Opinion ID: 783826
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Racketeering Acts Committed by the Netas

Text: 58 The Defendants also argue that the evidence was insufficient to support the jury's finding that the racketeering acts charged in the indictment were committed by the Netas. To sustain a conviction for violating VCAR, the Government must also prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the criminal enterprise in relation to which the charged crimes were allegedly committed was `an enterprise engaged in racketeering activity.' Feliciano, 223 F.3d at 113 (quoting 18 U.S.C. § 1959(a)). VCAR expressly adopts the definition of `racketeering activity' set forth in [RICO], id., which defines that term to include, in relevant part, any act or threat involving murder, kidnapping, gambling, arson, robbery, bribery, extortion, dealing in obscene matter, or dealing in a controlled substance or listed chemical (as defined in [21 U.S.C. § 802]), which is chargeable under State law and punishable by imprisonment for more than one year ... [or] any offense involving ... a controlled substance... punishable under any law of the United States. 18 U.S.C. § 1961(1)(A), (D). VCAR further defines an enterprise as any partnership, corporation, association, or other legal entity, and any union or group of individuals associated in fact although not a legal entity. Id. § 1959(b)(2). 59 As discussed above, the Government sought to establish that the Netas, through its members and associates, engaged in racketeering activit[ies] ..., namely murder and attempted murder, in violation of the laws of New York and Pennsylvania, and drug trafficking, in violation of [21 U.S.C. § 846]. Thus, the Government was required to prove as an essential element of the charged VCAR offenses (as well as the firearms offenses) 5 that the Netas, through its members and associates, engaged in drug trafficking that would constitute substantive narcotics offenses, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846, or acts involving murder or attempted murder, in violation of New York or Pennsylvania law. Moreover, as we observed in Feliciano, where a substantial portion of the activities of a `union or group of individuals associated in fact although not a legal entity' are conducted in violation of law, the necessity that informal groups can only act through their individual members (who do not have legally recognized agency status) is particularly apparent. 223 F.3d at 116 (quoting 18 U.S.C. § 1959(b)(2) (footnote omitted)); see also United States v. Cutolo, 861 F.Supp. 1142, 1146 (E.D.N.Y.1994) (An enterprise, here a group of individuals associated in fact, can only act through its members, associates, or employees.). Thus, [w]here individuals are associated only `in fact,' determining whether the subject enterprise engaged in racketeering activity requires fact-based attention to the ways in which... the individuals acted for the group and/or in concert with other members, or acted in ways that contributed to the purposes of the group, or that were facilitated or made possible by the group. Feliciano, 223 F.3d at 116-17. 60 With these principles in mind, we presently turn to each of the specific racketeering activities charged in the indictment and the question of whether there was sufficient evidence to support the jury's finding that the Netas, through its members and associates, engaged in these activities. In doing so, we are mindful that, in returning a general verdict of guilty, the jury made no specific findings regarding whether the Netas engaged in one or all of the racketeering activities alleged in the indictment. Consequently, we must affirm the convictions in the event that we find sufficient evidence to establish that the Netas committed at least one of the charged racketeering activities. See Griffin v. United States, 502 U.S. 46, 49-50, 112 S.Ct. 466, 116 L.Ed.2d 371 (1991) (`[I]t is settled law in this court, and in this country generally, that in any criminal case a general verdict and judgment on an indictment or information containing several counts cannot be reversed on error, if any one of the counts is good and warrants the judgment, because, in the absence of anything in the record to show the contrary, the presumption of law is that the court awarded sentence on the good count only' (quoting Claassen v. United States, 142 U.S. 140, 146, 12 S.Ct. 169, 35 L.Ed. 966 (1891))); United States v. Masotto, 73 F.3d 1233, 1241 (2d Cir.1996) (When the jury is properly instructed on two alternative theories of liability, as here, we must affirm when the evidence is sufficient under either of the theories.).
