Opinion ID: 686425
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: RICO Conspiracy under Section 1962(d)--Count IX

Text: 120 In addition to finding the individual Arsenal defendants liable for a RICO substantive violation with Aetna as the enterprise, the jury also found each of the individual Arsenal defendants liable for a RICO conspiracy violation under Sec. 1962(d). Liability on this theory is proved against a defendant by showing (1) the existence of enterprise affecting interstate commerce, (2) that the defendant knowingly joined the conspiracy to participate in the conduct of the affairs of the enterprise, (3) that the defendant participated in the conduct of the affairs of the enterprise, and (4) that the defendant did so through a pattern of racketeering activity by agreeing to commit, or in fact committing, two or more predicate offenses. See Boylan, 898 F.2d at 241. 121 Even though no party objected (on grounds relevant here) to the trial court's charge to the jury on the elements of the alleged RICO conspiracy (as well as the elements of the alleged RICO substantive violations), we have examined the charge to the jury and determined it to be consistent with the elements of a RICO conspiracy as we have stated them here. In arriving at this formulation, we have been sensitive to the fact that earlier cases in this circuit used the phrase knowingly joined the enterprise. 122 United States v. Angiulo, 847 F.2d 956, 964 (1st Cir.), cert. denied, 488 U.S. 928, 109 S.Ct. 314, 102 L.Ed.2d 332 (1988); United States v. Winter, 663 F.2d 1120, 1136 (1st Cir.1981), cert. denied, 460 U.S. 1011, 103 S.Ct. 1249, 75 L.Ed.2d 479 (1983). 123 In Boylan, the court first used this same phrase (knowingly joined the enterprise ), 898 F.2d at 241 (emphasis added), but in a passage following shortly thereafter referred to whether the defendants had knowingly joined the conspiracy. 124 Id. (Our inquiry thus reduces to whether such a conspiracy, knowingly joined by all defendants, was satisfactorily proven.). 125 In Boylan (and perhaps the earlier cases as well), this difference in phrasing was immaterial to the outcome of the case. This was so in Boylan because the evidence was undisputed that all of the defendants alleged to have joined the conspiracy were indisputably employees of the Boston Police Department, the alleged enterprise. In the present case, on the other hand, plaintiff alleged that defendants who were not employees of Aetna (the enterprise in Count VIII) knowingly joined the conspiracy. For this reason we have addressed the issue more precisely in our formulation, stated above, of the elements of a RICO conspiracy, as applied to this case. 126 We conclude that the issue we must consider is not whether the defendants knowingly joined the victim enterprise (as first phrased in Boylan ) but (as later stated in that Opinion) whether the defendants knowingly joined a conspiracy. We conclude that the evidence is sufficient to support a finding that each of the appellants knowingly joined the Sec. 1962(d) RICO conspiracy. 127 The alleged Sec. 1962(d) RICO conspiracy (Count IX) was a conspiracy to violate Sec. 1962(c). The major difference between a violation of Sec. 1962(c) itself (such as Count VIII) and a violation of Sec. 1962(d) based on Sec. 1962(c) (such as Count IX) is the additional required element that the defendant knowingly joined a conspiracy to violate Sec. 1962(c). Another difference is that, to prove that a defendant violated Sec. 1962(c), it is necessary for the plaintiff to prove two predicate offenses; under Sec. 1962(d), in contrast, this is not an element required to be proved. To prove a violation of Sec. 1962(d), it is enough to prove that a defendant agreed with one or more others that two predicate offenses be committed. See Boylan, 898 F.2d at 252. In the present case, this latter difference is of no practical consequence because we conclude that there was sufficient evidence to support a finding that each defendant in fact committed two predicate offenses. 128 One assertion, perhaps implicit in the appellants' argument, is that, in order to prove each defendant liable for RICO conspiracy (a Sec. 1962(d) violation), the plaintiff was required to prove a conspiracy to defraud Aetna in which each of the Arsenal defendants conspired directly with one or more persons associated with each of the other body shops. 129 This assertion is incorrect because it depends necessarily upon a misinterpretation of Sec. 1962(d) with respect to the elements necessary to prove a RICO conspiracy. It is true that to find a defendant liable under Sec. 1962(d) one must find that the defendant conspired to violate a subsection of Sec. 1962. It is not necessary, however, to find that each defendant knew all the details or the full extent of the conspiracy, including the identity and role of every other conspirator. 