Opinion ID: 726055
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Undercover Investigation

Text: 33 On account of the government's suspicions about the Amiels' business practices, Postal Inspector Waiman Leung approached members of the Amiel family under the guise of an art dealer from Asia interested in purchasing genuine works of art. He purported to be especially interested in works by Dali, Miro, Chagall and Picasso. After their first meeting, Leung purchased 22 prints purportedly created by these artists and bearing pencil signatures. However, he received no documentation as to the prints' authenticity. Kathryn Amiel clearly told him that she did not have any documentation for some of the pieces and did not know of their provenance. She told Leung that the only documentation she had was her father's, and that she could not make any guarantees on art she didn't purchase herself. She insisted on selling the pieces as is. 34 With the assistance of another undercover agent, Raymond Hang, Leung continued to press Kathryn and Sarina, who was home from college, for documentation as to the pieces' authenticity. Finally, after much coaxing, the Amiels agreed to rewrite, on their letterhead, the information that had been contained in Leon Amiel's documents. They mailed this information to the investigators. 35 In July 1991, following the undercover investigation, the government executed a search warrant for the Amiels' Island Park facility and seized approximately 70,000 prints. During this search, the government found and seized stacks of particular prints, the first few signed, the remainder unsigned, consistent with the practice of maintaining an inventory in unsigned condition. 36 Also seized from the Amiels' facility during the raid was a copy of a fax sent by Sarina to Flemming Hall, the defendants' European distributor. The fax consisted of a Quote of the Day from Leon, in which he stated, I don't know how these people sell to the public, what they claim and how they sell it is something I don't get involved with. Sarina had hand written a note on the top of the page: I was rummaging through a drawer and I came across this quote! I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!!! Copies of the fax were found posted on the wall of the defendants' Island Park facility on the day of the raid, under the heading words to live by ... and the notation S. 37 Kathryn and Sarina were convicted on counts 1-3, pertaining to the sales to Leung. Joanne was acquitted of these three counts. Kathryn and Joanne, but not Sarina, were convicted of mail fraud in connection with sales to Coffaro. Kathryn and Sarina, but not Joanne, were convicted in connection with sales to Wallace. The jury convicted all three defendants on a number of the counts pertaining to sales to Groeger, and on the single conspiracy count. Kathryn was sentenced to 78 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release and a special assessment of $1,200. Joanne was sentenced to 46 months, to be followed by three years of supervised release and a special assessment of $800. Sarina was sentenced to 33 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release and a special assessment of $950.