Transcript of Proceedings as to Francesco Distefano — USA v. Distefano (Dkt. 93, N.D. Ill.)

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U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois · No. 1:24-cr-00424 · Doc. 93 · 2025-10-14 · Docket on CourtListener

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      UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
EASTERN DIVISION
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
vs.
FRANCESCO DISTEFANO, 
Defendants.
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Case No. 24 CR 00424
Chicago, Illinois
April 24, 2025 
9:31 a.m. 
TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS - MOTION HEARING
BEFORE THE HONORABLE JEREMY C. DANIEL
APPEARANCES:
    For the Government: 
MR. ANDREW S. BOUTROS 
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY  
BY:  MR. JEFFREY S. SNELL  
219 S. Dearborn Street, 5th Floor 
Chicago, Illinois 60604 
    For Defendant: 
FISHER LEVINE LAW GROUP, LLP 
BY:  MR. ROBERT A. FISHER  
20 S. Clark Street, Suite 700 
Chicago, Illinois 60603
Court Reporter:
    KRISTA BURGESON, CSR, RMR, CRR
    219 S. Dearborn Street
    Chicago, Illinois 60604
    312-435-5567
    krista_burgeson@ilnd.uscourts.gov
* * * * *
PROCEEDINGS REPORTED BY STENOTYPE
TRANSCRIPT PRODUCED USING COMPUTER-AIDED TRANSCRIPTION
Case: 1:24-cr-00424 Document #: 93 Filed: 10/14/25 Page 1 of 13 PageID #:402

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(Proceedings heard in open court:)
  THE CLERK:  24 CR 424, USA versus Distefano for motion 
hearing. 
MR. SNELL:  Good morning, Your Honor.  Jeff Snell on 
behalf of the United States. 
THE COURT:  Good morning. 
MR. FISHER:  Good morning, Your Honor.  Robert Fisher 
on behalf of Francesco Distefano, who is present. 
THE COURT:  Good morning.
And good morning, Mr. Distefano. 
THE DEFENDANT:  Good morning, Your Honor. 
THE COURT:  All right.
We are here on a motion to set conditions of pre-trial 
release. 
MR. SNELL:  Yes, Your Honor.  
MR. FISHER:  Yes, Judge. 
THE COURT:  Do we have the forms prepared?  
MR. FISHER:  We do.
MR. SNELL:  Yes, Your Honor.
THE COURT:  Can I see them?  
PRE-TRIAL SERVICES OFFICER:  And good morning, Your 
Honor.  Tiffany Minarik with Pre-Trial Services. 
THE COURT:  Sorry.  Good morning. 
The motion didn't give a definitive position from the 
government on whether it agrees to these conditions.  
Case: 1:24-cr-00424 Document #: 93 Filed: 10/14/25 Page 2 of 13 PageID #:403

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Are these conditions okay with the government?  
MR. SNELL:  They are, Your Honor.  The conditions have 
now been agreed to by the government, Pre-Trial Services, and 
the defendant. 
THE COURT:  Ms. Minarik, Pre-Trial Services is in 
agreement?  
PRE-TRIAL SERVICES OFFICER:  That is correct, Your 
Honor. 
THE COURT:  And as I understand it, this is a secured 
bond of $1 million secured by two properties in Addison, 
Illinois?  
MR. FISHER:  That is correct. 
THE COURT:  And where will the defendant reside while 
on pre-trial release?  
MR. FISHER:  733 North 8th Avenue, Addison, Illinois. 
I had incorrectly stated the other house in my motion 
and had intended to ask to amend it.  The family owns these two 
houses in a Distefano trust and I confused which one he would 
be living at. 
THE COURT:  And are the beneficiaries of the trust 
here?  
MR. FISHER:  They are. 
THE COURT:  Where are they?  
MR. FISHER:  Connie and Sam Distefano. 
Do you wish them to approach?
Case: 1:24-cr-00424 Document #: 93 Filed: 10/14/25 Page 3 of 13 PageID #:404

