Opinion ID: 476806
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: robert sutton

Text: 81 Sutton challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to support his conviction as a principal on Counts II and III of the indictment, namely, bribery of public officials in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 201(b) and interstate transportation in aid of racketeering in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1952(a)(3). In addition, Sutton challenges the trial court's evidentiary ruling that permitted the government to introduce evidence of Sutton's prior convictions for obstruction of justice and conspiracy to obstruct justice. Finally, Sutton claims that his Sixth Amendment right to confront witnesses was abridged by the trial court's restriction of Sutton's cross-examination of Kolbert. Each claim is analyzed below. A. Sufficiency of the Evidence 82 Sutton challenges the sufficiency of the evidence from which the jury could have convicted him of bribery of public officials, 18 U.S.C. Sec. 201(b), and interstate transportation in aid of racketeering, 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1952(a)(3). He unsuccessfully moved for judgment of acquittal. Our task in reviewing denials of motions for acquittal is to view the evidence in the light most favorable to the government, allowing the government the benefit of all reasonable inferences that may be drawn from the evidence, and permitting the jury to determine the weight and the credibility of the evidence. See Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 318-19, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 2788-89, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979); United States v. Singleton, 702 F.2d 1159, 1163 (D.C.Cir.1983); United States v. Fench, 470 F.2d 1234, 1242 (D.C.Cir.1972). If the evidence reasonably permits a verdict of acquittal or a verdict of guilt, the decision is for the jury to make. Curley v. United States, 160 F.2d 229, 237 (D.C.Cir.), cert. denied, 331 U.S. 837, 67 S.Ct. 1512, 91 L.Ed. 1850 (1947). Moreover, no legal distinction exists between circumstantial and direct evidence. See Holland v. United States, 348 U.S. 121, 139-40, 75 S.Ct. 127, 137-38, 99 L.Ed. 150 (1954). It is readily apparent that there is ample record evidence from which the jury could reasonably have found Sutton guilty as charged, and that the trial judge correctly denied Sutton's motion for judgment of acquittal. 83 Counts II and III of the indictment resulted from the wire transfer of $20,000 on May 7, 1980 from Maxwell in Florida to Peacock, Kolbert, and Sucher in Washington, D.C. Specifically, Count II charged that Sutton corruptly did give, offer and promise a thing of value, that is an aggregate of $15,000 to Shelley Kolbert and Mark A. Sucher ... with intent to influence official acts and to induce them to do acts in violation of their lawful duties. Count III charged that Sutton, Gazzara, and Sucher 84 did use and caused to be used a facility in interstate commerce, that is they did cause $20,000 to be wire transferred from Daytona Beach, State of Florida to Washington, District of Columbia, with intent to promote, manage, establish, carry on, and facilitate the promotion, management, establishment and carrying on of an unlawful activity, that is bribery in violation of Title 18, U.S.C. Sec. 201(b) and thereafter did perform and attempt to perform acts ... in carrying on said unlawful activity. 85 Sutton was charged and convicted as a principal under 18 U.S.C. Sec. 2, 9 a very broad statute. 86 Sutton significantly does not challenge the very fact of the wire transfer or the resulting bribe to Kolbert and Sucher. Rather, Sutton challenges the sufficiency of evidence from which the jury could have determined that he intentionally authorized the transfer of money to be used for bribery. Sutton contends that the money was authorized only to be used for legitimate lobbying purposes, and points to Gazzara and Maxwell, who testified explicitly that, at the time of the initial payment to Peacock, they both considered the money to have been authorized for legitimate activities. Sutton Brief at 9-10. 87 There was thus no direct evidence of Sutton's intent at the time of the transfer, although there was considerable circumstantial evidence from which a jury could infer Sutton's knowledge that the money would be used to bribe government employees. To reiterate briefly: Sutton and several associates met in Washington in the latter part of 1979 with Maxwell, Peacock, and the lobbying firm of former Senator Flowers. The jury was not told in detail about these meetings, but it is undisputed that Sutton decided against using the services of the Flowers' lobbying firm. Neither Maxwell nor Peacock had significant contact with Sutton on this trip. Gazzara became involved in the conspiracy when Maxwell forwarded Peacock's request for $40,000 to get the ball rolling in Washington. As mentioned above, both Gazzara and Maxwell testified that they had no knowledge of illegality at the time of payment. 