Source: http://openjurist.org/987/f2d/139
Timestamp: 2016-09-27 13:50:56
Document Index: 641133099

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 1962', '§ 2', '§ 1962', '§ 922', '§ 5861', '§ 922']

987 F2d 139 United States v. Taddeo | OpenJurist
987 F. 2d 139 - United States v. Taddeo HomeFederal Reporter, Second Series 987 F.2d.
987 F2d 139 United States v. Taddeo 987 F.2d 139
UNITED STATES of America, Appellee,v.Dominic TADDEO, Defendant-Appellant.
Nos. 1088, 1089, Dockets 92-1238, 92-1240.
Argued March 2, 1993.Decided March 5, 1993.
Defendant Dominic Taddeo appeals from judgments entered in the United States District Court for the Western District of New York following his pleas of guilty before Michael A. Telesca, Chief Judge, convicting him of racketeering, in violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act ("RICO"), 18 U.S.C. § 1962(c) (1988), and 18 U.S.C. § 2 (1988); RICO conspiracy, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1962(d) (1988); possession of firearms by a felon, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) (1988); possession of unregistered firearms, in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 5861(d) (1988); and possession of machine guns, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(o ) (1988). For the RICO offenses, Taddeo was sentenced principally to two concurrent 20-year terms of imprisonment, to be served consecutively to previously imposed sentences. For the weapons possession offenses, he was sentenced principally to three 48-month terms of imprisonment, to be served concurrently with each other and consecutively to the RICO sentences, and to be followed by a three-year term of supervised release. On appeal, Taddeo contends principally (1) that the district court violated Fed.R.Crim.P. 11 by failing to advise him of the maximum penalties for the RICO offenses before accepting his pleas of guilty to those offenses, and (2) that the district court should have allowed him to withdraw his pleas of guilty because it imposed consecutive sentences. For the reasons below, we affirm.
Rule 11(c)(1) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure requires a district court to advise the defendant, among other warnings, of the "maximum possible penalty provided by law" before accepting a plea of guilty, and we have held that a failure by the court to give the defendant that advice requires vacation of the plea. See United States v. Journet, 544 F.2d 633, 636 (2d Cir.1976); see generally United States v. Khan, 869 F.2d 661, 662 (2d Cir.1989), cert. denied, 498 U.S. 1028, 111 S.Ct. 682, 112 L.Ed.2d 674 (1991). Rule 11(h), however, provides that "[a]ny variance from the procedures required by this rule which does not affect substantial rights shall be disregarded." Fed.R.Crim.P. 11(h).
I don't believe, Mr. B[u]scaglia, you made it clear for the record what the maximum penalties were for Counts 1 and 2 of the original RICO indictment, 117T.
MR. B[U]SCAGLIA [Assistant United States Attorney]: The maximum penalties are as follows: Count 1, your Honor, a twenty year term of incarceration. Give me just a moment, your Honor, with regard to the fine. A fifty thousand dollar fine.
MR. B[U]SCAGLIA: Again, the same maximums, your Honor: A twenty year term of incarceration, fifty thousand dollar fine or both.
MR. B[U]SCAGLIA: No, your Honor.
Taddeo's contention that the district court should have allowed him to withdraw his pleas of guilty because it imposed consecutive sentences is frivolous and disingenuous. In support of this argument, he states that "Judge Telesca, in this case, conditioned appellant's guilty pleas upon a concurrent sentence" (Taddeo brief on appeal at 12), a contention repeated at oral argument. This characterization is flatly contradicted by the record. Taddeo's attorney made a request that the district court impose the RICO sentences concurrently with sentences that had previously been imposed on Taddeo; the court responded that it "w[ould] take that matter under consideration." (Tr. 19.) That response was also reflected in later colloquy, when, after the government described the weapons charges, the court asked Taddeo if that description was correct, and Taddeo's attorney interrupted:
The court did not promise concurrent sentences, and the pleas were not conditional. We see no indication that the court considered any impermissible factors in imposing sentence, nor any other basis for concluding that its decision not to allow Taddeo to withdraw his guilty pleas was an abuse of discretion. See United States v. Figueroa, 757 F.2d 466, 475-76 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 474 U.S. 840, 106 S.Ct. 122, 88 L.Ed.2d 100 (1985).