Mr. Provini's client was of Afghani descent (a torture victim of the Taliban) who had established a business and life in the United States. He was living in Fremont, California when he was indicted in a multiple defendant heroin importation case in the Federal District Court for the District of Maryland. The case was the result of an FBI sting operation involving meetings in the Washington D.C. area on a boat on the Potomac, and meetings in California. Before appearing in Maryland, Mr. Provini obtained discovery, and attempted to convince the US Attorney to move to dismiss the indictment because the client was not in fact guilty. When negotiations failed, Mr. Provini traveled to the District of Maryland with the client to appear and enter a not guilty plea. After an additional trip to attempt to have the client considered a witness, and not a co-conspirator, local counsel was obtained and the matter was set for trial. Eventually, after additional efforts by Mr. Provini and local counsel, all charges were dismissed against client before trial with no requirement that client testify as a witness.