Opinion ID: 772486
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Position Related Motivation Requirement Under the VICAR Statute

Text: 157 Dhinsa was convicted by the jury of six counts under the VICAR statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1959. These included conspiracy to commit murder, see 18 U.S.C. §1959(a)(5), murder, see id. at §1959(a)(1), and threatening to commit murder, see id. at §1959(a)(4). As discussed supra, Dhinsa originally was charged under VICAR in connection with the plot to kidnap Ghuman, see id. at §1959(a)(1), (5), but those charges were amended by the Grand Jury during the trial to interstate kidnapping offenses under 18 U.S.C. §1201. On appeal, Dhinsa challenges the sufficiency of the evidence establishing that he committed these crimes for the purpose of maintaining or increasing his position within the Singh Enterprise. 18 U.S.C. §1959(a). Specifically, Dhinsa argues that, because he was the undisputed leader of the Singh Enterprise, these violent crimes could not have been performed with the intent of maintaining or increasing his position within the criminal enterprise. Thus, Dhinsa asks this Court to find that violent crimes committed by a defendant in his capacity as the leader of the criminal enterprise do not fall within the scope of conduct section 1959 intended to reach. 12 We decline Dhinsa's request. 158 Section 1959 provides in pertinent part that [w]hoever,... for the purpose of... maintaining or increasing position in an enterprise engaged in racketeering activity, murders,... or threatens to commit a crime of violence..., or conspires so to do, shall be punished. Although section 1959(a) does not define the phrase for the purpose of... maintaining or increasing position in an enterprise, we interpret that phrase by its plain terms, see United States v. Brady, 26 F.3d 282, 289 (2d Cir. 1994), giving the ordinary meaning to its terms. See United States v. Locascio, 6 F.3d 924, 940 (2d Cir. 1993); United States v. Concepcion, 983 F.2d 369, 381 (2d Cir. 1992). Webster's defines maintain as to preserve from failure or decline or to sustain against opposition or danger, WEBSTER'S THIRD NEW INTERNATIONAL DICTIONARY 1362 (1993), and increase as to become greater in some respect (listing as examples, size, value, power, authority, reputation and wealth). Id. at 1145. Thus, on its face, section 1959 encompasses violent crimes intended to preserve the defendant's position in the enterprise or to enhance his reputation and wealth within that enterprise. 159 In defining the scope of conduct satisfying the position related motivation requirement under section 1959, we do not write on a blank slate. Our journey begins with Concepcion, where we broadly interpreted the motive requirement: 160 With respect to the motive element, the legislative history contains no indication that Congress meant to require proof that self promotion was the defendant's only or primary concern. Rather, the history states that this phrase was included as a means of proscribing murder and other violent crimes committed as an integral aspect of membership in such enterprises. Given this explanation and given that Congress intended RICO, which § 1959 complements, to be liberally construed to effectuate its remedial purposes, we reject any suggestion that the for the purpose of element requires the government to prove that maintaining or increasing position in the RICO enterprise was the defendant's sole or principal motive. 161 983 F.2d at 381 (internal quotations marks and citations omitted). In Concepcion, and cases following, we consistently have held that the motive requirement is satisfied if the jury could properly infer that the defendant committed his violent crime because he knew it was expected of him by reason of his membership in the enterprise or that he committed it in furtherance of that membership. Id.; see also United States v. Diaz, 176 F.3d 52, 94-95 (2d Cir. 1999); United States v. Polanco, 145 F.3d 536, 540 (2d Cir. 1998), cert. denied, 525 U.S. 1071 (1999); Thai, 29 F.3d at 817 (holding that the government must prove that the defendant's general purpose in committing the crime of violence was to maintain or increase his position in the enterprise.); Locascio, 6 F.3d at 940. Accordingly, we have affirmed convictions under section 1959(a) for violent crimes committed or sanctioned by high ranking leaders of the enterprise for the purpose of protecting the enterprise's operations and furthering its objectives or where the defendant, as a leader within the enterprise, was expected to act based on the threat posed to the enterprise and that failure to do so would have undermined his position within that enterprise. See Diaz, 176 F.3d at 95-96 (defendant sanctioned murder because it was expected of him as one of the highest ranking... leaders [of the organization] to protect the block's drug business and that failure to do so would have undermined his leadership position within the [organization].); United States v. Reyes, 157 F.3d 949, 955 (2d Cir. 1998) (defendant, head of a large drug distribution organization, murdered rival who was encroaching on his drug business); United States v. Rosa, 11 F.3d 315, 340-41 (2d Cir. 1993) (murder committed by one of [the organization's] leaders following a dispute over a narcotics distribution spot controlled by the defendant); Concepcion, 983 F.2d at 382-83 (defendant, a lieutenant in a narcotics enterprise, initiated gun battle in response to threat to the organization's drug business); see also United States v. Tse, 135 F.3d 200, 206 (1st Cir. 1998) (defendant, leader of a powerful crime organization, ordered murders of rival gang members because they threatened the security and supremacy of his leadership and of his enterprise.); United States v. Muyet, 994 F.Supp. 550, 556 (S.D.N.Y. 1998) (As [defendant] was the leader of the gang, a rational jury easily could conclude that [he] ordered and participated in this killing in order to maintain or increase his position in the [organization].). However, we have held that the motive requirement under section 1959(a) is not satisfied where the evidence demonstrated that the killing was purely mercenary, Thai, 29 F.3d at 818, or that the defendant was neither a member of the enterprise nor involved in its criminal activities. See Polanco, 145 F.3d at 540. 162 Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the government, a jury could infer beyond a reasonable doubt that Dhinsa committed the violent crimes charged under section 1959(a) to protect the operations of the Singh Enterprise and to thwart any potential criminal prosecution arising from crimes carried out in furtherance of the enterprise's goals and Dhinsa's membership in that enterprise. The evidence sufficiently demonstrated that Dhinsa conspired to murder and murdered Manmohan and Satinderjit and conspired to murder Sarvjeet because he suspected that they were cooperating with the police and, therefore, posed a potential threat to the enterprise's operations. See, e.g., Diaz, 176 F.3d at 95. Similarly, Dhinsa threatened to murder Balwant after he refused to help Dhinsa in locating Sarvjeet. The jury also could have reasonably believed that Dhinsa's actions were motivated by an expectation that, as the leader of the Singh Enterprise, he would take action aimed at protecting the enterprise's operations and that a failure to do so would have undermined his leadership position within the Singh Enterprise. Id. at 96; see also United States v. Tipton, 90 F.3d 861, 891 (4th Cir. 1996) ([R]etaliatory action in behalf of fellow enterprise members was critical to the maintenance of one's position in the enterprise.); Thai, 29 F.3d at 817; Concepcion, 983 F.2d at 382-83. These crimes all shared a common objective: to eliminate threats to the Singh Enterprise and, thus, maintain and further Dhinsa's leadership position within that enterprise. Therefore, we find there was sufficient evidence from which the jury could have concluded beyond a reasonable doubt that Dhinsa participated in these violent crimes to maintain or increase his position in the Singh Enterprise and to further its pump-rigging operations.