Now that Angel Dalfin shows up to his court proceedings, he wants to bring someone with him to speak at his next one – a rabbi.
In an unusual request, Dalfin’s lawyer has asked a federal judge to allow Rabbi Yossi Bryski, the director of alternative sentencing for the Aleph Institute, to address the court at Dalfin’s sentencing hearing on Nov. 13.
“He has indicated that his statement to the court would not be long, likely only a few minutes,” defense attorney Herbert Greenman said in a court filing. “Rabbi Bryski has indicated to me that he feels that it is important for him to do so. He is willing to come to Buffalo at his own expense.”
Dalfin, a landlord who once owned or controlled 22 Buffalo homes where 29 children suffered lead poisoning, will be sentenced on his guilty plea of making and using a false statement on documents related to lead-paint disclosures for properties he sold. Dalfin had been a fugitive for more than a year after the U.S. Attorney’s Office filed a criminal complaint against him in May 2021.
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Judges routinely consider letters from those seeking to weigh in on sentencings, either victim impact statements or character letters from friends, family members and employers wanting to help them better understand the defendant beyond the offense committed. But federal judges normally hear from only the prosecutor, defense attorney and defendant in court on the day of sentencing.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office opposes the request, a spokeswoman said.
In a letter last week to U.S. District Court Judge Lawrence Vilardo, Dalfin expressed remorse for his crime.
He also cited his Covid-19 illness to explain it.
“I suffered a coma from Covid-19 complications, and in the wake of my recovery, I signed numerous false documents without the guidance of an experienced attorney,” Dalfin wrote. “My illness was my excuse. I have relentlessly self-criticized, and I now understand that I should have been more thorough and inquisitive before endorsing that stack of documents. I wholeheartedly admit my wrongdoing and accept the enduring stain it has left on my conscience.”
Greenman, in a new court filing, acknowledged that children who lived in the various properties had higher than normal blood lead levels, but he said there is no documentation of any existing injuries or medical issues that were suffered by any of the children due to the levels of lead paint.
“We do not in any way mean to suggest that Mr. Dalfin’s crime of conviction is not serious,” Greenman said in his sentencing recommendation. “He, more than anyone else, understands the nature and circumstances of his criminal conviction. To say that he is ashamed of what he has done would be a great understatement. He has never intended to minimize his conduct and, when his conduct is considered in conjunction with everything else in the record, we believe that Mr. Dalfin should not go to jail.”
At the height of his operation, Dalfin owned or controlled more than 150 single- and two-family homes in Buffalo, rented mostly to low-income people of color.
At least 63 of the houses were cited for lead paint hazards, and 29 children living in 22 of the homes suffered lead poisoning, according to the state Attorney General’s Office.
A year ago, State Supreme Court Justice Catherine Nugent Panepinto ordered Dalfin to pay nearly $5.1 million in penalties, restitution and forfeited rent for lead paint violations cited in a civil case brought by the state Attorney General’s Office – thought to be the largest ever sought from a landlord in a lead-paint violation case in Western New York.
The state has not received any funds from Dalfin.
“Financially, Mr. Dalfin is destitute,” Greenman said in his court filing. “Based upon all of his circumstances he has come to rely on family and friends to support him. Every day, he re-establishes his faith in the Jewish religion which, he believes, helps to keep him going on a daily basis.”
The state said Dalfin operated using a web of 19 companies incorporated in the states of Wyoming, Maryland, Delaware and New York, and he shuffled the properties among them, according to court records. Dalfin never appeared at any of the civil hearings in state court. He stopped replying to court orders, although a lawyer representing him watched one of the state court proceedings last year.
Greenman said the Aleph Institute, a nonprofit Jewish organization founded in 1981, provides support and rehabilitation to individuals who have been involved in the criminal justice system.
The Aleph Institute has sent many memoranda to courts advocating for sentences and alternative sentences for individuals who show a deep sincerity and a genuine willingness to make positive changes in their lives, Greenman wrote.
The Aleph Institute advocates on behalf of individuals who pass its rigorous screening process and only if it is confident that they do not pose a future threat to society, Greenman said.
Dalfin’s plea agreement includes an advisory guideline imprisonment range of 12 to 18 months, a fine between $5,500 and $55,000 and one to three years of supervised release.
In a letter filed with the court, the institute recommended against incarcerating Dalfin, suggesting he continue to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity. It recommended six hours per week for one year.
As part of his rehabilitation, Dalfin has been attending Bryski’s weekly class, Crime and Consequences, and has been receiving weekly psychotherapy, according to the letter from Bryski.
Prosecutors and inspectors consider Dalfin to have been among the worst – if not the worst – rental housing operators in Buffalo before he sold his properties a few years ago. A fugitive for more than a year after the U.S. Attorney’s Office filed a criminal complaint in May 2021, he surrendered in July 2022 at the federal courthouse to face criminal charges related to lead-paint violations.
Judges have accommodated Dalfin’s previous requests.
In August, Vilardo postponed Dalfin’s sentencing date to allow him to celebrate the Jewish high holidays with his ailing father. Dalfin, a practicing Orthodox Jew, wanted to be able to attend services for the Jewish New Year, beginning Sept. 15 through Sept. 17; Yom Kippur from Sept. 25 through Sept. 26; and Sukkot, commencing Sept. 29 and concluding Oct. 6. He said he wanted to attend services in Brooklyn with his father, who at the time of his request was an 87-year-old widower who had difficulties getting around and taking care of himself.
In February, Magistrate Judge Jeremiah J. McCarthy granted Dalfin’s request to relocate to Miami and remove his house arrest condition, although the judge granted the government’s request that location monitoring be imposed.
Carlos Fleites, Dalfin’s lawyer in Miami Beach, Fla., told McCarthy that Dalfin’s numerous medical issues are exacerbated by Buffalo’s cold temperatures and wet conditions during the winter months, and that “this particular winter has proven to be extremely cold with several major storms in the area.”
The Florida lawyer told McCarthy that the cold weather affects Dalfin’s circulation and leads to swollen hands and joints, lightheadedness, dizziness, sleeplessness, heart palpitations and difficulty breathing.
Locally, rabbis from the Jewish Discovery Center and the Knesset Center vouched for Dalfin as he sought to move to Miami, calling him “a man of great character, integrity and ethics” and a “popular community member and loved by all.”
At the time of that request, a prosecutor noted that Dalfin was previously a fugitive for many months and was unable to be found in Florida despite diligent efforts, so the government considered the location monitoring essential.
Dalfin surrendered in July 2022 at the federal courthouse, more than a year after the criminal complaint against him was unsealed.
Fleites, in a court filing, said the delay in Dalfin’s initial surrender was related to his health and his reluctance to surrender in Buffalo during the winter months.
“Mr. Dalfin’s attorneys contacted the government seeking to surrender in Miami, but the government required the surrender to take place in Buffalo,” Fleites wrote, adding that Dalfin “denies ever being a fugitive from justice” and hired attorneys who were in contact with Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron Mango to arrange his surrender.
Patrick Lakamp can be reached at plakamp@buffnews.com
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