Opinion ID: 532811
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: marren's claims

Text: 25 Defendant Marren raises three claims on appeal. First, he contends that the government failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he was a member of a conspiracy to violate RICO pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1962(d). Second, he similarly challenges the sufficiency of the evidence as to his conviction for conspiring to defraud the Internal Revenue Service of income taxes due to be paid by Michael's Magic Touch pursuant to 18 U.S.C. Sec. 371. Finally, he contends that his sentence for the RICO and tax fraud conspiracies was excessive, multiplicious and violative of the Double Jeopardy Clause of the fifth amendment.
26 Marren contends that the government failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he was a member of the RICO conspiracy pursuant to Sec. 1962(d). He insists that there was no connection between his nebulous activities as a doorman and the conduct of the enterprise, but instead, that the evidence showed only that he worked for himself as an entrepreneur, earning money by stealing from the enterprise. Relying on the government's failure to prove that he executed any of the credit card slips or any other incriminating documents, he maintains that he was merely associated with the conspiracy and did not embrace its objectives or participate in the racketeering activities. 27 Before we examine the record to determine whether the government met its burden at trial, it is important to note that Marren bears a heavy burden in trying to reverse his conviction for insufficient evidence. Our standard of review is well-established. If the reviewing court, considering all the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, finds that any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt, it must affirm the conviction. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 2789, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979) (emphasis in original); United States v. Marrinson, 832 F.2d 1465, 1469 (7th Cir.1987); United States v. Conley, 826 F.2d 551, 556 (7th Cir.1987). We can reverse Marren's conviction only if the record contains no evidence from which a rational jury could have found him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. United States v. Vega, 860 F.2d 779, 792 (7th Cir.1988); United States v. Gaddis, 877 F.2d 605 (7th Cir.1989). We find that Marren has not met his burden in this case. 28 To prove a violation of Sec. 1962(d), the government must show that a defendant (1) agreed to conduct or participate in the affairs of an enterprise and (2) agreed to the commission of two predicate acts. United States v. Neapolitan, 791 F.2d 489 (7th Cir.1986). In essence, Marren's assertion that he was merely associated with the conspiracy is a claim that he was not part of the agreement to participate in the activities of the conspiracy. 29 After a thorough examination of the record, we find that the government provided sufficient evidence that Marren was an active and knowing member of the conspiracy. In contrast to Marren's contention that he was merely associated with the criminal venture, the evidence adduced at trial showed that Marren was familiar with the NCS operation even before securing employment at Michael's Magic Touch. Once there, he helped convince the management to begin accepting credit cards as payment for prostitution. He arranged and attended the initial meeting between NCS and the Russos and he participated in discussions regarding the use of credit cards. Marren regularly collected the credit cards from the waitresses and brought them to the office where they were used to charge the fees for the prostitution activity, and he often made the calls to obtain authorization to accept the charge. Moreover, in his discussions with Agent Damron he repeatedly boasted about his prowess in convincing patrons to use their credit cards as payment for sexual services and at one point asked Damron to explain a money laundering scheme to the Russos. 30 We believe that Marren's contention of noninvolvement is simply unbelievable and finds no support in the record. The evidence adduced at trial was clearly sufficient for a reasonable jury to find that Marren was a knowledgeable and participating member of the RICO conspiracy. Accordingly, we affirm the conviction.
