Opinion ID: 377910
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Admission of Picardo's Statements Under the Coconspirator Hearsay Exception

Text: 78 At issue here is the testimony of Paulette Compton and Mary Ann Hart, Picardo's paramours, and of Alan Abramowitz, an employee of Picardo, who were allowed, over objections, to testify to statements Picardo made to them about Provenzano and his role in the illegal operations. The statements were admitted under Fed.R.Evid. 801(d)(2)(E): 79 (d) Statements which are not hearsay. A statement is not hearsay if 80 (2) Admission by party-opponent. The statement is offered against a party and is . . . (E) a statement by a coconspirator of a party during the course and in furtherance of the conspiracy. 81 Provenzano argues that Picardo's statements as related by Compton, Hart, and Abramowitz were not made in furtherance of the conspiracy, even assuming the existence of a conspiracy which included Picardo and Provenzano. Specifically, Provenzano objects to Compton's testimony about Picardo's telling of Provenzano's role in his, Picardo's, affairs, the claim that FLT was a sham, and how Lift-Van was capitalized (A2460-71), and to Hart's statements about Picardo's high regard for Provenzano (A2635), how Lift-Van was financed (A2642), and how Picardo traveled to Florida on Provenzano's orders (A2648). 82 Provenzano admits that when Picardo went to jail in 1975, Picardo had Compton run the business for him. Provenzano also admits that both Hart and Abramowitz worked for the business. The district court was entitled to decide that what Picardo told Compton was in furtherance of the conspiracy because he knew he would need someone to run the company if he went to jail. As Compton testified, Picardo gave her a power of attorney when he went to jail because I (Compton) had been running the office, basically, while he was on trial and he had no one else to take care of the business and I just took over (A2475). If Compton were to run the business, she had to know all the details, and therefore, Picardo's telling her the sordid details was in furtherance of the conspiracy. While the admissibility of Compton's testimony is a close question, we will not disturb the district court's finding that the statements of Picardo were in furtherance of the conspiracy. See United States v. Trotter, 529 F.2d 806, 813 (3d Cir. 1976) (approving a broad construction of the in furtherance of requirement). 83 No findings, however, apparently were made with respect to whether the statements of Picardo to which Hart and Abramowitz testified were in furtherance of the conspiracy. The district court said only, I don't understand the objection. If Mr. Picardo is saying things that purportedly refer to the conspiracy, to his employees, then it's an act of a co-conspirator (A2335-36). This misconstrues the in furtherance of requirement. Only if there was a reason for Hart or Abramowitz to know these things about the conspiracy could the statements have been in furtherance of the conspiracy. At best, Hart and Abramowitz were Picardo's errand runners. The district court made no findings, and the Government has pointed to no evidence indicating that anything Picardo told them could have furthered the conspiracy. 84 Nevertheless, the testimony was admissible to rebut a claim of recent fabrication under Fed.R.Evid. 801(d)(1)(B): 85 (d) Statements which are not hearsay. A statement is not hearsay if 86 (1) Prior statement by witness. The declarant testifies at the trial or hearing and is subject to cross-examination concerning the statement, and the statement is . . . (B) consistent with his testimony and is offered to rebut an express or implied charge against him of recent fabrication or improper influence or motive . . . . 87 Thus, the statements of Picardo to Compton, Hart, and Abramowitz were consistent with Picardo's statements at trial, where he was available for cross-examination, and are relevant to rebut the defense claim express or implied that Picardo was lying against all the defendants in return for benefits from the Government. Evidence was before the jury with respect to Picardo's 1975 murder conviction (A1216-18), as well as the fact that Picardo was in prison (id.), and the fact that Picardo was released from the state prison with the aid of the federal government in return for his cooperation in the Provenzano case (A1224-30, A1505-06), 20 and has since escaped from a federal prison but has never been prosecuted (A3479-83, A3489). 88 Under these circumstances, the testimony of Compton, Hart, and Abramowitz that prior to his 1975 murder conviction, Picardo told them about his association with Provenzano and about the illegalities of the business was highly probative to rebut the defense claim, which at least was implied, that Picardo fabricated the whole conspiracy so as to remove himself from prison and take revenge on the appellants, particularly Stephen Andretta, for failing to help him out. See, e. g., United States v. Knuckles, 581 F.2d 305, 313-14 (2d Cir.) (recordings, in furtherance of conspiracy, also admissible to rebut charge of falsification, since they predated the suggested motive for falsification i. e. to gain favor with prosecution), cert. denied, 439 U.S. 986, 99 S.Ct. 581, 58 L.Ed.2d 659 (1978); United States v. Allen, 579 F.2d 531, 532-33 (9th Cir.) (Government may rebut implied charge of recent fabrication even where such charge is suggested by evidence introduced by Government for another purpose, as long as Government did not introduce suggestion of falsification merely to enable it to bolster case with prior consistent statement), cert. denied, 439 U.S. 933, 99 S.Ct. 326, 58 L.Ed.2d 329 (1978). 89 The testimony of Compton, Hart, and Abramowitz was admissible, at least to rebut a fabrication claim, and the district court's evidentiary ruling may be affirmed on this alternative ground. See, e. g., United States v. Rosenstein, 474 F.2d 705, 711-13 (2d Cir. 1973) (affirmance of admissibility on appeal based on coconspirator rule, never discussed by trial court). 21 90