88 Yet the jury knew, for example, that the date of the wire transfer of $20,000 was May 7, 1980. Not coincidentally, this was the same day that Mark Sucher, whose intervention could not be described as fortuitous, called Alex Peters in the morning to say that a Ray Sutton would contact him with regard to possible representation. Robert Sutton contacted Peters that very afternoon. 89 The role of the Vantage Petroleum document is also very significant. Gazzara testified that he specifically asked for a show document on Vantage Petroleum in order to learn something about a competing oil company as well as to test the reach of Peacock's contacts in the Department of Energy. Gazzara testified that Sutton prompted him to show some tangible evidence of his expenditure of $40,000. Gazzara therefore testified that the passing of the Vantage document occurred after the payment to Peacock. However, Kolbert's testimony was less clear on the timing of the passing of the Vantage document; he testified that the Vantage document preceded the request by Peacock of $40,000. Indeed, evidence was presented that Gazzara had conversations of a hostile nature with officers of Vantage Petroleum in late April of 1980, prior to the wire transfer of money. These conversations provide a motive for obtaining the Vantage document, from which the jury could reasonably have inferred that the Vantage document was requested specifically by Sutton's agent Gazzara. 90 Whether the Vantage document was passed before or after Sutton authorized payment of $40,000 presented a jury question of the credibility of the witnesses. However, either resolution allows a reasonable inference of Sutton's criminal intent: If Sutton paid in advance, he simply received illegally what he expected in the form of the Vantage document; conversely, if the Vantage document preceded payment, then the subsequent $40,000 was clearly paid by Sutton with the intent illegally to procure confidential documents. The testimony of Gazzara tends to imply the former explanation, Kolbert's testimony the latter. The jury was free to choose among the two versions, or to accept both as representing the understandably imperfect recall of witnesses nearly five years after the relevant events. The central theme of the testimony in any event is that the Vantage document directly corresponded to the receipt of money from Sutton. 91 Sutton attempts to explain away the Vantage document as being the product of a separate conspiracy organized by Gazzara. Again, circumstantial evidence suggests otherwise. Gazzara testified unequivocally that Sutton reviewed the Vantage document and kept it quiet because [Sutton] saw something that came out of the government (Tr. 287). The only reasonable inference from this episode is that Sutton was receiving exactly the kind of confidential information that he expected to receive through his dealings with Maxwell and Peacock. Sutton certainly took no steps to persuade the other conspirators to stop their activities because he intended only legal lobbying activities to occur. 92 The jury, moreover, heard testimony from Paul McBride, Sutton's former attorney and confidant. McBride testified that he and Sutton were in regular contact during 1979 and 1980 on matters beyond the attorney-client relationship. McBride stated that Sutton had said in the fall of 1979 that lawyers were dumb for recommending a settlement with the Department of Energy, because there were other ways to take care of this thing that were less expensive and that he [Sutton] had a direct approach to handle it.... He [Sutton] could send the green directly to Washington and take care of this problem. (Tr. 468-69). Sutton emphasized that for 30--40--or $50,000 he could have this whole matter taken care of and the investigation would be dropped (Tr. 469). 10 93 Sutton admittedly authorized $350,000 to be paid in December 1980 following the December 12 meeting with Maxwell in New Orleans at which Sutton was shown the bulk of the DOE documents concerning his companies. Moreover, in the telephone conversation between Maxwell and Sutton, Maxwell claims to have put up what needed to be done and put up what needed to be put up in front (J.A. 25, 31). Sutton's responses throughout could reasonably be construed to indicate that all these payments were being handled as he had intended. 94 Finally, the jury received evidence of Sutton's convictions in the Oklahoma trial for obstruction of justice and conspiracy to obstruct justice. Since in the present counts Sutton was charged with an attempt to obstruct the investigations of the Department of Energy and the Department of Justice into Sutton's companies, see infra, the jury could reasonably have concluded that his prior convictions were probative of Sutton's intent to use illegal means to subvert the government's investigation. 