31 Marren challenges the sufficiency of the evidence for his conviction for conspiring to defraud the Internal Revenue Service of income taxes due to be paid by Michael's Magic Touch in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 371. Marren does not challenge the adequacy of the proof that a conspiracy existed or that at least one overt act was committed by a co-conspirator in furtherance of the conspiracy. Instead, his contention focuses on the adequacy of the proof of his knowledge of a tax-related conspiracy as he claims that the evidence failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he knew that the goal of the RICO conspiracy was the avoidance of federal tax liability. Marren argues that the evidence established only that he was employed at a prostitution shop from which he stole credit card slips which he sold for cash to an undercover FBI agent and not that he was a knowing participant in the tax fraud scheme. 32 The crime of conspiring to defraud the United States is set out in Sec. 371, which provides in pertinent part: 33 If two or more persons conspire either to commit any offense against the United States, or to defraud the United States, or any agency thereof in any manner or for any purpose, and one or more of such persons do any act to effect the object of the conspiracy, each shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than five years, or both. 34 18 U.S.C. Sec. 371. 35 In order to convict Marren of conspiracy under Sec. 371, the government needed to prove at trial: (1) an agreement to accomplish an illegal objective against the United States; (2) one or more overt acts in furtherance of the illegal purpose; and (3) the intent to commit the substantive offense. United States v. Hooks, 848 F.2d 785 (7th Cir.1988); United States v. Gaddis, 877 F.2d 605 (7th Cir.1989). In Ingram v. United States, 360 U.S. 672, 678, 79 S.Ct. 1314, 1319, 3 L.Ed.2d 1503 (1959), the Supreme Court interpreted the third element of a Sec. 371 offense. In evaluating a Sec. 371 conspiracy to evade taxes, the Court found that the government need not prove that the conspirators were aware of the criminality of their objectives but it must show that they knew of the liability for federal taxes. [C]onspiracy to commit a particular substantive offense cannot exist without at least the degree of criminal intent necessary for the substantive offense itself. Id. (footnote omitted). 36 As we noted in Hooks, because a conspiracy is by its nature secret, its existence and common purpose must often be proved by circumstantial evidence. The government need not establish that there existed a formal agreement to conspire; circumstantial evidence and reasonable inferences drawn therefrom concerning the relationship of the parties, their overt acts, and the totality of their conduct may serve as proof. Hooks, 848 F.2d at 792; See also United States v. Redwine, 715 F.2d 315, 320 (7th Cir.1983), cert. denied, 467 U.S. 1216, 104 S.Ct. 2661, 81 L.Ed.2d 367 (1984). Once the government proves the existence of the conspiracy, it need only offer 'slight evidence' to prove that an individual was a member of the conspiracy. United States v. Whaley, 830 F.2d 1469, 1473 (7th Cir.1987) (quoting United States v. Castillo, 814 F.2d 351, 353 (7th Cir.1987)). 37 As discussed earlier, our standard of review for a claim of insufficiency of the evidence is well established. We must examine the evidence in the light most favorable to the government, giving it the benefit of all reasonable inferences, and can reverse only if we find that a reasonable fact-finder could not have found the essential elements of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. United States v. Colonia, 870 F.2d 1319 (7th Cir.1989); United States v. Rollins, 862 F.2d 1282, 1287 (7th Cir.1988). We can reverse a jury's verdict of conviction only if the defendant can establish that 'the record contains no evidence, regardless of how it is weighed, from which the jury could find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.'  Id. (quoting United States v. Goudy, 792 F.2d 664, 674 (7th Cir.1986)). 38 Marren's contention that the government failed to establish at trial that he was a knowing participant in the tax fraud scheme finds no support in the evidence. The record is replete with evidence from which a reasonable jury could find his knowing involvement in the conspiracy. The government proved at trial that Marren instituted the process of accepting credit cards at Michael's Magic Touch and was present when the procedure was initially explained. Marren often accepted payments in cash or credit cards from the waitresses and doormen and then placed those payments in the club's office rather than in the cash register from which the income reflected in the daily reported receipts was derived. The government also provided evidence that he received a portion of the credit card income at the outset as he complained loudly and frequently to Agent Damron when his commissions came to an end. The fact that he at one time received a portion of the proceeds could lead the jury to reasonably infer that he had a stake in the successful outcome of the scheme. See Hooks, 848 F.2d at 793; United States v. Collazo, 815 F.2d 1138, 1143 (7th Cir.1987). Marren also knew that Damron was making weekly collections and that upon the week's take of credit card slips, Damron customarily gave one of the Russos a check made payable to cash. Finally, Marren asked Damron to explain to Russo a money laundering process which would aid in the evasion of taxes that Damron had evidently previously mentioned to Marren. We believe that the jury could reasonably infer from this evidence that Marren was knowingly involved in the tax conspiracy. 39 In sum, the government proved the existence of a conspiracy to defraud the federal government of tax revenues. Proof of Marren's knowledge of and participation in that conspiracy was certainly more than slight. Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the government, we find that a jury could reasonably find that Marren conspired to defraud the federal government of tax income.
