judge 's chambers , defense attorney James Thomas told Bulone he had represented both brothers previously , and that the right brother might not be present in court . Bulone put Marcus Mauceri under oath , and according to court transcripts , Marcus swore that he was Matthew . The judge launched a quick investigation . `` One of our fingerprint technicians was called by the judge to do a print comparison , '' said Sgt. Tom Nestor of the Pinellas County Sheriff 's Office . `` They made a comparison and said , ` No , this is not Matthew , ' '' Nestor said . Bulone then appointed a public defender for Marcus and , according to a court transcript , declared , `` I 'm just going to find that by Marcus pretending to be Matthew ... that perpetrates a fraud upon the court . '' Marcus Mauceri was charged with criminal contempt and sentenced to 179 days in jail . Marcus told the judge he would appeal , and that he would hire his own attorney . `` As usual , perpetrators of crimes do n't usually think the consequences through , and as is often
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- So , let 's say you 're flying into town for the beginning of your trial and you 're running a little late . What do you do ? A. Call the Court . Or , B. Ask your twin brother to go to court and pretend he is you . It does n't appear to be a difficult question , but in Clearwater , Florida , one defendant made the wrong choice , and two brothers are now in jail . According to court officials , 40-year-old Matthew Mauceri was due in court Tuesday morning for the beginning of his trial on scheming-to-defraud charges . But , court officials said , he was flying in from out of town and when he realized he was n't going to make it on time , he called his twin brother , Marcus , for help . So , Marcus Mauceri showed up in the courtroom of Judge Joseph Bulone , with Marcus claiming he was Matthew , according to the officials . It was Matthew Mauceri 's defense attorney who judged that something was amiss , court officials said , and he alerted Bulone . In the