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THE COURT:  If you are comfortable you can stay at 
counsel table or you can step up. 
MRS. DISTEFANO:  We are fine here. 
THE COURT:  If you could state your name into the 
microphone. 
MR. DISTEFANO:  Sam Distefano. 
MRS. DISTEFANO:  Connie Distefano. 
THE COURT:  Okay.
Mr. and Mrs. Distefano, you understand that you are 
alleging these two properties to serve as security for 
Francesco Distefano?  
MRS. DISTEFANO:  Yes, Your Honor. 
MR. DISTEFANO:  Yes.
THE COURT:  And you understand that should he fail to 
appear at Court ordered hearings, you are at risk of losing one 
or both of these properties?  
MRS. DISTEFANO:  We understand, Your Honor, yes. 
MR. DISTEFANO:  Yes. 
THE COURT:  And you are both willing to undertake that 
risk?  
MRS. DISTEFANO:  Yes, we are.  
MR. DISTEFANO:  Yes. 
THE COURT:  And to be clear, should he fail to appear 
at a Court ordered hearing and I issue a warrant for his 
arrest, even if the government were to take him into custody, 
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his failure to appear would be grounds to take the security for 
his bond.  
Do you understand that?  
MRS. DISTEFANO:  We do.  It was fully explained to us.  
We understand. 
THE COURT:  And I hope none of that comes to pass, but 
I want to make sure you know, despite knowing that you are 
willing to put up these properties. 
Now that I have so many Distefanos, I will refer to 
you today as the defendant so that we know who I am speaking 
with. 
So everyone is in agreement that you can be released 
on pre-trial -- under pre-trial conditions.  
You have reviewed the documents and it seems like you 
have signed them, correct?  
THE DEFENDANT:  Yes, Your Honor. 
THE COURT:  So I am going to go through the conditions 
with you and then I will give you -- tell you briefly what my 
expectations are. 
The first condition is that you must not violate 
federal, state, or local law, while on release.  
I would assume that if you were required to give a DNA 
sample that has been collected.  
You have to work with your Pre-Trial Services officer, 
meaning you have to report to them as ordered, and failure to 
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do so could be viewed as a violation of the terms of your 
pre-trial release. 
Your attorney will likely communicate any Court 
appearances that you need to appear at.  
There is no third-party custodian, but you will be on 
home incarceration, which we will cover in a moment.  
You will submit to supervision by and report to 
Pre-Trial Services.  
You will surrender any passport in your possession to 
the government.  You will not obtain or attempt to obtain any 
other passport or international travel document. 
I have got 7(g) checked, and it says, avoid all 
contact directly or indirectly with any person who is or may be 
a victim or witness in the investigation or prosecution.  
I will ask first, counsel, what that means?  Like how 
many witnesses are we talking?  I know there is one 
co-defendant, but can we be a bit more specific?  
MR. SNELL:  Yes, Your Honor.
That is specifically contemplated with respect to two 
people, the first being the co-defendant Sargis Urumieh and the 
second being an individual named Alfredo Manslow (phonetic).
So Mr. Fisher, is that your understanding of what 7(g) 
is referring to as well?  
MR. FISHER:  Yes, Judge.  
THE COURT:  And Mr. Distefano, you understand you are 
Case: 1:24-cr-00424 Document #: 93 Filed: 10/14/25 Page 6 of 13 PageID #:407

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not to have contact with those individuals?  
THE DEFENDANT:  Yes, Your Honor. 
THE COURT:  Specifically those individuals, but 
otherwise, any folks that you come to learn to be a victim or a 
witness in the investigation.  
You are ordered to get medical or psychiatric 
treatment as directed by Pre-Trial Services.  
You are not to possess a firearm, destructive device, 
or any other weapon.  
You are not to use alcohol excessively, excessively 
typically would mean to a point where you would be above the 
legal limit to operate a motor vehicle.  That is one metric.  
Of course if you were to indulge in alcohol and create a ruckus 
such that it were to violate a federal, state, or local law, 
that can also be a problem tied to alcohol.  So I encourage you 
to exercise discretion and restraint in that respect. 
You are not to use or unlawfully possess a narcotic 
drug or other controlled substance unless prescribed by a 
licensed medical practitioner.  
You are to submit to testing for a prohibited 
substance if required by the Pre-Trial Services officer.  
And then you are restricted to your home, or to this 
733 North 8th Avenue address, 24 hours a day, except for 
medical necessities and court appearances, or other activities 
specifically approved by the Court.  
Case: 1:24-cr-00424 Document #: 93 Filed: 10/14/25 Page 7 of 13 PageID #:408

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This is where working with your Pre-Trial Services 
officer is important, because if there is a medical necessity 
that comes about, you need to communicate with them to 
authorize movement ahead of time.  Medical emergency, that 
might be an exception, but if that happens, I am going to 
expect to see proof that you were transported in an ambulance 
and it was a true medical emergency.  In other words, if there 
is any opportunity to notify Pre-Trial Services ahead of time, 
I expect you to do that. 
THE DEFENDANT:  Yes, your Honor. 
THE COURT:  You will submit to location monitoring as 
directed by the Pre-Trial Services office.  
And you will report as soon as possible to Pre-Trial 
Services or the supervising officer every contact with law 
enforcement personnel including arrests, questioning, or 
traffic stops.  There is no explanation.  If there is contact 
with law enforcement, and there shouldn't be because you will 
be at home 24 hours a day, but if for some reason there is 
contact, exercise caution and report it to the Pre-Trial 
Services office. 
THE DEFENDANT:  Understood. 
THE COURT:  You are to comply with all Court ordered 
conditions in Cook County case number 22 CR 622401.  
And you are to report to Pre-Trial Services for 
installation of the electronic monitoring equipment within two 
Case: 1:24-cr-00424 Document #: 93 Filed: 10/14/25 Page 8 of 13 PageID #:409

