Opinion ID: 2971816
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Hobbs Act Conviction

Text: Saadey contends that, as a private individual, he cannot be found guilty of the crime charged in Count 8 of the Superceding Indictment, namely, that he “attempted to [] affect commerce by extortion, that is, by attempting to obtain property from another [] under the color of official right,” in violation of the Hobbs Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1951. As defined by the Hobbs Act, “[t]he term ‘extortion’ means the obtaining of property from another, with his consent, induced by wrongful use of actual or threatened force, violence, or fear, or under color of official right.” 18 U.S.C. § 1951(b)(2). Whether a private individual can be found guilty of extortion under color of official right presents a question of statutory interpretation. This Court reviews such questions de novo. See United States v. Murphy, 107 F.3d 1199, 1208 (6th Cir. 1997). As a general matter, prosecuting private citizens under the “color of official right” theory of extortion is inappropriate under the Hobbs Act, irrespective of the actual influence that private citizen purports to maintain over government officials. United States v. McClain, 934 F.2d 822, 831 (7th Cir. 1991). Some courts have carved out an exception for private citizens who either masquerade as, or act in coordination with, public officials, but in each of those cases a public official “in some past, present or future capacity receiv[ed] money.” United States v. Tomblin, 46 F.3d 1369, 1382 (5th Cir. 1995). In Tomblin, the Fifth Circuit held that this exception did not permit prosecution of the defendant under the No. 02-3570 United States v. Saadey Page 4 “official right” theory. Tomblin, a private citizen, coerced his victims into giving him money by threatening to use against them his political influence with a United States Senator. Id. 1382-83. Tomblin was convicted of extortion under color of official right, and the Fifth Circuit reversed. The court held that his actions did not result in any public official’s receiving any money; Tomblin himself was neither a public official nor in the process of becoming one; Tomblin’s victims did not believe that he was a public official; and the influence Tomblin threatened to use was not official power. Id. at 1382-83. This Circuit has recognized that the Hobbs Act may reach private individuals under some circumstances. In United States v. Collins, 78 F.3d 1021, 1031-2 (6th Cir. 1996), Collins, the husband of the Kentucky Governor but nonetheless a private citizen, had successfully conspired with various Kentucky state officials to extort payments from persons seeking to do business with the Commonwealth. Collins was convicted of conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right, in violation of the Hobbs Act. We affirmed that conviction, rejecting Collins’s attempt to rely on Tomblin, which we found clearly distinguishable because Tomblin had been convicted of the substantive offense of extortion, not of conspiracy to commit that offense, and he had not been accused of conspiring with a government official. Collins, on the other hand, had actively conspired with government officials to extort payments from potential state contractors. Id. at 1031. In affirming Collins’s conviction, we relied on the Ninth Circuit’s decision in United States v. Freeman, 6 F.3d 586 (9th Cir. 1993): “The Hobbs Act reaches ‘anyone who actually exercises official powers.’” Collins, 78 F.3d at 1032 (quoting Freeman, 6 F.3d. at 593). Freeman, we explained, was a case in which “the court found sufficient evidence that the defendant legislative aide created the impression that he could affect legislation, and that he did, in fact, use his official position to shepherd bills through the legislative process to induce payments from the undercover FBI agents.” Id. We agreed with the conclusion of the Ninth Circuit that “the Hobbs Act reaches those public employees who may lack the actual power to bring about official action, but create the reasonable impression that they do possess such power and seek to exploit that impression to induce payments.” Id. (italics added). We think Collins has made it clear that, in this circuit, a private citizen who is not in the process of becoming a public official may be convicted of Hobbs Act extortion under the “color of official right” theory only if that private citizen either conspires with, or aids and abets, a public official in the act of extortion. The United States concedes that Saadey was not a public official at the time of this attempted solicitation, and the record contains no evidence that he was in the process of becoming a public official. We must determine, therefore, whether, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found beyond a reasonable doubt that Saadey conspired with or aided and abetted a public official in the act of extortion. See Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319 (1979) (holding that in judging the sufficiency of the evidence, “the relevant question is whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.”) We conclude that the evidence does not support such a finding. Count 8 charges that Saadey attempted to solicit money from criminal defendant Kenneth Olsavsky “under the pretense that the money would be used to bribe James A. Vitullo, named but not charged in this count, to reduce charges in two pending cases.” The United States offered no evidence that Saadey aided and abetted Vitullo—or any other public official—in extorting money from Olsavsky and the district court refused to charge the jury on the issue of aiding and abetting. Count 8 does not allege that Saadey conspired with Vitullo—or any other public official—to extort money, but instead alleges that Saadey attempted to solicit money from Olsavsky under the “pretense” that he would use that money to bribe Vitullo. Finally, the jury acquitted Vitullo on all charges of conspiracy. Accordingly, we hold that Saadey’s conviction on Count 8 of the superceding indictment must be reversed.