Opinion ID: 359689
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Berger-Field Architects.

Text: 23 In 1965, Paul Hurley, a partner in the St. Louis-based architectural firm of Berger-Field-Torno-Hurley, Architects and Planners, Inc. (Berger-Field), and a long-standing personal friend of Rabbitt, approached Rabbitt on behalf of the firm and sought his help in securing architectural contracts for state construction work. Rabbitt offered, for a fee of ten percent from any resulting work, to introduce the firm to people who might be able to secure architectural contracts for it. 4 24 The evidence indicates that Rabbitt recommended the Berger-Field firm as competent architects to persons 5 authorized to employ architects for state projects. 6 25 During the course of the agreement, the firm credited Rabbitt for some state work it secured. Berger-Field specifically attributed two state projects and one large project from the University of Missouri it received to Rabbitt's influence. Rabbitt also instructed the firm on the procedure to obtain an additional appropriation needed to cover one of its state projects. 7 The firm paid Rabbitt's ten percent fee in cash 8 and later in the form of a $500 monthly retainer to Rabbitt's law partner, Joseph Dickerson, who would mail a monthly statement to the architects on either personal or firm stationery. When payment arrived, Dickerson would deposit the retainer in his personal account and write a check for a like amount to the law firm of Rabbitt, Rabbitt, and Dickerson. Dickerson did little work for the retainer. The evidence revealed that the architects paid Rabbitt ten percent ($22,538) of the gross fees from both city and state contracts attributable to his influence. This money was paid either directly to Rabbitt or to Dickerson for the benefit of Rabbitt's law firm. In his defense, Rabbitt denied any payoff agreement and attempted to account for payments to the law firm as legitimate collections for law work done without formal billing in earlier years and as proper retainer fees. 26 The mailings of law firm retainer bills and checks in payment generated the ten mail fraud charges contained in counts I to X. The demand for the ten percent kickback generated an extortion count under the Hobbs Act, count XI. 27