Opinion ID: 440528
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Whether the Indictment was Constructively Amended

Text: 71 Appellant, Tortoriello, raises a trilogy of arguments; all of which are without merit. Tortoriello claims that the government and the trial court altered the offense charged in the indictment to such an extent that the alteration constituted an impermissible constructive amendment of the indictment. Tortoriello alleges this is true because: (1) the trial court did not require the government to prove that the two paintings had an actual value of $5,000 or more; (2) the government did not prove that the paintings were in fact stolen; and (3) the subjects of the conspiracy were not paintings as charged in the indictment, but rather actual drawings. 72 To this trilogy, appellant, Sarro, adds that the government failed to prove that appellants agreed that the paintings be transported in interstate commerce. We address each contention in turn.
73 Appellants' argument that the district court altered the offense charged in the indictment when it instructed the jury that the government did not have the burden of proving that the paintings were actually worth $5,000 is without merit. While proof that the paintings had a minimum value of $5,000 would have been necessary had appellants been charged with a substantive violation of section 2314, that proof is unnecessary here because appellants were charged with conspiracy to violate section 2314. United States v. Graves, 669 F.2d 964, 971 (5th Cir.1982); United States v. Maddox, 492 F.2d 104, 106 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 419 U.S. 851, 95 S.Ct. 92, 42 L.Ed.2d 82 (1974). 74 Federal jurisdiction over the substantive offense of transportation of stolen goods in interstate commerce is predicated on the goods having a value of at least $5,000. 18 U.S.C.A. Sec. 2314; United States v. Tombrello, 666 F.2d 485 (11th Cir.1982). 75 This court, however, has expressly held that proof of the conspirator's belief that the illegal activity would yield more than the jurisdictional amount, $5,000, is all that is required to sustain a conspiracy conviction. Tombrello, 666 F.2d at 489; accord United States v. Rosner, 485 F.2d 1213 (2d Cir.1973), cert. denied, 417 U.S. 950, 94 S.Ct. 3080, 41 L.Ed.2d 672 (1974). 76 The evidence reveals that appellants believed that they would reap $2 million from their sale of stolen paintings. Under Tombrello, appellants' belief covers the jurisdictional amount. Appellants' argument to the contrary overlooks the jurisprudential distinction between a conspiracy and the substantive offense. We hold that the district court correctly instructed the jury with regard to the value of the paintings.
77 Contrary to appellants' contentions, the district court correctly instructed the jury that the government did not have to prove that the paintings actually traveled in interstate commerce. Proof that goods actually traveled in interstate or foreign commerce is unnecessary when a defendant is charged with conspiracy to violate 18 U.S.C.A. Sec. 2314. United States v. Franklin, 586 F.2d 560, 567 n. 12 (5th Cir.1978), cert. denied, 440 U.S. 972, 99 S.Ct. 1536, 59 L.Ed.2d 789 (1979); United States v. Rose, 590 F.2d 232, 235-36 (7th Cir.1978), cert. denied, 442 U.S. 929, 99 S.Ct. 2859, 61 L.Ed.2d 297 (1979); accord U.S. v. Graves, 669 F.2d 964, 971 (5th Cir.1982). 78 In Franklin, a witness testified that it was mentioned at the May 26 Piere House meeting that the Audubon folios would be going up north after the robbery. Franklin, 586 F.2d at 567 n. 12. Based on this testimony, the former Fifth Circuit concluded that a jury could reasonably infer that the appellant co-conspirators, both of whom attended the meeting, knew that the stolen art would be transported interstate. Franklin, 586 F.2d 567 n. 12. 79 The present record reveals that on August 4, 1982, appellant, Tortoriello, met with Agent McShane. During this meeting, Agent McShane advised Tortoriello that McShane had the responsibility of getting the paintings out of the country, but before the paintings left the United States, they would be going to New Jersey. Tortoriello said that the money exchange for the paintings could be done in New York. 80 Prior to that meeting with Tortoriello, Agent McShane examined the paintings and engaged in conversation with Shapiro, Sarro, and Tiedeberg. During this conversation, the parties discussed the fact that the paintings had to be transported to New Jersey and then eventually to a customer in Latin America. Shapiro asked how the money would be transferred. Agent McShane told Sarro, Shapiro, and Tiedeberg that they could make the exchange here or do it in New York. Shapiro said it did not matter. 81 After reviewing this evidence in a light most favorable to the government, we conclude that the jury could reasonably infer that Tortoriello and Sarro, both of whom attended the relevant meetings, knew, agreed, and believed that the stolen art work would be transported interstate. See United States v. Franklin, 586 F.2d at 567. We hold that the district court correctly instructed the jury that the government was not required to prove that the stolen paintings actually traveled in interstate commerce. 82
83 Appellants further contend that the evidence is insufficient to support their convictions because the government did not prove that the paintings were actually stolen, and that this problem was compounded when the judge instructed the jury that the government does not have any burden of proving that the paintings in this case were stolen. 84 We agree with the trial court that the government did not have to prove that the paintings in this case were actually stolen; it was enough for the government to show that the conspirators conspired to transport in interstate commerce paintings which they believed were stolen. United States v. Tombrello, 666 F.2d 485 (11th Cir.1982) (by implication). 85 Nonetheless, an abundance of evidence exists from which the jury could have found that the paintings were in fact stolen. The conspirators stated the paintings were stolen, stated the place from which they were stolen, and handled them in a manner consistent with their statements. A person from whom similar paintings were stolen testified that he thought they were his stolen paintings. With such evidence, the jury in this case could have found that these were the same paintings stolen from the Whitney house in Palm Beach County. 86 After reviewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the government, and after accepting all credibility judgments and reasonable inferences that support the verdict, we hold that the evidence is sufficient for the jury to believe beyond a reasonable doubt that a conspiracy existed and that appellants, Sarro and Tortoriello, were full, voluntary, and knowing participants in the conspiracy to transport in interstate commerce two stolen paintings of a value of $5,000 or more. 87 We have considered the other arguments advanced by Sarro and Tortoriello, but we find them unpersuasive. After examining the entire record, the parties' briefs, and established legal precedent, we are convinced that the evidence is sufficient to support the jury's verdict and reject all of appellants' arguments to the contrary. 88