Opinion ID: 744066
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Conspiracy Standards Applied to Instant Case

Text: 16 Appellant contends the government did not prove there was an agreement between him and any of the alleged coconspirators. The government concedes that as a government informant Besho cannot be considered a culpable coconspirator. Fernandez maintains that the proof before the jury was also insufficient to support a finding that he entered into an agreement with either Esa or Nunez. 17 1. Agreement with Esa. Fernandez asserts no conspiratorial agreement existed between him and Esa because Esa's role was simply to introduce Besho to him. For this proposition, he relies on United States v. Tyler, 758 F.2d 66, 69 (2d Cir.1985) and United States v. Hysohion, 448 F.2d 343, 347 (2d Cir.1971), where we held that a defendant is not a party to a conspiratorial agreement simply because he introduced a person willing to buy drugs to another person willing to sell them. 18 In Tyler we reversed the conspiracy conviction of a defendant who introduced an undercover officer to a drug dealer from whom the officer subsequently purchased heroin. 758 F.2d at 70. In reaching that result, we observed that proof that Tyler asked the buyer how much heroin he wanted, that Tyler knew where to obtain heroin and that he knew anything about the seller or his whereabouts was conspicuously absent. Id. at 68-69. Each of the factors conspicuously absent in Tyler is present in this case. When Besho initially told Esa that he was looking for between two and ten kilograms of cocaine for Mike, Esa recommended that Besho purchase the cocaine from appellant and told Besho how to contact him. Esa professed intimate knowledge of Fernandez' narcotics operation, including details of a substantial shipment of cocaine expected by Fernandez in January 1992. Esa related this information to Besho while he was packaging gram bags of cocaine, which he explained came to him from Fernandez. 19 The inference that there was an agreement between Fernandez and Esa was bolstered by Esa's continued involvement in the deal after introducing Besho to Fernandez. Taken in the light most favorable to the government, the evidence showed that Esa acted as both an advisor to Besho and a mediator between Besho and Fernandez as they attempted to consummate the narcotics sale. Esa monitored Besho's progress with Fernandez through regular telephone conversations and maintained independent contact with both Nunez and Fernandez to discuss the proposed transaction. In the January 29 three-way telephone conversation between Esa, Besho and Fernandez, Esa urged Besho to agree to Fernandez' proposal to complete the sale in Washington Heights. 20 Later, in a final attempt to resolve the conflict between Fernandez and Besho, Esa invited Nunez to help broker the deal. The evidence further demonstrated that Esa's assistance was offered not as a favor, but with an expectation of compensation from the profits of the cocaine sale. Esa's financial stake in the outcome of the negotiations constituted proof of his interest in furthering the goals of the conspiracy. Based on this evidence, the jury could reasonably have concluded that Esa and Fernandez had a tacit agreement to bring about the sale of five to ten kilograms of cocaine to Besho. 21 2. Agreement with Nunez. Fernandez also contends that the government failed to prove the existence of an agreement between Nunez and himself. Although the agreement between Esa and Fernandez is sufficient to affirm Fernandez' conspiracy conviction, we briefly address this additional contention. The government's evidence, appellant believes, simply proved that Nunez and appellant acted as freelance competitors for Besho's business. While this may be one plausible view of the evidence, it is not the only one. Several of the taped conversations indicated that Nunez was working with Fernandez, not competing against him. For example, on January 23, Nunez advised Besho that he could be contacted through Fernandez. On January 27 Nunez and Fernandez were together when they called Besho to discuss the deal--Nunez placed the call then handed the receiver to Fernandez. In a telephone conversation taped on January 29 Nunez explained to Besho that although he would have preferred to supply the cocaine for the deal himself, he didn't want to go over Pablo[ Fernandez'] head. Nunez then described a conversation with Fernandez in which Pablo said we going [sic] to do it together because he didn't know you ... and I know you and I say [sic] OK. Thus, a jury could reasonably have inferred from both the substance and the circumstances of the taped conversations that appellant and Nunez had entered into an agreement to sell cocaine to Besho.