Opinion ID: 2710
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Whether the Evidence Was Sufficient to Prove Lombardozzi's State of Mind

Text: 20 With respect to Lombardozzi's state of mind, under § 892 the government had to prove that at the time Lombardozzi caused the loan to be made to Leung, Lombardozzi had an understanding that if Leung delayed in making, or failed to make, repayment, Leung could be harmed. Under § 894 the focus is on the defendant's actions and intentions with respect to the collection activity. The government had to establish that, in collecting the loans, Lombardozzi intended, as the result of his actions, to cause Leung to fear he would suffer harm to his person, reputation, or property. Lombardozzi argues that the government did not provide evidence sufficient to prove that he had the required state of mind. We disagree. 21 Lombardozzi's state of mind, much like Leung's, can reasonably be inferred from the terms of the loans that he extended. Indeed, a jury may permissibly infer that someone who makes an unsecured loan and charges exorbitant interest rates surely intends to back up the loan with threats of violence. See United States v. Polizzi, 801 F.2d 1543, 1555 (9th Cir.1986) (The jury could reasonably have concluded that [the] evidence proved that [defendant] knew [the victim] was paying an extortionate rate of interest on his debt and that [defendant] must therefore have known that the debt could have been secured only by threats of violence or harm to [the victim].). Given the context of an unsecured loan at an exorbitant interest rate, a jury could also infer from Lombardozzi's own statements his intent to back up the loan with threats of violence. For instance, he told Leung to keep up what [he was] doing when Leung made payments, which Leung understood to mean make the payments on time, be a good boy. Further, when Leung started having trouble making payments, Lombardozzi told him that he had better take care of it. It is reasonable for a jury to infer that these statements were threatening in nature, if not direct threats themselves. In addition, those statements permitted the inference that Lombardozzi not only understood the extortionate nature of the loan, which is the state of mind required under § 892, but that he intended to instill fear in Leung, which is the state of mind required under § 894. While those statements were not made contemporaneously with the making of the loans, they nonetheless did provide evidence as to Lombardozzi's state of mind regarding their repayment. See United States v. Lamattina, 889 F.2d 1191, 1193 (1st Cir.1989) (Although these threats were made after the time of the loans, they may still shed light on appellant's intentions when he made the loans. Surely, this evidence is more than sufficient to reasonably infer the requisite `understanding.'). 22 Taped conversations between Leung and Isoldi also shed light on Lombardozzi's state of mind. The jury was entitled to infer from those conversations that Leung was afraid; that Isoldi, as a coconspirator, was speaking for Lombardozzi; and that instilling such fear was Lombardozzi's intent. For example, in one such conversation, occurring at a time when Leung was having trouble making payments, Isoldi told him I think I'm going to have to make an appointment for you to see [Lombardozzi] in person, because it's going to get out of hand. Isoldi also threatened to bring Lombardozzi to the restaurant if Leung did not make his payments. Peter Perrotta, Isoldi's associate, corroborated the details of the conversations. Perrotta testified that [Isoldi] seemed very animated that [Leung] wasn't ready to see [Lombardozzi], and basically said that [Lombardozzi] wasn't going to be happy, and that he doesn't want to have to send [Scotto]. From this evidence, a jury could reasonably infer that Lombardozzi intended to harm Leung if he did not pay, or at the very least that he intended Leung to fear harm, particularly considering the suggestion of sending Scotto—the group's muscle—to see him.