A man hired to help clean the Detroit office of the FBI as part of COVID-19 precautions instead helped himself to some valuable information on one of the city's major street gangs and posted it online, according to a sentencing memo from federal prosecutors obtained by The Detroit News Wednesday.
Anthony Cassani, 22, is accused of photographing a chart displayed in an FBI agent's office cubicle that outlined the rank and hierarchy of members of a violent street gang in Detroit, according to the memo.
The theft occurred during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 while Cassini was part of an emergency cleaning crew hired to sanitize the FBI's office space.
Prosecutors said Cassani saw a chart displayed in an FBI agent's office cubicle which contained "proprietary information" — photos, facial images and names of individuals under investigation for alleged gang activity — about the Detroit gang.
Cassani, after recognizing the name of the gang, photographed the chart with his cell phone and then distributed the picture to his friends and others using multiple social media channels. The name of the gang was not disclosed in court records.
Federal authorities say the chart ended up in the hands of members of multiple street gangs within days of appearing online, "thereby depriving the FBI of the full benefit of its use."
Fortunately, according to federal authorities, the FBI's investigation was not compromised, and none of its agents were injured.
"However this providential outcome does not diminish the seriousness of Cassani's crime," according to the federal memo.
Cassani was charged with theft of government property less than $1,000, a misdemeanor. He pleaded guilty as charged on June 29.
Federal prosecutors are asking for jail time when he is sentenced next week in front of U.S. District Judge Linda Parker.
"... rather than do the job he was being paid to do, Cassani chose instead to steal proprietary information about a gang investigation and post it on social media," the sentencing memo reads. "His criminal conduct has earned him a three-month sentence followed by a one-year term of supervised release with the hope that this brief term of imprisonment will promote respect for the law and deter him and others from committing similar offenses."
Cassani's attorney, Mark Gatesman, is asking for probation without incarceration.
"The fact that Mr. Cassani cooperated immediately and without counsel is an important factor in terms of the court considering a sentence of supervised release," wrote Gatesman in a sentencing memo filed Tuesday with the U.S. District Court in Detroit.
Cassani, who had posted the FBI information specifically on Instagram, was confronted at work by the FBI and "fully cooperated with law enforcement," said Gatesman, who wrote his client's cooperation with law enforcement began "immediately" after the FBI contacted him.
" Mr. Cassani admitted his involvement in the theft of government property including that he took the photo and posted it on Instagram," wrote Gatesman. "Although Mr. Cassani indicated it was not his intent to thwart an ongoing FBI investigation, he admits his actions hastened law enforcement's investigation with regard to the individuals depicted in the stolen photo."
Gatesman added his client has a criminal history that is "minor yet it consists of three prior misdemeanor convictions in state court. Additionally, his success while on supervision was spotty."
Gatesman said Cassani has "matured slowly" and is "similar to other young men."
"His criminal history consists of crimes of an impulsive nature no doubt hastened by immaturity," Gatesman wrote.
Federal authorities say this is Cassani's fourth criminal conviction in the last four years, and that two of those convictions also involved theft.
"This pattern of behavior evinces an apparent trend and proclivity toward lawlessness which needs to be brought to an end. A three-month sentence followed by a period of supervised release serves this end," according to the prosecutors' memo. "This crime is, however, a window into Cassani's lack of respect for the law, and the need to provide just punishment for this offense."
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