in and out of the penitentiary. He is now engaged to his fiancee, Myosha
Webb, whom he intends to marry when this case is behind him.
Carlos has learned a person is more than the mistakes he has made, and mistakes do not define a
person unless you let them. Carlos is extraordinarily sorry for his bad choices and for violating
Myosha’s trust and the trust of his extended family. Carlos had neither the intention nor the
desire to get caught up in the criminal justice system, but when the pandemic struck, he found
himself embroiled in illegal activity once again. Carlos believes that if he, and Myosha, had not
become extraordinarily ill with COVID-19, he would not have committed this crime.
Carlos looks forward to putting this case behind him and obtaining gainful employment to
support himself and Myosha. He understands he must find employment outside of the finance
sector and he must secure a job in which he does not have access to a client’s personal
information. While Carlos appreciates the challenge of finding employment in a new area, he is
excited by the prospect. During his time in the BOP, Carlos took classes to better himself and
learned how to prepare a resume with an eye toward future employment. When Carlos enters the
BOP after being sentenced on this case, he does so with the thought of learning a new skill,
obtaining a certificate, or finding an area where he will be able to secure employment once he
returns to life outside the prison walls.
Carlos is willing to do whatever it takes to move on from these charges and to achieve financial
stability without resorting to criminal activity. Carlos envisions the day when he is released from
the penitentiary. He intends to obtain employment, put credit to his name, and be with his family.
In short, Carlos looks forward to making a productive life outside of the BOP. In encountering
his mother’s failing health, Carlos has become well aware of his advancing years and his own
mortality. He has no desire to spend another day of his life in custody.
This is a summary of my conversation with Carlos Smith.
Stephanie Hirschboeck
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