Opinion ID: 506589
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Co-Conspirator Statements and the Conspiracy to Obstruct Justice Charge Against Kazonis

Text: 58 While we recognize the inherent complications involved in designing a jury charge that will compartmentalize evidence of separate, but interconnected, conspiracies in the context of a multiple defendant RICO trial of this sort, we are troubled by the court's instruction that the jury could consider, without any special limitation, statements of the alleged co-conspirators in determining Kazonis's guilt or innocence in the alleged conspiracy to obstruct justice (Count 6). By so instructing, the court allowed the jury to consider statements of alleged RICO co-conspirators regarding plans to murder Harvey Cohen and others when determining whether Kazonis participated in a wholly separate conspiracy to obstruct justice. The statements pertaining to the conspiracy to murder Harvey Cohen and others were largely irrelevant to the latter conspiracy. 18 59 Nevertheless, we are convinced, in light of the evidence and what the jury did find, that any improper failure to give a further limiting instruction did not harm Kazonis. 60 First, the jury did not find him guilty of either the RICO conspiracy or the substantive RICO offense charged in the indictment, and returned mixed verdicts against the defendants charged with those offenses. This shows that the jury was able to isolate evidence relevant to the RICO conspiracy from that relevant to the separate alleged conspiracy to obstruct justice. See United States v. Porter, 764 F.2d 1, 13 (1st Cir.1985) (fact that jury returned different verdicts against jointly charged and tried co-defendants indicates that court's limiting instruction enabled jury separately to consider evidence pertaining to guilt or innocence of each defendant). 61 Second, the instruction allowing the jury unlimited consideration of the alleged RICO co-conspirators' statements did not apply to or taint the jury's conviction of Kazonis for the substantive obstruction of justice count (Count 7), and there was more than sufficient evidence for the jury to find that Kazonis obstructed justice by interfering with LaFreniere's appearance before the grand jury. See supra pp. 961-62. To convict Kazonis for conspiring to obstruct justice, the jury needed to find, in addition to the elements of the substantive offense, only that Kazonis agreed, or reached an understanding, with others to accomplish that offense. The existence of such an agreement or mutual understanding was established by more than substantial evidence, see supra at p. 961, regardless of the collateral evidence of statements of alleged RICO co-conspirators concerning the Patriarca Family's murder plans before the jury. 62 Thus, we find harmless beyond reasonable doubt the district court's error in allowing the jury broadly to consider alleged RICO conspirators' statements in assessing the separate obstruction of justice conspiracy charge asserted against Kazonis. Cf. United States v. Lane, 474 U.S. 438, 106 S.Ct. 725, 732-33 n. 13, 88 L.Ed.2d 814 (1986) (error involving misjoinder of defendants requires reversal only if it had a substantial and injurious effect or influence in determining jury's verdict, and a limiting instruction to jury to separately consider evidence for guilt of separate defendants minimizes any prejudice). 19 63