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The Honorable Richard E. Dorr, United States District Judge for the Western

District of Missouri, adopting the Report and Recommendation of the Honorable

James C. England, Chief Magistrate Judge of the United States District Court for the

Western District of Missouri.

United States Court of Appeals

FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT

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No. 09-2889

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United States of America,

Appellee,

v.

Carmen Gricco,

Appellant.

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Appeal from the United States

District Court for the

Western District of Missouri.

 [UNPUBLISHED]

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Submitted: November 15, 2010

 Filed: November 29, 2010

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Before WOLLMAN, HANSEN, and SHEPHERD, Circuit Judges. 

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PER CURIAM.

Carmen Gricco appeals the district court's1

 order committing him to the custody

of the Attorney General for care or treatment of a mental disease or defect pursuant

to 18 U.S.C. § 4245, arguing that the Government presented only equivocal evidence

of his need for commitment. We affirm.
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Gricco is serving a life sentence following his 2002 conviction for conspiracy

to manufacture and attempted manufacture of methamphetamine, money laundering,

aiding and abetting, and possession of a firearm and a machine gun. While housed at

the United States Penitentiary in Pollock, Louisiana (USP Pollock), Gricco went on

a hunger strike in January 2008, driven by delusions about the FBI arriving to release

him from prison because of a murder cover up. He was transferred to the United

States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners (USMCFP) in Springfield, Missouri,

where he resumed eating and was cooperative. Mental health personnel evaluated and

interviewed Gricco, and they determined he was not definitively delusional and should

be returned to USP Pollock. Gricco was screened at the Federal Transfer Center

(FTC) in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma en route back to USP Pollock on March 27, 2008,

where he was again perceived to be delusional about a murder cover-up. 

Upon return to USP Pollock, Gricco refused orders, accused mail room staff of

conspiring to tamper with his legal mail, was increasingly hostile, and spoke

constantly about his illegal incarceration and the conspiracies against him. Gricco

started another hunger strike, and he was returned to USMCFP on August 27, 2008,

for evaluation for inpatient treatment. Gricco was assessed by Dr. John Randall

Brandt, Chief Psychologist at USMCFP. Dr. Brandt concluded that Gricco suffered

from delusional disorder, persecutory type, and recommended that he be committed

under § 4245. The United States filed a petition under § 4245(a) to determine Gricco's

mental condition, and, at Gricco's request, the district court ordered a separate mental

examination by Dr. Kenneth J. Burstin, a private clinical psychologist. After

interviewing Gricco and reviewing his file, Dr. Burstin diagnosed Gricco with adult

antisocial disorder and paranoid personality disorder but ruled out delusional disorder,

persecutory type, because he found the data to be equivocal. The magistrate judge

conducted an evidentiary hearing on February 19, 2009, during which Dr. Brandt, Dr.

Burstin, and Gricco testified. The magistrate judge issued a Report and

Recommendation on May 8, 2009, concluding that Gricco suffered a mental disease
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or defect and needed commitment. The district court adopted the Report and

Recommendation on June 15, 2009, and ordered Gricco committed. Gricco appeals.

Section 4245 allows the United States to file a petition to have a federal inmate

"transferred to a suitable facility for care or treatment" if the inmate objects to the

suggested transfer. § 4245(a). Following a hearing, the court "shall commit the

person to the custody of the Attorney General" for hospitalization if "the court finds

by a preponderance of the evidence that the person is presently suffering from a

mental disease or defect for the treatment of which he is in need of custody for care

or treatment in a suitable facility." § 4245(d). A district court's conclusion that an

inmate suffers from a mental disease or defect needing commitment is a question of

fact we review for clear error. See United States v. Bean, 373 F.3d 877, 879 (8th Cir.

2004).

 Gricco argues that the Government failed to meet its burden of establishing by

a preponderance of the evidence that he suffers from a mental disease or defect,

pointing to Dr. Burstin's conclusion that the data about his mental state was equivocal.

Dr. Burstin noted that Gricco had exhibited similar behavior for nearly three years and

that he was not seen as needing commitment the prior spring, and, in Dr. Burstin's

view, the data base had not changed sufficiently to support the change in diagnosis.

As Gricco recognizes, the Government can meet its burden by presenting an

expert witness diagnosing the inmate with a delusional disorder, and the district court

does not commit clear error even if the defendant produces another expert with a

differing opinion. See id. at 879-80 (affirming district court's finding that inmate

suffered from mental disease or defect based on Government expert's opinion and

defendant's own testimony, even though defense expert opined defendant's condition

was adequately controlled with medication). Although Dr. Burstin believed that

Gricco's behavior had not changed significantly, Dr. Brandt opined that Gricco was

indeed experiencing his delusional beliefs differently than previously presented and
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that his delusions had grown to include the USMCFP staff. The district court was

within its discretion to credit Dr. Brandt's opinion over Dr. Burstin's, and it did not

clearly err in finding that Gricco suffers from a mental disease or defect needing

commitment.

The district court's judgment is affirmed.

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