130 Boylan, 898 F.2d at 242 (A RICO conspiracy does not demand ... that all defendants participate in all racketeering acts, know of the entire conspiratorial sweep, or be acquainted with all other defendants.) 131 All that is necessary to prove this element of the RICO conspiracy, against a particular defendant, is to prove that he or she agreed with one or more co-conspirators to participate in the conspiracy. Moreover, it is not necessary for the conspiratorial agreement to be express, so long as its existence can plausibly be inferred from words, actions, and the interdependence of activities and persons involved. United States v. Concemi, 957 F.2d 942, 950 (1st Cir.1992). In this case, the jury reasonably could have found that, although each defendant may not have known the entire sweep of the conspiracy, each defendant knew that he or she was a part of a larger fraudulent scheme. For example, since the evidence supported a finding that each of the Arsenal defendants was well aware of the fraudulent business practices of Dexter and Cummings, the jury could find that all of the Arsenal defendants knew they were part of a larger conspiracy in which other persons made uses similar to their own of fraudulent appraisals by Dexter, Cummings, or both. 132 A defendant who does not know the entire conspiratorial sweep is nevertheless jointly and severally liable, in the civil context, for all acts in furtherance of the conspiracy. Using a common metaphor, one may say that Cummings and Dexter, the Aetna appraisers, were at the hub of the overall RICO conspiracy, providing the central point through which all the defendant body shops were connected. A jury could reasonably find that, through Cummings and Dexter, the conspiratorial sweep extended to all the body shops and most, if not all of the individual defendants. The jury in this case found that the RICO conspiracy included all other appellants, except for Arsenal Auto Repairs, Inc. and Betty Arhaggelidis. We need not consider whether the evidence would have supported a finding against these two appellants as well. That was not essential to the liability of others under this theory, nor to the liability of these two appellants under a different theory. 133 From evidence of the extensive dealings of all other appellants with Cummings and Dexter, the jury could have inferred an agreement, to defraud Aetna, among all of the Arsenal defendants (Arhaggelidis not being an Arsenal defendant) and the appraisers. Through evidence of each individual Arsenal defendant's actions, the jury could infer that each defendant had the requisite state of mind for a RICO conspiracy violation--knowing participation. 134 See Boylan, 898 F.2d at 242 ([The plaintiff] may prove [a RICO conspiracy] through the use of circumstantial evidence, so long as the total evidence, including reasonable inferences, is sufficient to warrant [the jury's findings].). 135 The appellants do not dispute that Dexter and Cummings conspired with the owners and operators of the other body shops. Through Dexter and Cummings, the Arsenal defendants were linked to all the other defendants who were found liable for RICO conspiracy. Thus, upon proof that each defendant committed or agreed to the commission of two predicate offenses, each defendant could be held liable for the overall RICO conspiracy. 136 Moreover, although it was not necessary for the plaintiff to prove that the Arsenal defendants knew the identity of defendants from the other body shops and conspired directly with them, the evidence was sufficient for the jury to infer that this was in fact the case. For example, Zareh Tirinkian testified that he frequently attended parties and other social engagements with the operators of the other body shops. Although Tirinkian denied discussing his practice of filing fraudulent insurance claims with the other body shop owners, the evidence showed that the body shops' racketeering activities were unusually similar. The body shops all defrauded Aetna, they reported nearly identical types of fraudulent claims, and they obtained appraisals from the same appraisers. Evidence of these similarities, considered along with other evidence, was sufficient to support a jury finding that the owners of the body shops conspired directly with one another. 137 Id. at 242 (a jury may infer that a single overall conspiracy existed when evidence of racketeering acts shows hallmarks of similarity and a significant degree of interconnectedness).