Opinion ID: 318307
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: the case of appellant brooks

Text: 59 The appellant Brooks contends that the evidence does not support his conviction of conspiracy. His argument must be rejected. 60 For five years before his arrest Brooks had been a member of the Narcotics Squad of the Metropolitan Police Department, and in that capacity he was familiar with the operations of the appellant Jackson. The evidence disclosed that he made many telephone calls to Jackson and the other conspirators on 582-9265 and 399-3695; some sixty recordings of the intercepted calls were introduced in evidence. There were also calls from 582-9295 to Brooks' residence in Maryland. In addition, federal agents testified concerning their observations of Brooks. For example, there was testimony that on one occasion agents gave Brooks false information that they planned to have an informant purchase heroin from Jackson at a certain time and place. Thirteen minutes later Brooks called Jackson's headquarters to warn him of the impending arrest. Later in the day Brooks telephoned Jackson and told him 'the Feds are going to try to get you today'. He also gave Jackson the name of the informant who was supposed to have made the purchase of narcotics. Finally, there was evidence which justified the jury in finding that Jackson was giving Brooks money in return for the information he received from Brooks. Brooks summarizes his argument as follows: 61 The evidence against Brooks, which because of its character was also evidence against Jackson, showed at most that the two of them were engaged in a bribery scheme. Stretched to its furthest possible limits this evidence showed only that Brooks a narcotics officer was giving Jackson information that he obtained or learned in his work that was useful to Jackson, a narcotics trafficker. There was absolutely no evidence that Brooks was in anyway involved in drug dealings or transactions. There was no evidence that he had any contact or knowledge of the defendants Tantillo, Paladino or Verderosa, or James. There was no evidence that the agreement between these persons contemplated, included or embraced the Jackson-Brooks dealings. In making this argument, it is conceded that the evidence supports the inferences that Brooks knew that Jackson was dealing in both heroin and cocaine, and that as a narcotics officer of broad experience, Brooks knew that Jackson was getting his drugs from someone else, and that as to the heroin Jackson was selling, Brooks knew that it had been imported into the United States by someone, somewhere, contrary to law. 62 (Brooks' Brief at 25-26, 33-34). 63 We think the appellant's argument answers itself. The evidence showed that Brooks played a vital part in the conspiracy by protecting Jackson and his enterprise from interference by the police. He did this with full knowledge of the nature of the unlawful enterprise, even though he might not have known the identity of all the participants. This was enough to make him a party to the conspiracy. The government was not required to show that Brooks knew Tantillo, Paladino, Verderosa, or James; a conspirator need not know the identity of all other conspirators or the particular roles they play in the unlawful enterprise. United States v. Bynum, 485 F.2d 490, 495-497 (2d Cir. 1973); United States v. Agueci, 310 F.2d 817, 826-828 (2d Cir. 1962), cert. denied, 372 U.S. 959, 83 S.Ct. 1016, 10 L.Ed.2d 12 (1963); United States v. Cole, 365 F.2d 57 (7th Cir. 1966), cert. denied, 385 U.S. 1024, 1027, 1032, 87 S.Ct. 741, 764, 17 L.Ed.2d 672, 674, 679, rehearing denied, 386 U.S. 951, 87 S.Ct. 971, 979, 17 L.Ed.2d 879 (1967); United States v. Rich, 262 F.2d F.2d 415, 418 (2d Cir. 1959). 64