61 With respect to racketeering activity of attempted murder, we conclude that the evidence was sufficient to support a finding that the Netas, through its members and associates, was engaged in racketeering during the period covered by the indictment. Although evidence of Garcia's attempt to kill Santiago in August or September of 1994 at Pimentel's direction was insufficient to establish attempted murder under New York case law, evidence of the Netas' contemporaneous altercation with a rival gang was sufficient to permit a rational juror to conclude that the Netas constituted an entity engaged in racketeering during the time period relevant to the indictment. 62 In United States v. Desena, 287 F.3d 170 (2d Cir.2002) — a VCAR case where the defendant unsuccessfully challenged the sufficiency of the evidence that he engaged in the racketeering act of attempted assault — we had the opportunity to review the elements of an attempt crime set forth in the New York Penal Law. That statute imposes criminal liability for an attempted crime when with intent to commit a crime, [the defendant] engages in conduct which tends to effect the commission of such crime. N.Y. Penal Law § 110.00. As we explained in Desena, New York's courts require[] that the [G]overnment prove the defendant engaged in conduct that came dangerously near commission of the completed crime. 287 F.3d at 178 (emphasis added and internal quotation marks omitted) (quoting People v. Kassebaum, 95 N.Y.2d 611, 618, 721 N.Y.S.2d 866, 744 N.E.2d 694 (2001)). To satisfy the `dangerously near' standard, the defendant must have carried the project forward to within `dangerous proximity' of the intended crime, though he need not take the final step to effectuate that crime. Id. (citing People v. Bracey, 41 N.Y.2d 296, 300, 392 N.Y.S.2d 412, 360 N.E.2d 1094 (1977); People v. Fair, 269 A.D.2d 91, 94, 711 N.Y.S.2d 196 (3d Dep't 2000)). The rationale behind the `dangerously near' or `dangerous proximity' standard is that it imposes criminal liability only in situations where the defendant's conduct caused `a sufficient risk of harm to be treated as a crime in itself.' Id. (quoting Bracey, 41 N.Y.2d at 299, 392 N.Y.S.2d 412, 360 N.E.2d 1094). 63 In the context of attempted murder prosecutions factually analogous to the case at bar, New York courts have consistently held that, to survive a sufficiency-of-the-evidence challenge, the Government must establish that the defendant pointed a weapon at a victim and was about to kill him with it. For example, in People v. Putnam, 130 A.D.2d 52, 55-56, 518 N.Y.S.2d 239 (3d Dep't 1987), the Appellate Division found insufficient evidence to support an attempted murder conviction where the only acts committed by the defendant were an agreement between the defendant and a hit man for the murder to occur during a certain weekend and for the defendant to supply the hit man with a knife to be used as the murder weapon together with the hit man's requested fee for committing the murder. Likewise, in People v. Mendez, 197 A.D.2d 485, 485, 603 N.Y.S.2d 44 (1st Dep't 1993) (mem.), the Appellate Division vacated the defendant's attempted murder conviction where the defendant pointed a revolver at the victim's midsection from a distance but did not have his finger on the trigger. And, in People v. Chandler, 250 A.D.2d 410, 411, 673 N.Y.S.2d 100 (1st Dep't 1998) (mem.), the Appellate Division again vacated a defendant's attempted murder conviction where the defendant momentarily pointed a loaded semiautomatic pistol at the chest of a police officer from a distance of approximately 25 feet[, but] there [was] no proof that [he] had his finger on the trigger. (internal quotation marks omitted) 64 In light of the foregoing, there was insufficient evidence to support a finding by the jury that the Netas attempted to murder Santiago in August or September of 1994, at Pimentel's direction. That evidence, when viewed in the light most favorable to the Government, see Jackson, 443 U.S. at 319, 99 S.Ct. 2781; Dhinsa, 243 F.3d at 648-49, established only that (1) Garcia was armed when he spent an evening in the vicinity of a park, which Santiago was known to frequent, looking for him so he could shoot and kill him; and (2) Garcia abandoned his attempt to kill Santiago after he failed to locate him. These activities fall far short of the dangerously near/dangerous proximity bar set forth in New York's attempted murder case law. Accordingly, the attempted murder of Santiago cannot serve as the requisite racketeering act to support the Defendants' convictions. 65 Nevertheless, the Government did present sufficient evidence for a rational jury to have found that the Netas engaged in attempted murder. In particular, Garcia testified that, in September or October of 1994, following an earlier altercation between the Netas and members of a rival gang, the Papichulos, a Neta named Caveman chased down members of the Papichulos with a machine gun in hand and proceeded to beckon them out from hiding. When the Papichulos' leader came out and fired his shotgun at Caveman, Caveman immediately opened fire with his semi-automatic weapon. 66 Because Garcia testified that this episode occurred as part of a larger altercation between the Netas and the Papichulos, a rational juror certainly could have concluded that Caveman took these actions on behalf of the Netas. Moreover, although one could argue that Cavemen ultimately fired at the rival gang members in self-defense, the fact that, before the shooting occurred, he chased after them with a semi-automatic weapon and called them out from hiding provides more than sufficient evidence for a rational juror to have concluded that Caveman would have fired upon the Papichulos even if they had not fired first. 67 Accordingly, the Government provided sufficient evidence for a rational juror to have concluded that the Netas constituted an entity engaged in attempted murder during the relevant time period to serve as the requisite act of racketeering to support the Defendants' convictions. See 18 U.S.C. § 1961 (defining racketeering activity to include any act or threat involving murder ... chargeable under State law and punishable by imprisonment for more than one year).
