Source: http://openjurist.org/989/f2d/659
Timestamp: 2015-02-28 14:20:49
Document Index: 212300081

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 6', '§ 841', '§ 3', '§ 2', '§ 3', '§ 3', '§ 5', '§ 3742', '§ 2', '§ 2']

989 F2d 659 United States v. M Miele | OpenJurist
989 F. 2d 659 - United States v. M Miele	Home989 f2d 659 united states v. m miele
989 F2d 659 United States v. M Miele 989 F.2d 659
UNITED STATES of America, Appellee,v.Anthony M. MIELE; John Jay McElfresh; Charles J. Walters;Patrick T. Reinstadtler; James F. Foster, AnthonyM. Miele, Appellants.
No. 91-3855.
Argued July 28, 1992.Decided March 22, 1993.
Thomas W. Corbett, Jr., U.S. Atty., Michael L. Ivory (argued), Paul J. Brysh, Asst. U.S. Attys., Pittsburgh, PA, for appellee.
Caroline M. Roberto (argued), Pittsburgh, PA, for appellants.
Before: BECKER, MANSMANN, and NYGAARD, Circuit Judges.
In this appeal under the Sentencing Guidelines, the defendant Anthony Miele challenges the district court's attribution of drug quantity, which was the basis under the Guidelines for determining the length of his sentence. In view of the numerous inconsistencies in the record, the fact that the source of most of the critical evidence was an addict-informant with an impaired memory, and the lack of any findings by the district court other than a single conclusory finding as to drug quantity, we find that the record as it now stands does not meet the Guidelines' "sufficient indicia of reliability" standard, see U.S.S.G. § 6A1.3. We will therefore vacate Miele's sentence and remand for further proceedings (development of the record, more detailed fact finding, et al.).
Miele was indicted for conspiracy to distribute cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) & 846.1 Four co-conspirators were also charged. Miele and the government entered into a plea agreement. In exchange for Miele's assistance in investigating the activities of the co-conspirators and his plea of guilty to the conspiracy charge, the government agreed to move to dismiss the two substantive counts, see supra n. 1. The government also agreed to recommend a two-level reduction in Miele's offense level for acceptance of responsibility, pursuant to § 3E1.1 of the Guidelines. Miele was permitted to reserve the right to contest at sentencing the amount of cocaine involved in his conspiracy conviction.
After two days of trial, Miele's co-defendants also pled guilty, and a sentencing hearing for the five defendants was conducted before the same judge. Miele, who was sentenced last, was assigned a base offense level of 32, as recommended by the PSI. The base offense level was derived from the court's finding that Miele was responsible for an amount of cocaine "in excess of five kilos." See U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(c)(6) (Drug Quantity Table). The court, again following the recommendations of the PSI, added a three-level upward adjustment for Miele's role as a manager or supervisor, see U.S.S.G. § 3B1.1(b), and a two-level downward adjustment for acceptance of responsibility, see U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1(a). In addition, pursuant to the recommendation of the government, the court granted a two-level downward departure for substantial assistance. See U.S.S.G. § 5K1.1.
The court thus arrived at an offense level of 31. The applicable Guidelines sentence range for a defendant (such as Miele) in criminal history category I with an offense level of 31 is 108 to 135 months. See U.S.S.G. Ch. 5, Pt. A (Sentencing Table). The court sentenced Miele at the low end of the range (108 months).
B. Facts Developed (and Disputed) Prior to the Sentencing Hearing
The PSI provided the following estimate of the total quantity of cocaine for which Miele should be held responsible:
Based on information provided by the CI [confidential informant] and the defendant, investigators believe the defendant is responsible for distributing approximately eight kilograms of cocaine from late 1984 to early 1990.
The PSI's eight kilogram estimate was derived largely from information provided by the informant Frank Habera, a drug addict at the time of the events in question, who told the probation officer that "during 1985 he observed the defendant to be in possession of at least fifteen pounds [6.8 kilograms] of cocaine."
