Opinion ID: 409612
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Pretrial Hearing on the Plea in Bar

Text: 25 At the pretrial hearing on the plea to bar the trial of the MR. JAKE conspiracy charges, Kalish contended that the government would attempt to reintroduce all the evidence presented at the EL COBRE trial to prove Kalish's involvement in the conspiracy. Kalish also introduced two written pretrial statements signed by Troutwein. In the first statement, dated December 11, 1979, Troutwein claimed that Kalish had made the $1,000 payment on December 6 in connection with a discussion about unloading both a shrimp boat (which turned out to be the EL COBRE) and a supply boat (which turned out to be the MR. JAKE). During that same discussion (not on December 8, as Troutwein had testified at the EL COBRE trial), Kalish offered Troutwein $50,000 for the unloading of the EL COBRE and $150,000 for the unloading of the MR. JAKE. At the December 8 meeting, Kalish again discussed both the EL COBRE and the MR. JAKE, and increased Troutwein's share for the unloading of the MR. JAKE to $1,000,000. 26 According to the December 11 statement, the December 10 meeting with the other people after the MISS CLARA had departed concerned the arrangements for unloading the MR. JAKE. Kalish and the other people gave Troutwein good faith money-the written statement does not say how much-in addition to the $5,000 that Kalish had given Troutwein earlier in the day for the MISS CLARA. 27 Troutwein's second written statement, dated December 20, 1979, described his contacts with Kalish from December 11 through December 19. The statement described a December 13 meeting concerning the MR. JAKE operation with Kalish and three other persons. One of the persons was the same man who had piloted the MISS CLARA. The statement also claimed that on December 18, Doc returned to the marina to spend the night and make sure everything was alright for the unloading of the MR. JAKE. 28 Based on this presentation, Kalish argued that the EL COBRE and the MR. JAKE operations were part of the same conspiracy: the government intended to introduce the same pre-December 11 evidence to show Kalish's participation in the conspiracy; on December 6 and 8, Kalish made arrangements with Troutwein for both operations simultaneously, giving Troutwein $1,000 in connection with both operations; the government's evidence showed that Peaches, Doc, and the pilot of the MISS CLARA were engaged in both operations, and the evidence at the EL COBRE trial had also suggested that Stockton and McCormick, MR. JAKE conspirators, were somehow involved in the EL COBRE operation. Kalish also relied on the government's presentation of the EL COBRE and MR. JAKE cases to the same grand jury: in both presentations, the government's witnesses told the grand jury that the crimes were committed by Kalish's organization which was controlled and funded by people in Florida. 29 In attempting to prove that there were two separate conspiracies, the government did not contest that it would reintroduce the evidence against Kalish presented at the first trial, although it agreed not to introduce evidence concerning the seizure of the EL COBRE. Instead, the government put Troutwein on the stand to testify that on December 10, Kalish was nervous about keeping separate the group going out to the EL COBRE and the group coming in to discuss the MR. JAKE. This testimony was corroborated by Troutwein's December 11 written statement: Apparently the shrimp boat and the supply boat are two separate deals because Steve was real nervous about keeping the two groups separated. However, this testimony was little more than a conclusion; and when the district judge directed Troutwein to state the facts upon which he based his conclusion, the only fact on which Troutwein relied was Kalish's insistence that he needed a boat immediately to get his companions out to meet the EL COBRE. 30 Despite the weakness of the government's showing, the district court denied the plea in bar.