Opinion ID: 217641
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Cooperation by Fishman

Text: The conspiracy came to a halt following a lengthy investigation that started with a complaint by an investor to the United States Postal Inspection Service in the Northern District of Oklahoma in early 2003. The complainant said she had made an investment in the Caribou program but had not received what she had been promised. Several U.S. federal agencies joined in the investigation, as well as an agency in New Zealand. Postal Agent Albert Chapa and IRS Agent Katherine Beckner were the primary initial investigators in Oklahoma. This investigation led to the indictment against Mr. Fishman and his co-conspirators, first filed in November 2007. While the investigation was being pursued in Oklahoma, a similar inquiry was being conducted in Illinois into the activities of Peter Zaccagnino, with whom Fishman as well as Thornburgh and Searles had been associated. Mr. Fishman testified before the grand jury in Illinois without raising his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination at any point. The investigating authorities assured Mr. Fishman he was not, at that time, a target of the investigation; rather he was a fact witness providing information about the fraudulent scheme to sell railroad bonds. Additionally, at no time was Mr. Fishman granted immunity of any kind for his testimony. Investigators in Illinois then talked with the investigators of the Caribou program in Oklahoma, and they told the Oklahoma investigators that Mr. Fishman had been cooperating. Agent Chapa estimated that Mr. Fishman turned over to him approximately 5,000 documents relating to the Caribou program. At some point after Mr. Fishman had turned over his bonds as part of the documents he provided to the investigating authorities, he sought the return of the bonds from Agent Chapa. They were returned to Mr. Fishman. Subsequently, pursuant to Agent Chapa's request, Mr. Fishman gave the bonds back after Agent Chapa told Mr. Fishman that returning the bonds would be an act of good faith. Meanwhile, on June 7, 2004, Mr. Fishman received a subpoena to testify before a grand jury in the Northern District of Oklahoma. The subpoena did not contain an advice of rights, and Mr. Fishman was not identified as a target of the investigation being conducted at that time. When Mr. Fishman received a second subpoena, dated August 24, 2006, it was a target subpoena identifying him as a target of the investigation and it did contain an advice of rights. Among the rights listed was the following: You are notified that you are a target of an investigation for possible violations of federal criminal law. Id. at 210. That same day, Mr. Fishman sent an e-mail to Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) Kevin Leitch in Oklahoma, stating his concern about the advice of rights, reminding Mr. Leitch of Mr. Fishman's full cooperation and stating that he did not intend to hire counsel. He further expressed his hope that, after his grand jury testimony, the authorities would cease viewing him as a target. When Mr. Fishman appeared before the grand jury on September 6, 2006, he declined to invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. He did not receive immunity for his testimony. He alleges that he testified and incriminated himself. Agent Chapa subsequently testified that, throughout the investigation, Mr. Fishman had expressed his concern about his status as a potential target, and repeatedly asked the agent if he would be charged with a crime. Agent Chapa stated that he never offered Mr. Fishman a deal or immunity of any kind, nor did he have the authority to do so. When Mr. Fishman made another trip to Tulsa in February 2007 to meet with Agent Chapa and AUSAs Leitch and Charles McLoughlin, he was handed a letter notifying him that he was a target of a federal investigation. AUSA McLoughlin told Mr. Fishman that he could be charged with a crime. Mr. Fishman indicated he still wanted to cooperate. Agent Chapa drove Mr. Fishman to the Federal Public Defender's office in Tulsa, where counsel was appointed to represent Mr. Fishman.