Opinion ID: 402336
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Barbara Walberg

Text: 26 Walberg argues that the trial court's exclusion of an exculpatory hearsay statement made by co-defendant Rizzo before a United States Magistrate requires reversal and a new trial. 27 Rizzo, who plead guilty, and Walberg were the couple traveling from Italy. It was they who were caught by customs inspectors in February at the same time that Tony Beltempo and Antonia Ganguzza successfully smuggled the heroin in their suitcases past the customs officers. The statement sought to be introduced was made by Rizzo when he and Walberg appeared before the United States Magistrate for their initial appearance. Rizzo told the Magistrate that Walberg had nothing to do with (the smuggling conspiracy). The proceedings were not transcribed and no written offer of proof was made. Rizzo did not appear as a witness at the trial. 28 The statement was offered as a declaration against the penal interest of an unavailable declarant. Fed.R.Evid. 804(b)(3) provides, in pertinent part: A statement tending to expose the declarant to criminal liability and offered to exculpate the accused is not admissible unless corroborating circumstances clearly indicate the trustworthiness of the statement. In Chambers v. Mississippi, 410 U.S. 284, 300-01, 93 S.Ct. 1038, 1048, 35 L.Ed.2d 297 (1973), the Supreme Court held that to be admissible the hearsay statement must be made by an unavailable declarant, spontaneously and in close temporal proximity to the crime, corroborated by some other evidence in the case, and self-incriminatory against the declarant's penal interest. This court has also held that Rule 804(b)(3) as well as Chambers require corroborating circumstances that clearly indicate the trustworthiness of the hearsay statement. United States v. Guillette, 547 F.2d 743, 754 (2d Cir. 1976), cert. denied, 434 U.S. 839, 98 S.Ct. 132, 54 L.Ed.2d 102 (1977). 29 The district court properly found that declarant Rizzo was unavailable because he asserted his Fifth Amendment right by refusing to testify. United States v. Thomas, 571 F.2d 285, 288 (5th Cir. 1978). The court also correctly held that the statement made was against his penal interest. It satisfied Chambers in that it could be found to be spontaneous and close in time to the crime. 30 Nevertheless, there was insufficient corroboration in the record to establish the trustworthiness necessary to make Rizzo's hearsay remark admissible. Culling from defendant Walberg's own brief, it appears that Ganguzza, after meeting Rizzo in the Rome hotel lobby and while Walberg was with him, spoke with Rizzo about which method of smuggling would be used. Afterwards, while in Palermo there was a lot of drug related conversation among the group of couriers. Brief for Appellant Walberg at 5. Walberg and the others gave their clothing (new clothing that Walberg had just purchased) to Salvatore Gallina to pack in new suitcases for them. She threatened to turn them in if any of her recent purchases were lost, id. at 6, and expected to be paid for making the trip. 8 31 The standard for appellate review of an exclusion under Rule 804(b)(3) is whether the trial court abused its discretion. United States v. Poland, 659 F.2d 884, 895 (9th Cir. 1981). In light of the above evidence it was not an abuse of the trial court's discretion to exclude Rizzo's hearsay statement.