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business days.  
Any current and future employment must be approved by 
the Court to mitigate any third-party risk and to -- 
practically, just to lessen the conditions, because I guess you 
could work from home, but any outside employment would require 
a modification to the home incarceration condition. 
You have had the opportunity to review the forms that 
you signed with your lawyer?  
THE DEFENDANT:  Yes, Your Honor. 
THE COURT:  And do we know where he is currently 
detained?  
MR. FISHER:  Kankakee. 
THE COURT:  Okay. 
MR. FISHER:  Judge, may I include -- I know in our 
email go-arounds with the order, attorney visits as disclosed 
to Pre-Trial and approved by them. 
THE COURT:  Any objection from the government?  
MR. SNELL:  No objection, Your Honor. 
THE COURT:  And from Pre-Trial Services?  
PRE-TRIAL SERVICES OFFICER:  No, Your Honor. 
THE COURT:  I will handwrite in -- I will put an 
asterisk next to the home incarceration, and at the bottom I 
will write, pre-approved by Pre-Trial Services attorney visits. 
MR. FISHER:  Thank you. 
THE DEFENDANT:  Thank you, Your Honor.
Case: 1:24-cr-00424 Document #: 93 Filed: 10/14/25 Page 9 of 13 PageID #:410

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THE COURT:  So it reads, pre-approved by Pre-Trial 
Service attorney visits are approved by the Court, but 
understand I stress the pre-approved because what you don't 
want is someone saying, where is he or why is he not within 
range of the electronic monitoring equipment.  It just creates 
a bad framework for the approach.  We shouldn't have to answer 
those questions, because in agreeing to release you, I am 
expecting to know or at least have Pre-Trial Services know 
where you are. 
THE DEFENDANT:  Understood, Your Honor.  
THE COURT:  Okay.  So I will sign these.
I believe you will have to be transported back to 
Kankakee and will be released from there; is that correct, 
Marshals?  
THE MARSHAL:  Correct. 
THE COURT:  All right.
Anything else from the government's perspective that I 
need to address?  
MR. SNELL:  No, Your Honor.
Thank you. 
THE DEFENDANT:  Your Honor, I have a question for my 
attorney. 
THE COURT:  One second.
We will need signatures from Mr. and Mrs. Distefano on 
the surety form. 
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MR. SNELL:  Your Honor, I spoke a second ago, and I am 
informed there is a rider with respect to the collateral just 
to -- it will have to be signed by the defendant and the 
sureties, but then there is also a signature line for Your 
Honor, that if anything changes with respect to conditions of 
release, it could make it more stringent or less stringent, but 
if more stringent, then the sureties' collateral would still be 
liable even if the conditions changed. 
THE COURT:  Okay. 
And Ms. Bissell, good morning. 
MS. BISSELL:  Good morning. 
THE COURT:  You will correct me if I am wrong on any 
of this, but for Mr. and Mrs. Distefano, what this rider is, as 
I understand it, today I have gone through the conditions of 
Mr. Distefano's release.  
There may come a time, as I have already alluded to, 
where perhaps he wants to lessen the restrictions, meaning 
maybe he wants to get approval to go to work four hours a day 
or something like that.  The way that works is the parties will 
talk, they will then file a motion and ask me to modify the 
conditions of release, and by allowing him more movement in 
theory that could change the risk that you are agreeing to.  
So what this rider does is it says that if I were to 
exercise my discretion and change the conditions of release, 
these two properties remain security for his release; is that 
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okay with you, Ms. Distefano?  
MRS. DISTEFANO:  Yes, we understand. 
THE COURT:  And Mr. Distefano?  
MR. DISTEFANO:  Yes. 
THE COURT:  Did I get that right, Ms. Bissell?  
MS. BISSELL:  Basically if there is an increase or 
decrease, their ability to -- it is basically saying that the 
government doesn't have to tell them it is coming up, it is on 
their son and it is on their son's counsel to let them know 
there is going to be changes so that they can say, we don't 
feel comfortable, or great. 
THE COURT:  Right.
MS. BISSELL:  That's basically it.
THE COURT:  So you are telling me now you are 
comfortable with any changes that I were to make?  
MRS. DISTEFANO:  Yes, we are, sir. 
MR. DISTEFANO:  Yes. 
THE COURT:  Okay.
So everything is signed.  I would imagine he will be 
returned to Kane or Kankakee, whichever it was, and be 
processed out. 
Anything else from Pre-Trial Services?  
PRE-TRIAL SERVICES OFFICER:  No, Your Honor. 
THE COURT:  For the government?  
MR. SNELL:  No, thank you. 
Case: 1:24-cr-00424 Document #: 93 Filed: 10/14/25 Page 12 of 13 PageID #:413

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THE COURT:  Mr. Fisher?  
MR. FISHER:  No, sir.  
Thank you. 
THE COURT:  Mr. Distefano, I hope to only see you at 
required court appearances, and I wish you well on release. 
THE DEFENDANT:  Thank you so much, Your Honor.
Have a great week.
(Proceedings concluded at 9:51 a.m.)
* * * * *
I certify that the foregoing is a correct transcript 
of the record of proceedings in the above-entitled matter.  
/s/Krista Burgeson, CSR, RMR, CRR 
October 14, 2026____ 
Official Court Reporter
Date
Case: 1:24-cr-00424 Document #: 93 Filed: 10/14/25 Page 13 of 13 PageID #:414

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