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Petitioners have provided no factual support for their
allegations. The evidence indicates that petitioners were
informed that their signing of the Form 4549-CG was a
precondition to an offer in compromise, rather than a
precondition to the acceptance of their plea agreement.
Petitioners have not established any duress or coercion by
respondent.
2. Duress or Coercion by Petitioners’ Attorney
Petitioners allege that Mr. Spirtos was ineffective counsel
and argue that the lack of effective counsel invalidates the Form
4549-CG. In support of this argument, petitioners rely on a
transcript of a District Court hearing wherein the District Court
judge expressed general concern regarding Mr. Spirtos’s
effectiveness as an attorney and his handling of Mr. Zapara’s
criminal case.
We are not persuaded that ineffectiveness of counsel
constitutes duress or coercion or otherwise invalidates a Form
4549-CG. In any event, the District Court’s conclusions do not
establish that Mr. Spirtos was ineffective in representing
petitioners with respect to their signing the Form 4549-CG. The
District Court’s order, filed February 28, 2002, concluded that
Mr. Spirtos rendered ineffective assistance of counsel in
negotiating a plea agreement that contained an erroneous loss
calculation. The District Court’s order granted petitioners
relief to the “limited extent” of revising the loss calculation
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