40 Marren raises two challenges to his conviction and sentence under the Double Jeopardy Clause of the fifth amendment. First, he contends that the sentence he received on the RICO conviction violated the Double Jeopardy Clause because it was barred by a sentence previously imposed upon his prior conviction for counts that included a RICO conspiracy. Second, he asserts that the two conspiracy counts for which he was charged in this case were multiplicious and thus violated the Double Jeopardy Clause because they were part of a single overall conspiracy. 41 The Double Jeopardy Clause protects an individual from a second prosecution for the same offense after acquittal, a second prosecution for the same offense after conviction, and multiple punishments for the same offense. North Carolina v. Pearce, 395 U.S. 711, 717, 89 S.Ct. 2072, 2076, 23 L.Ed.2d 656 (1969). Marren invokes the Double Jeopardy Clause to prevent being sentenced cumulatively to the sentence imposed in a previous conviction (No. 85 CR 555) because he believes that the RICO conspiracy alleged in the present indictment (No. 87 CR 501) and the RICO conspiracy to which he pled guilty in No. 85 CR 555 were portions of a single, overall RICO conspiracy. We disagree. 42 We begin by noting that Marren failed to raise his Double Jeopardy claim at the district court. As a result, the Record on Appeal is incomplete. It is Marren's responsibility, as the appellant, to ascertain that the Record on Appeal contains the materials necessary to resolve the issues that he desires this Court to review. Fed.R.App.Proc. 10, 11. To bolster the Record on Appeal, Marren appended to his brief the transcript of the sentencing proceedings in 85 CR 555 which forms the foundation for his double jeopardy challenge. To aid our review of his claim, we hereby take judicial notice of the transcript and the indictment in 85 CR 555 pursuant to Fed.R.Evid. 201(f) (Judicial notice may be taken at any stage of the proceeding.). 43 To properly address Marren's claim that the previous RICO conspiracy and the present one were portions of an overall RICO conspiracy, we must examine the prior charge and conviction. From the limited record before us, it appears that in No. 85 CR 555 Marren and five police officers employed by the Office of the Sheriff of Cook County were charged with RICO conspiracy and a number of substantive offenses, most of which alleged violations of the Hobbs Act, 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1951. The indictment alleged that the RICO conspiracy was in operation as early as 1977. The pattern of racketeering involved 26 payoffs to the law enforcement officers to permit certain business establishments to operate as houses of prostitution and to allow certain bookmakers to operate. Paragraph 2 of the indictment stated that in July 1980, co-defendants Bruce Frasch (commander of the Vice Control Unit) and Robert Napora received a $10,000 bribe from Tom Gervais so that he could operate a house of prostitution known as Delilah's Retreat. Paragraph 12 alleged that Frasch received $300 from Gervais to allow him to operate the Palatine Sporting Fans Club, an illegal off-track bookmaking business. Paragraph 13 alleged that on or about April 23, 1982, Marren received $1,000 from Frasch and James Keating (commander of the Intelligence Unit) for the purpose of influencing the disposition of criminal charges against one Sharon Raye in the local court and that the source of the money was undercover FBI Agent Larry Damron. Paragraphs 14-20 and 22 alleged that on various dates between May 4, 1982, and January 20, 1983, Keating, Frasch, and Marren received bribe money to allow Damron to operate the Palatine Sporting Fans Club apparently inherited from Gervais. 