Zalma on Insurance
Arsonist-Killer Not Eligible for Elderly House Confinement Program
Barry Zalma
Jul 18, 2023
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Jack Ferranti, acting as his own attorney, appealed the District Court’s orders denying his petition for habeas relief under 28 U.S.C. § 2241 and his motion to reconsider.
FACTS
Ferranti was responsible for causing a fire at his business that resulted in the death of a firefighter. The trial judge sentenced him to 435 months’ imprisonment. See United States v. Ferranti, 928 F.Supp. 206, 21316 (E.D.N.Y. 1996). His conviction and sentence were affirmed on appeal. See United States v. Tocco, 135 F.3d 116 (2d Cir. 1998).
In Jack Ferranti v. Warden Allenwood LSCI, No. 22-1892, United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit (June 30, 2023) noted that Ferranti was convicted in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York of arson homicide, arson conspiracy, 16 counts of mail fraud, and witness tampering, based on an insurance-fraud scheme. The Third Circuit resolved the request for release to the elderly home confinement program (EOHDP).
In 2020, Ferranti argued that he met the criteria for the EOHDP, and he asked for the District Court to order the BOP to process his application and place him in the program.
ANALYSIS
As the District Court explained, federal courts do not have the authority to grant the relief that Ferranti requested to order his placement in the EOHDP. The executive branch, not the courts, have control over an inmate’s placement. Moreover, even if the ability to challenge the BOP’s actions were available through habeas, Ferranti did not establish that he qualified for the program.
The statute disqualifies those whom “the Bureau of Prisons, on the basis of information the Bureau uses to make custody classifications, and in the sole discretion of the Bureau, [determines] to have a history of violence.”
Further, even if he did qualify, the BOP would not be required to place him in the EOHDP because, again, the statute leaves placement as a matter of discretion for the BOP. In any event, the BOP did not err by concluding that Ferranti’s history of violence-comprised of the underlying conduct for his convictions as well as disciplinary infractions in prison-disqualified him from participating in the EOHDP.
ZALMA OPINION
In an example of Chutzpah, Ferranti sought release from prison into the EOHDP in violation of the program’s requirement that only a non-violent prisoner is allowed into the program. Just being elderly, especially after the arson-for-profit scheme resulted in the death of a firefighter, was denied by the District Court and the Third Circuit without hesitation.
(c) 2023 Barry Zalma & ClaimSchool, Inc.
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Post 5250
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Post 5249
Read the full article at https://lnkd.in/gfn_UHdp, see the video at https://lnkd.in/gDWVccnr and at https://lnkd.in/gv9nsBqk, and https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 5200 posts.
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Marine Insurer May Dispose of Vessel to Avoid Waste
Post 5249
Read the full article at https://lnkd.in/gfn_UHdp, see the video at https://lnkd.in/gDWVccnr and at https://lnkd.in/gv9nsBqk, and https://zalma.com/blog plus more than 5200 posts.
In Western World Insurance Company v. The Estate Of Shawn Arsenault, No. 25-cv-13413-PGL, United States District Court, D. Massachusetts (December 17, 2025) the USDC was asked to resolve a marine insurance dispute after the sinking of the F/V Seahorse, a commercial fishing vessel, off Cape Cod on June 8, 2025. The vessel’s owner and operator, Shawn Arsenault, died in the incident.
Western World Insurance Company issued a hull insurance policy for the vessel. With no personal representative yet appointed for the estate, the insurer cannot determine the proper payee for the insurance proceeds.
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Zalma’s Insurance Fraud Letter
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ZIFL Volume 29, Issue 24
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Zalma’s Insurance Fraud Letter (ZIFL) continues its 29th year of publication dedicated to those involved in reducing the effect of insurance fraud. ZIFL is published 24 times a year by ClaimSchool and is written by Barry Zalma. It is provided FREE to anyone who visits the site at http://zalma.com/zalmas-insurance-fraud-letter-2/
Zalma’s Insurance Fraud Letter
Merry Christmas & Happy Hannukah
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Post 5219
Posted on October 31, 2025 by Barry Zalma
An Insurance claims professionals should be a person who:
Can read and understand the insurance policies issued by the insurer.
Understands the promises made by the policy.
Understand their obligation, as an insurer’s claims staff, to fulfill the promises made.
Are competent investigators.
Have empathy and recognize the difference between empathy and sympathy.
Understand medicine relating to traumatic injuries and are sufficiently versed in tort law to deal with lawyers as equals.
Understand how to repair damage to real and personal property and the value of the repairs or the property.
Understand how to negotiate a fair and reasonable settlement with the insured that is fair and reasonable to both the insured and the insurer.
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Post 5210
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