95 In both cases, there seems to have been a consistent pattern of attempts by Sutton to illegally subvert the enforcement of federal law, beginning with his efforts to obstruct the criminal investigations that led to this trial in Oklahoma, continuing with his payment of $40,000 to the other conspirators and the subsequent receipt of government documents and information, and extending through his payment of $350,000 in exchange for what he knew to be unlawful influence to settle his cases with the Department of Energy and the Department of Justice. There was simply no evidence of discontinuity in these events, only the single-minded attempt to escape, by whatever means, the accountability required by federal law. The jury thus could reasonably have concluded beyond a reasonable doubt that Sutton deliberately intended to bribe government officials with the payment of $40,000. B. Prior Convictions 96 As mentioned previously, Sutton was convicted in the 1982 Oklahoma trial of obstruction of justice, 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1505, and conspiracy to obstruct justice, 18 U.S.C. Sec. 371. Over the objections of Sutton's trial counsel, the government introduced evidence of these convictions through a redacted copy of the indictment, a copy of the judgment and conviction, and the brief testimony of an FBI agent who had worked on the prior case (Tr. 1492-1511, 1616). 97 It is imperative that a criminal jury consider only those things that directly relate to the guilt or innocence of the accused as charged in the indictment. As stated recently by Judge Tamm, A fundamental tenet in our criminal jurisprudence is that a jury should not premise its verdict upon a general evaluation of the defendant's character but rather upon an assessment of the evidence relevant to the particular crime with which the defendant is presently charged. United States v. Lavelle, 751 F.2d 1266, 1275 (D.C.Cir.1985); see United States v. Foskey, 636 F.2d 517, 523 (D.C.Cir.1980). Federal Rule of Evidence 404(b) provides: 98 (b) Other crimes, wrongs, or acts. Evidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts is not admissible to prove the character of a person in order to show that he acted in conformity therewith. It may, however, be admissible for other purposes, such as proof of motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity, or absence of mistake or accident. 99 Fed.R.Evid. 404(b). Of course, even if evidence of other crimes is admissible under Rule 404(b), it may still be excluded by Rule 403's ban on otherwise relevant evidence whose probative value is substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice, confusion of the issues, or misleading the jury. 100 Sutton's challenge to the government's use of the prior convictions is forthright. He contends that his conviction for conspiracy to obstruct justice has absolutely nothing to do with any of the participants or events in the instant case, and that the obstruction of justice conviction had nothing to do with bribery or influence of any Governmental officials and certainly nothing to do with any of the participants in this indictment [the present case]. Sutton Brief at 12. Introduction of this evidence, Sutton contends, essentially allowed the Government to infer and argue that since Sutton was a bad character who could commit criminal acts and therefore that he must have acted criminally in this case. That if he would commit other crimes to benefit himself then he must have committed bribery. Id. at 12-13. 101 Sutton's argument is misplaced. He argues that the convictions from the 1982 Oklahoma trial had nothing to do with the events of the present trial, yet the Oklahoma trial determined, inter alia, that Sutton would be held criminally liable for his alleged violations of DOE price regulations and other business practices allegedly in violation of federal law. These charges were the direct result of the DOE investigation that Sutton later allegedly attempted to influence illegally, as charged in the present case. We must keep in mind that there was only one DOE investigation, with separate criminal trials resulting therefrom, one in Oklahoma and this one later in the District of Columbia. That the prior convictions did not involve bribery of government officials or any of the co-conspirators in the present case does not render the prior convictions irrelevant to the question whether Sutton again would knowingly or intentionally adopt illegal means to block the same DOE investigation. 102 Indeed, the prior convictions were highly relevant to proving just those things that Rule 404(b) explicitly mentions--motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity, and absence of mistake or accident. This is particularly the case in light of Sutton's defense at trial. There, his counsel argued that Sutton had been the unwitting victim of a conspiracy perpetrated by Maxwell and Gazzara to take extraordinary amounts of money under the pretense of providing legitimate lobbying efforts and participating in legitimate settlement efforts (Tr. 27-50). Thus, it was crucial for Sutton to argue that he had no knowledge that the two transfers of money ($40,000 and $350,000) were to be used for payments to government officials. 103 We consider that the trial court quite correctly determined that Sutton's prior convictions could be considered to represent just two of several schemes--including among them the conspiracy involved in the present case--to thwart the investigation of the Department of Energy. 