Opinion ID: 739314
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Salvatore

Text: 13 Salvatore was convicted of RICO, RICO conspiracy, mail fraud, wire fraud, interstate travel and communication in aid of racketeering, and conducting an illegal gambling business. Salvatore assumes that his convictions on the substantive offenses were based upon co-conspirator liability under Pinkerton v. United States, 328 U.S. 640, 66 S.Ct. 1180, 90 L.Ed. 1489 (1946), and he therefore addresses the sufficiency of the evidence as it relates to his conviction for RICO conspiracy only. Although Salvatore admits to attending meetings with the members of the Marcello crime family, he contends that the evidence regarding these meetings merely establishes his presence, and not his participation in the conspiracy. 14 To satisfy the intent requirement of conspiracy, the Government must prove that a defendant knew of the conspiracy and voluntarily joined it, and that a defendant had the requisite intent to commit the underlying substantive offenses. See Ismoila, 100 F.3d at 387. We will not readily infer a defendant's knowledge of and decision to join a conspiracy, and a defendant's mere association with a conspirator is not by itself sufficient to sustain a conspiracy conviction. See United States v. Ross, 58 F.3d 154, 159 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 116 S.Ct. 404, 133 L.Ed.2d 323 (1995). 15 As with the Tusas, much of the Government's proof is based upon the testimony of Christopher Tanfield. Tanfield testified that Salvatore was present, along with co-defendants Anthony Carollo, Joe Marcello, the Gaglianos, John Gammarano, and Joseph Corozzo, at a meeting in late 1991 in which the conspirators decided to allocate the profits from the video poker enterprise to the New York crime family, the New Orleans crime family, and to individuals such as Tanfield and Bolson to raise capital for the scheme. Tanfield also testified that Salvatore was present at a December 1992 meeting where the conspirators discussed moving LRO's assets to other front companies to prevent Bally Gaming from foreclosing on LRO. 16 In addition, Tanfield described how money from Worldwide Gaming and LRO was to be shifted into offshore banks from which the conspirators, including Salvatore, could withdraw funds by means of debit cards so that the profits from Worldwide Gaming could be funneled to members of the conspiracy in a way that was non-traceable. He testified that Joe Gagliano told him that Salvatore was going to get a piece of the deal, meaning, in Tanfield's opinion, that Salvatore was going to get one of these credit cards. 17 Agent McHenry's testimony concerning the audiotaped conversations bolstered Tanfield's inculpatory testimony regarding Salvatore's participation in the criminal enterprise. Agent McHenry testified that the tapes reflected that after Anthony Carollo was hospitalized with a heart attack, John Gammarano decided that should anything further happen to Carollo, the conspirators should talk to either Joe Marcello or Sebastian Buster Salvatore. McHenry also testified that after Bally Gaming delivered the video poker machines to Worldwide Gaming, Salvatore and the other co-defendants were given a private tour of the Worldwide Gaming facility. 18 The Government also introduced a recording of a phone conversation between Joe Gagliano and Salvatore wherein Gagliano tells Salvatore, They're here, and Salvatore responds, All right. I'll be there in about 20 minutes. Agent McHenry testified that the FBI's video surveillance reflected that this call was placed shortly after co-defendants Gammarano and Corozzo of the New York-based Gambino family arrived at Frank's Deli. The tapes also reflect that, on at least three other occasions, Salvatore was informed that the conspirators were at the Deli and was told that his presence was requested there. In addition, the jury heard a tape of a phone conversation between Carollo and Salvatore in which Carollo told Salvatore to meet him at an unnamed school, which Agent McHenry identified as the RETS Electronic Training Center in Metairie. The FBI's videotape surveillance confirmed that Salvatore was present at RETS that evening for the meeting in which the conspirators, according to Tanfield, discussed hiding LRO's assets from Bally. 19 Agent McHenry also testified about a conversation recorded by the deli microphone wherein Salvatore was overheard discussing the scheme with his co-conspirators. Finally, the deli microphone picked up a conversation in which Joe Gagliano was describing to an unindicted co-conspirator an argument between Frank Gagliano Sr. (Joe's father) and Sebastian Salvatore. Referring to this conversation, Agent McHenry testified that Joe Gagliano is expressing his frustration because members of the family have been hustling and trying to get this thing going with Worldwide Gaming and LRO for a year now, and Mr. Salvatore, obviously he's going to get his piece of it, but he hasn't maybe been living up to his end on putting it all together for them. 20 In conclusion, the Government proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Salvatore knew of the conspiracy and voluntarily joined it. Although establishing that a defendant merely associated with the conspirators is insufficient to prove membership in a conspiracy, see United States v. Jackson, 700 F.2d 181, 185 (5th Cir.1983), Salvatore's repeated and requested presence at meetings in which the details of the conspiracy were discussed does confirm that he knew of the conspiracy and voluntarily joined it.