Opinion ID: 276804
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Sufficiency of the Evidence as to Blumner and Perry.

Text: 26 Blumner and Perry claim that the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to support their convictions. In examining these claims we view the evidence presented to the trial court in the light most favorable to the Government, allowing for all inferences which the trial judge as trier of fact might permissibly have drawn in the government's favor. Glasser v. United States, 315 U.S. 60, 80, 62 S.Ct. 457, 86 L.Ed. 680 (1942); United States v. Kahaner, 317 F.2d 459 (2 Cir.), cert. denied, 375 U.S. 836, 84 S.Ct. 73, 11 L.Ed.2d 65 (1963). Nor will we reexamine the assessment of the trier of fact as to the credibility of the witnesses who testified before him. 27 Blumner claims that the evidence adduced at the trial against him is insufficient to support his conviction on the conspiracy count. Specifically, he claims that the government evidence was insufficient to prove that he knew that McGuire controlled Asta-King, Tamarac, and Haratine, an essential element of the conspiracy offense. Blumner maintains that in fact he had no knowledge that McGuire controlled the three companies and that the evidence in the case is consistent with the possibility that McGuire was acting merely as a 'coordinator' for the various promoters of the companies. The trial court totally rejected this possibility. It found that Blumner 'knowingly and willfully entered into a criminal partnership with McGuire, and assisted its plans in every way (he) could.' 249 F.Supp. at 45. A general review of the evidence indicates that it is almost impossible that Blumner could be as extensively involved in the McGuire operation as he was shown to have been without being aware that McGuire controlled the companies. But even without this, the testimony of government witnesses Brandes 8 and Weissenbach /9/ is sufficient to support the trial court's finding that Blumner was well aware of McGuire's control of Asta-King, Tamarac, and Haratine. 28 Perry claims that the government evidence was insufficient to show that he knew that McGuire controlled the three companies, or that he knew that the combined offerings of the three companies exceeded $300,000, or that he knew to be false the various statements which he made to his customers to induce them to buy stock of Asta-King and Haratine. 29 Perry's claim that he was unaware that McGuire controlled the three companies can be answered simply. Brandes and Weissenbach testified that Perry was present at the meetings at which Blumner made the statements concerning McGuire's control which are set forth in footnotes 8 and 9 supra. This is clearly sufficient to support the finding that Perry as well as Blumner knew that the corporations were under McGuire's control. Nor does Perry's claim that the evidence does not support the finding that he knew that the aggregate offerings of the three companies exceeded $300,000 deserve any serious attention. Brandes testified that the conspirators in their meetings of November 1 and 2, 1957 spent a good deal of time discussing the 'technical' aspects of setting up the Regulation A offerings, and Perry must have learned of the amounts of the proposed offerings and gleaned the reasons therefor from this discussion. See footnote 8 supra. Finally, there was indeed sufficient evidence presented at the trial to support the trial court's findings that Perry knew his statements concerning Haratine made by him to Mrs. Riley and to Lauro were false and that he omitted material facts necessary to be stated if the facts he did state were not to be misleading. 30