Opinion ID: 677661
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: evidence of $1.2 million

Text: 32 We reject appellants' argument that the admission of evidence of the $1.2 million seized from the Bronco in which Vidal was a passenger was irrelevant under Fed.R.Evid. 401 and prejudicial under Fed.R.Evid. 403. Evidence is relevant if it has any tendency to make the existence of any fact that is of consequence to the determination of the action more or less probable than it would be without the evidence. United States v. Gilley, 836 F.2d 1206, 1213 (9th Cir.1988) (internal quotations omitted); Fed.R.Evid. 401. The indictment charged appellants with an ongoing conspiracy which operated from about 1986 to May 1992. Evidence of the $1.2 million seizure was relevant to establish that there was an ongoing drug conspiracy in 1990 and that Vidal was involved. Moreover, Vidal told Aguilar that the money was to be used, in part, to pay Christian Peralta, a police commander in Sonora, Mexico. Vidal also told Aguilar that the Beltrans' drug trafficking operation ran smoothly because corrupt customs officials facilitated the crossing of trucks loaded with drugs. The cash was relevant to confirm both the extent and profitability of the Beltran operation. 33 Vidal also objects to its admission because he was merely an innocent passenger in a car carrying a large amount of cash. Nonetheless, the evidence belies that contention. The agents on the case in 1990 testified that the suitcases where the money was found originated from Vidal's house. They saw men loading the suitcases into the Bronco and Agent Conety recognized Vidal at the scene. Furthermore, Vidal told Aguilar that the money was to be paid to Peralta. The fact that Vidal knew the money was to be paid to corrupt officials does not support an inference that he was merely an innocent passenger. We also reject Vidal's argument that because the state money laundering charges, brought as a result of the 1990 seizure, were dismissed, it was improper to permit evidence of the seizure in this case. The fact that those charges were dismissed does not make the evidence irrelevant to this case. 34 We conclude that the district court did not abuse its discretion when it admitted evidence that $1.2 million was seized from the Bronco. See id. (A trial court has great latitude in the admissibility of evidence.). The evidence made the existence of facts, which the Government was required to prove in establishing its case, more probable than they would have been without the evidence. See Fed.R.Evid. 401. Nor did the district court abuse its discretion in concluding that the probative value outweighed its prejudicial effect.