Opinion ID: 162948
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Value of the Bribe Under the 1993 Contract

Text: 26 Having determined that it was not clear error for the district court to limit McClatchey's relevant conduct under USSG § 1B1.3 to bribes paid under the 1993 contract, we turn to the government's contention that the district court clearly erred in calculating the value of the bribe paid under that contract. The payment to the LaHues under the contract was $150,000. The issue is the value of any services performed by the LaHues in return. 27 At the sentencing of McClatchey's codefendant Dan Anderson, the district court decided that the LaHues rendered $100,000 worth of services to Baptist each year between 1986 and 1994, but were paid $150,000 annually. Therefore, the court concluded, at least $50,000, though probably more, of the money paid to the LaHues each year was a bribe. Aplt.'s App. at 892. The district court adopted this finding at McClatchey's sentencing, and concluded that the value of the bribe paid under the 1993 contract was $50,000. 28 The government contends that the district court's bribe calculation was clearly erroneous. It asserts that the entire $150,000 paid under the 1993 contract was a bribe, because the LaHues performed virtually no services for Baptist. It points out that in the district court's July 21, 1999, opinion granting McClatchey's judgment of acquittal, the court stated with respect to the 1986 contract that the doctors performed only minimal services under the contract. Anderson, 85 F. Supp.2d at 1056; see id. at 1062, 1069. 29 The government does not, however, suggest any reason why the court could not reassess the evidence at the time of sentencing. We may reverse the district court's valuation of the bribe as clearly erroneous only if it is implausible in light of the entire record on appeal. Torres, 53 F.3d at 1144. That is not the case here. As the government concedes, there is evidence in the record suggesting that the LaHues performed substantial services for Baptist. Aplt.'s Reply Br. at 6. Indeed, the record contains direct support for the district court's specific finding that the value of the services the LaHues rendered was worth $100,000 per year. In determining the value of those services, the district court relied on a 1986 memorandum from Ron Keel, an operations vice president at Baptist, that recommended reducing payments to the LaHues from $150,000 to $100,000 per year. The court stated that Mr. Keel was the individual at Baptist closest to the relationship [with the LaHues] and was in the best position to put a ceiling on the value to Baptist of whatever legitimate services the LaHues were performing. Aplt.'s App. at 890-91. Other evidence in the record also supports the $100,000 figure. Dr. Nevada Lee, medical director of Baptist's clinic from 1985-1992, testified that she observed the LaHues perform a number of services for the hospital, and that she believed payments of $1 million over ten years for those services was a very fair deal. Aplee.'s Supp.App. at 404. Various doctors and nurses also testified that the LaHues performed important services for Baptist. 30 To be sure, as the district court recognized, there was also ample testimony that the LaHues performed minimal services for Baptist. Aplt.'s App. at 890. Nevertheless, as described above, there was evidence supporting the district court's conclusion that the LaHues rendered services worth $100,000. We therefore cannot say that the district court's determination of the value of the bribe paid under the 1993 contract was clearly erroneous. See Anderson v. City of Bessemer City, 470 U.S. 564, 574, 105 S.Ct. 1504, 84 L.Ed.2d 518 (1985) (Where there are two permissible views of the evidence, the factfinder's choice between them cannot be clearly erroneous.).