Miele contested the addict-informant's estimate, advising the probation officer that he had only distributed a total of about three-quarters of a pound of cocaine (.34 kilograms) from late 1984 through 1985, and a total of about 55 ounces (1.5 kilograms) during the entire 1984 to 1990 period. Miele later filed written objections to the PSI, again taking exception to the informant's estimate of 15 pounds (6.8 kilograms), as well as to the PSI's estimate of eight kilograms, and to the recommended base offense level of 32. In his written response, Miele stated that the total amount of cocaine he was involved with during the entire period of the conspiracy was 2.5 kilograms. The Probation Office attached an addendum to the PSI, recording Miele's objections, but reaffirming its original estimate of eight kilograms, with the notation that "the CI [confidential informant] will be available to the court at the time of sentencing to testify as to the defendant's involvement in the instant offense."
At the trial of the co-conspirators (prior to their plea agreements), evidence was presented that proved relevant to Miele's sentence. The principal government witness was the informant, Habera. Habera testified about numerous times and places when he saw Miele purchase, sell, and use cocaine during the period between late 1984 and November 1985. For example, Habera testified that he saw Miele in possession of cocaine "almost every day," that he paid over $35,000 to Miele to purchase a total of around 1.5 pounds (.7 kilograms) of cocaine, and that he accompanied Miele on a number of occasions to purchase cocaine from suppliers. However, the specific amounts and details Habera provided were often inconsistent with other portions of his testimony and/or with information provided by Habera before the Grand Jury and to the probation officer. See infra Part II.D.
When asked by the prosecutor to "approximate the total amount of cocaine" he had observed in Miele's possession between 1984 and the end of 1985, Habera testified: "It would have to range up in around five or six pounds, at least, maybe more." This estimate, equivalent to between 2.27 and 2.72 kilograms, was widely divergent from Habera's previous estimate of 15 pounds (6.8 kilograms), which had formed the basis for the PSI's eight kilogram estimate.
At the sentencing hearing, Miele repeated his objections to the information provided by Habera in the PSI, pointing out the inconsistency between Habera's trial estimate of five or six pounds (2.27-2.72 kilograms) and Habera's estimate in the PSI of "at least fifteen pounds" (6.8 kilograms). The government, however, urged the court to adopt the PSI's eight kilogram estimate, stating:
Mr. Habera never wavered in his account of what he saw and the events in which he participated between 1984 and the fall of 1985.... Mr. Habera has stated repeatedly [that] during the one year he was actively involved with Mr. Miele, with regard to cocaine trafficking, he observed 15 to 20 pounds of cocaine in Mr. Miele's possession.
The government told the court it was "comfortable with the amount that is charged in the presentence report in this case, the amount being over five kilos."
With no explanation, the court stated that it "agreed with" the PSI's recommended base offense level of 32 because it found the amount of cocaine for which Miele was responsible to be "in excess of five kilos."2 Miele now appeals from the judgment of the district court. We have jurisdiction to review the sentence pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3742(a).
Miele contends that the court's drug quantity finding is not supported by a preponderance of the evidence, and therefore that the district court erred in setting his base offense level at 32 under U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(c)(6) (Drug Quantity Table). More specifically, Miele argues that the court erred in relying on the drug quantity estimate in the PSI since it was based on an estimate provided by the addict-informant Habera, who later under oath contradicted that estimate. Miele contends that if the court had not relied on the PSI's estimate, but instead had relied on the significantly lower estimates provided by Habera at the co-defendants' trial, those estimates would not support the court's drug quantity finding of more than five kilograms.
Miele also argues that the many contradictions in Habera's testimony and Habera's status as an addict-informant further undermine the reliability of Habera's information. Miele maintains that the court could properly have attributed to him no more than a total of 2.5 kilograms of cocaine, which would yield a base offense level of 28. See U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(c)(8) (Drug Quantity Table). The government responds that the PSI's estimate is reliable, and that even if the court disregarded that estimate, Habera's testimony at the co-defendants' trial supports the court's drug quantity finding.
With respect to the court's findings of fact, the government bears the burden of proof by a preponderance of the evidence. United States v. McDowell, 888 F.2d 285, 290 (3d Cir.1989).3 We review these findings to determine whether they are clearly erroneous. Id. at 291-92; see also 18 U.S.C. &#