11 Since such evidence can provide proof of Sutton's knowledge and intent at the time he authorized the payment of money, such evidence was relevant and admissible under Rule 404(b). 104 As with all otherwise admissible evidence, prior convictions must satisfy the balancing test of probative value versus prejudicial effect embodied in Rule 403. In assessing the probative value of other acts evidence, this court has considered, inter alia, the similarity and temporal distance of the acts, and the government's need for the evidence. See United States v. Lavelle, 751 F.2d 1266, 1277 (D.C.Cir.1985) (citing cases). Sutton's prior efforts to obstruct the DOE investigation involved different persons and did not involve bribery, yet they were similar to elements of the conspiracy alleged in the present case insofar as the earlier efforts illegally attempted to block a single DOE investigation. Moreover, the prior convictions concerned events that had occurred at most only eighteen months prior to the events alleged in the present case, and some of those events occurred contemporaneously with events alleged in the present conspiracy. Finally, in lieu of direct evidence of Sutton's intent at the time of the first payment of money in May of 1980, it is clear that the government had an actual need to introduce Sutton's prior convictions as evidence of his intent and knowledge. 105 Furthermore, the government and the trial court scrupulously tried to avoid the unfair prejudice that could have attended the introduction of Sutton's prior convictions. The jury was given copies of the two counts of the indictment and heard them identified by an FBI agent who had worked on the investigation, and the court twice instructed the jury of the limited purpose of such evidence (Tr. 1617-18, 1977-78). 12 There was no significant discussion or inflammatory testimony about the actions underlying Sutton's prior convictions. 106 Sutton finally contends that the court failed to make the requisite on-the-record balancing of probative value versus prejudicial effect. See United States v. Moore, 732 F.2d 983, 987 (D.C.Cir.1984). However, reversal or remand for failure to make such a balancing on the record is inappropriate, first, if defense counsel failed to request such balancing, or, second, if the considerations germane to balancing probative value versus prejudicial effect are readily apparent from the record. See United States v. Lavelle, 751 F.2d 1266, 1279 (D.C.Cir.1985). 107 The trial transcript does not reveal a specific request for such an on-the-record balancing by Sutton's attorney, which is unsurprising considering the length at which this evidentiary point was debated: Sutton's attorney and the government argued the admissibility of Sutton's prior convictions for the entire morning session of February 8, 1985 (Tr. 1560-1612). The record fully reveals the considerations required by Rule 403's balancing test, and it is quite clear that the court correctly conducted the requisite balancing. C. Right of Confrontation 108 Sutton claims that he was denied the ability to effectively cross-examine Kolbert, thus breaching his Sixth Amendment rights. See Douglas v. Alabama, 380 U.S. 415, 418, 85 S.Ct. 1074, 1076, 13 L.Ed.2d 934 (1965). The trial court observed that Kolbert was involved in a lot of activities which could be characterized as illicit or possibly illicit (Tr. 1305). Mark Sucher joined Kolbert in several of these collateral schemes. However, Sutton's attorney was prevented from cross-examining Kolbert on such matters, even though they might have reflected on Kolbert's credibility as a witness. More important, the court ruled against Sutton's attorney inquiring into a drug importation scheme (not a conviction) between Kolbert and Mark Sucher, which Sutton contends would have shown a motive, other than bribery, for Kolbert's payment of $5,000 to Sucher. Sutton contended that Kolbert paid Sucher $5,000 to settle a previous debt from the alleged drug importation scheme, not as payment for documents. 109 The court carefully evaluated the arguments from attorneys for the government and Sutton (both of whom favored such cross-examination) and Mark Sucher's attorney (who opposed such cross-examination), and ruled against allowing cross-examination of Kolbert's putatively illegal activities other than those directly involved in the present conspiracy, because of the danger that testimony by Kolbert about illegal schemes involving Mark Sucher would unfairly prejudice Sucher before the jury. Moreover, the drug importation scheme, for which Kolbert allegedly owed Sucher money, is irrelevant to the issue of Sutton's guilt or innocence in the present case. As far as Sutton is concerned, it matters not why Kolbert paid Sucher, but only that Sutton intended to pay money to government officials--i.e., Kolbert or Sucher--in exchange for confidential documents and information. In light of the limited utility to Sutton of such questioning, the court properly acted within its sound discretion. 110 On the basis of the foregoing, we hold that Sutton's Sixth Amendment right to confrontation was adequately protected by the considered ruling of the court.