Opinion ID: 22977
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Maldonado's Predisposition

Text: 85 We likewise conclude that there was sufficient evidence for the jury to find that Maldonado was predisposed to commit the charged crimes. 13 As noted above, a defendant's eager willingness to participate in government-solicited criminal activity is sufficient to prove predisposition. The linchpin of Maldonado's argument here is that she did not know about Reyes's and the Cayman Group's cash payments to council members; therefore, she argues, her work on behalf of the group, though it might appear differently to others, did not constitute an eager willingness to engage in the charged crimes. Having already found that the evidence is sufficient to conclude that Maldonado intended to bribe Councilman Yarbrough January 24, and it being undisputed that she intended to do the same with respect to Councilman Castillo April 29, we reject this argument. We conclude, therefore, that a rational jury, looking at the evidence of Maldonado's conduct as an objective manifestation of her predisposition, could find that she was a willing and eager participant in the charged acts of bribery. 86 Maldonado argues that once she became a knowing participant in the scheme to bribe council members, she hesitated and stalled when Molineiro or Dogium thereafter asked her to meet with members of the council. She contends that she tried to steer her lobbying efforts toward the mayor and other officials and that she once lied to Molineiro about Councilman Yarbrough's travel plans so that she could avoid a meeting with him. Maldonado also contends that she urged Dogium to make an above-board contribution to Councilman Fraga's campaign for Congress, rather than a cash payment. 87 Other evidence, however, reveals that Maldonado continued to play an integral role in the bribery scheme right up until the time she was confronted by law enforcement. In April Maldonado told Dogium, I'm going to tell you how you can get the most for the least. On April 19, Maldonado promised that she would determine which council members would want cash for their support, adding we can start off by assuming that they're all gonna want something. On April 29, Maldonado handed a cash-filled envelope to Councilman Castillo. Later that day, Maldonado asked Molineiro to prepare two grand for a meeting the next day with Councilman Fraga, who she remarked really, really needs it. And on each of the next two days that followed--April 30 and May 1--the evidence shows that Maldonado attempted to pass a bribe. 88 Like Reyes, Maldonado argues that the government's aggressive inducement defeats any finding of predisposition. We disagree. At trial, Maldonado argued that the government's inducement was designed to tug at the core of her being. Like Reyes, she contended that the hotel project represented a historic opportunity for her community because of its promise of inclusion to ethnic minorities. A rational jury, however, could have correctly concluded that the introduction of the Cayman Group and its representatives into Reyes's and Maldonado's community did not represent the extraordinary opportunity Maldonado argued that it did.