44 Marren pled guilty in 85 CR 555 to 12 counts, including RICO conspiracy, and he appeared before the trial judge for sentencing on July 18, 1986. At that time the prosecutor noted that in June 1982, Marren had entered a plea of guilty to forging government checks and transporting stolen securities, and that while presenting himself to the court in 1982 as contrite, he was engaged in the RICO and extortion crimes subsequently charged in No. 85 CR 555 as well as other offenses. The trial judge sentenced Marren to imprisonment for six years on the RICO conspiracy count and five years of probation on the remaining counts. 45 The Double Jeopardy Clause provides: [N]or shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb. U.S. Const. amend. V. This Court has not yet addressed the issue of when separate indictments for RICO conspiracy violate the Double Jeopardy Clause, but four others have done so. The Eighth, Second, Eleventh and Third Circuits have adopted a five-factor test for determining whether separate RICO charges violate the Double Jeopardy Clause. The five factors are: (1) the time of the various activities charged as separate patterns of racketeering; (2) the identity of the persons involved in the activities under each charge; (3) the statutory offenses charged as racketeering activities in each charge; (4) the nature and scope of the activity the government seeks to punish under each charge; and (5) the places where the corrupt activity took place under each charge. United States v. Dean, 647 F.2d 779, 788 (8th Cir.1981), modified en banc on other grounds, 667 F.2d 729 (8th Cir.1981), cert. denied, 456 U.S. 1006, 102 S.Ct. 2296, 73 L.Ed.2d 1300 (1982); United States v. Langella, 804 F.2d 185, 189 (2d Cir.1986); United States v. Ruggiero, 754 F.2d 927, 932 (11th Cir.1985) cert. denied, 471 U.S. 1127, 1137, 105 S.Ct. 2661, 2679, 86 L.Ed.2d 277, 697 (1985). United States v. Ciancaglini, 858 F.2d 923, 927-29 (3d Cir.1988) (adopting a totality of the circumstances test which focused on and applied the same five factors). 46 Applying the five-factor test, we believe that the two conspiracies involved in this appeal cannot be fairly regarded as part of one overall plan but instead are two separate conspiracies. The two conspiracies involved different criminal actors, with Marren being the sole common participant. The first RICO conspiracy began in 1977 and the second one not until 1981. There was no overlap between the patterns of racketeering activity alleged in the two indictments. The credit card scheme at Michael's Magic Touch of 1981 was wholly unrelated to the corrupt Cook County police officers and their extortion, payoff, and bribery activities of 1977. Marren's activities in 85 CR 555 included bribery, extortion, and influencing the disposition of criminal charges. These activities were separate and distinct from his involvement with the RICO conspiracy in the instant case. Moreover, the overt acts differed completely. Finally, the two conspiracies the statutory offenses charged as racketeering in each charge were different. 47 Marren was charged with two RICO conspiracies because he was involved in two wholly distinct agreements to engage in patterns of racketeering. We believe that the different nature and delineated scope of each racketeering activity are dispositive on this issue and consequently the multiple punishments were permissible. 48 Marren next contends that the consecutive sentences imposed on him as a result of his conviction on the RICO conspiracy and the tax conspiracy counts violated the Double Jeopardy Clause which protects against multiple punishments for the same offense. North Carolina v. Pearce, 395 U.S. 711, 717, 89 S.Ct. 2072, 2076, 23 L.Ed.2d 656 (1969). Marren argues that the two conspiracies arose out of the same set of facts and thus he has been unconstitutionally sentenced twice for the same acts. 49 In general, an agreement to commit several unlawful acts must be charged as a single conspiracy. Braverman v. United States, 317 U.S. 49, 63 S.Ct. 99, 87 L.Ed. 23 (1942). An exception, however, exists where Congress has manifested an intent to authorize multiple punishments for conduct that violates two statutory provisions. Albernaz v. United States, 450 U.S. 333, 101 S.Ct. 1137, 67 L.Ed.2d 275 (1981); American Tobacco Co. v. United States, 328 U.S. 781, 66 S.Ct. 1125, 90 L.Ed. 1575 (1946). When such legislative intent is not readily discernible, courts use the test established by the Supreme Court in Blockburger v. United States, 284 U.S. 299, 52 S.Ct. 180, 76 L.Ed. 306 (1932), to determine whether Congress intended to authorize multiple punishments. United States v. Jones, 808 F.2d 561 (7th Cir.1986). Under Blockburger, two offenses are considered separately punishable if each statutory provision requires proof of a fact that the other does not. Blockburger, 284 U.S. at 304, 52 S.Ct. at 182; United States v. Patterson, 782 F.2d 68, 72 (7th Cir.1986); United States v. Dunigan, 884 F.2d 1010, 1013 (7th Cir.1989). 50 The only appellate court to have addressed whether a defendant can be charged under both Sec. 1962(d) and Sec. 371 is the Second Circuit. In United States v. Barton, 647 F.2d 224, 228 (2d Cir.1981), the Second Circuit examined the legislative intent behind RICO and Sec. 371 and found that [w]e are equally convinced that Congress intended that a court be able to impose cumulative sentences for violations of those sections. Id. The court noted that a ruling prohibiting joinder of a general conspiracy charge with RICO conspiracy would be inconsistent with the stated legislative purpose of RICO to expand criminal punishment. The court concluded that [t]o hold that cumulative sentences could not be imposed ... in this case would plainly defeat Congress's intention to enhance the penalties imposed on those who conspire to engage in racketeering. Id. at 238. See P.L. 91-452, 84 Stat. 922 (Oct. 15, 1970); H.R.Rep. No. 91-1549, 91st Cong., 2d Sess. 57 (1970), reprinted in 1970 U.S.Code Cong. & Ad.News 4007, 4033. We agree. In the instant case, if Marren could only be charged under Sec. 371 for a conspiracy to violate Sec. 1962(d), the maximum sentence would be reduced from a $25,000 fine and imprisonment for twenty years, to a $10,000 fine and imprisonment for five years. And if a penalty could be imposed only under Sec. 1962(d), the conspiracy to defraud the I.R.S. would not be punished at all. To so hold would be contrary to the legislature's stated intent in enacting the RICO statute. 3 51 We believe that the reasoning of Barton is sound and should be followed here. It is evident that the legislature intended to allow multiple punishments under Sec. 1962(d) and Sec. 371. Accordingly, we hold that the government did not violate the Double Jeopardy Clause by charging and sentencing the defendant under both Sec. 371 and Sec. 1962(d). See United States v. Finley, 705 F.Supp. 1272 (N.D.Ill.1988).
52 Marren's final contention is that his sentence was excessive because it was more severe than the one imposed upon Thomas and Frank Russo despite the fact that the Russo brothers were convicted on more counts and shared in the profits of Michael's Magic Touch. Our standard of review for sentences within the maximum term provided by Congress is for a manifest abuse of discretion. United States v. Threw, 861 F.2d 1046, 1049 (7th Cir.1988). A mere showing of disparity in sentences among codefendants does not, without more, demonstrate any abuse of discretion. Id.; United States v. Neyens, 831 F.2d 156, 159 (7th Cir.1987). In the instant case, the sentencing judge discussed the reasons for imposing different punishments. She expressed her disturbance with Marren's prior criminal record and the fact that he was on probation when he committed the offense charged in this indictment. She also took note of his crucial role in establishing the credit card operation and overseeing its smooth functioning at the outset. Therefore, it is apparent that the sentencing judge properly considered accurate information regarding Marren's role in the scheme and had a principled basis for sentencing Marren to a stiffer penalty. Accordingly, we affirm the sentence.