68 Turning to racketeering activity of murder, we likewise conclude that the evidence was sufficient for a rational jury to find that the Netas, through its members and associates, was engaged in racketeering during the time period relevant to the indictment. We find that the Government presented sufficient evidence to attribute Garcia's murder of DeJesus to the Netas to serve as the requisite act of racketeering to support the Defendants' convictions, and we also find that evidence of four other murders claimed by Pimentel to be the responsibility of the Netas independently would permit a jury to conclude that the Netas was actively engaged in racketeering activity of murder during the time period relevant to the indictment. 69 Other than Santiago's murder, 6 the primary evidence submitted concerning a murder committed during the period covered by the indictment, was Garcia's March 1995 murder of DeJesus in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The parties do not dispute that Garcia committed a murder, as that term is defined by Pennsylvania law. As discussed above, although Garcia initially claimed that he killed DeJesus in self-defense, that claim was rejected by the Pennsylvania jury that convicted him for murder, and in any event, Garcia admitted at the Defendants' trial to murdering DeJesus. The argument pressed by the Defendants in their appeal is that there was insufficient evidence to show that DeJesus' murder was committed by, or on behalf of, the Netas. Rather, they assert, the evidence established that Garcia killed DeJesus for his own personal reasons and was acting on his own and not on behalf of the Netas. 70 Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the Government, we conclude that a rational jury could have found beyond a reasonable doubt that Garcia was acting by, or on behalf of, the Netas when he killed DeJesus. As detailed above, the evidence permitted a finding that the murder of DeJesus was connected to the purposes of the Netas because Garcia testified that DeJesus was interfering with the job that brought Garcia to Pennsylvania on behalf of the Netas. While the Defendants contend that Garcia acted out of personal motivation in response to disparaging remarks DeJesus made about him, we conclude that a rational jury could reject that theory and instead find, based on the killing of DeJesus by Garcia, that the Netas engaged in racketeering activity of murder. 71 But even if the jury did not credit this evidence in favor of the prosecution, the Government presented other evidence sufficient for a rational jury to have found that the Netas engaged in murder. At the Defendants' trial, Special Agent Jeffrey Ringel of the Federal Bureau of Investigation testified that, following Pimentel's arrest, [w]hen asked if she was aware of the violence connected with the Netas, [Pimentel] claimed that they used to beat up members ... and were responsible for the murder of [four individuals]. Although Pimentel did not expressly state that these murders occurred during the time period covered by the indictment, they demonstrate that the Netas engaged in murder in the past and as part of their basic modus operandi. Moreover, nothing in the record indicates that the Netas changed their policy with respect to murder prior to the time period specified in the indictment. To the contrary, Garcia testified that, during the relevant time period, the Netas' punishment for the commission of rape or for being a snitch was execution. Based on this evidence, a rational jury could have determined that, during the period of time covered in the indictment, the Netas constituted an entity that engaged in murder to serve as the requisite act of racketeering to support the Defendants' convictions. See 18 U.S.C. § 1961 (defining racketeering act to include any act or threat involving murder ... chargeable under State law and punishable by imprisonment for more than one year).
72 Finally, with respect to the racketeering activity of drug trafficking, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846, we again conclude that the evidence was sufficient for a rational jury to find that the Netas was an enterprise engaged in racketeering in the time period relevant to the indictment. Section 846 proscribes attempts or conspiracies to commit the substantive narcotics offenses contained in the federal Controlled Substances Act, which criminalizes, among other things, the manufacture, distribut[ion], or dispens[ing], or the possess[ion] with intent to manufacture, distribute, or dispense of a controlled substance, 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1). Although the purported official policy of the Netas was to prohibit the use and sale of narcotics, we conclude that, in light of the other evidence presented, a rational jury could find that such policy was a sham and that the Netas engaged in drug trafficking sufficient to serve as the requisite racketeering act to support the Defendants' convictions. 73 In Feliciano, we considered a similar sufficiency-of-the-evidence challenge in a VCAR prosecution where the racketeering act alleged was drug trafficking and the criminal enterprise was a street gang. There, we affirmed the jury's conviction where the evidence consisted of, inter alia: (1) testimony of undercover purchases of cocaine and heroin from members of the gang; and (2) testimony from a former gang member that gang members were required to pay a portion of their earnings, including earnings from drug sales, into the chapter's `kitty,' maintained by the chapter's `Treasurer.' Feliciano, 223 F.3d at 114. Based on this evidence, we concluded that the Government had adduced abundant evidence of drug trafficking by members of the gang, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841, and that such evidence was more than sufficient to show that [the gang] engaged in racketeering activities. Id. 74 Although here the quantum of evidence falls short of what was presented in Feliciano, the evidence nevertheless was sufficient for a rational jury to conclude that the Netas, as an enterprise, engaged in drug trafficking. We recognize that certain evidence showed that the Netas had a purported official policy prohibiting the use and sale of narcotics, that individual members of the Netas allegedly had been punished for violating the policy, and that Pimentel claimed to be an outspoken proponent of the policy. But that evidence was countered by testimony that several individual Netas members used and sold narcotics, that the leadership of the gang did not make substantial efforts to stop these activities, and that the Netas responded as a group to threats from other gangs over drug spots and territory. Consequently, upon viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the Government, we conclude that a rational jury could have found that the Netas, through its members and associates, engaged in drug trafficking and, indeed, that the purported official policy of the Netas was a sham. Our decision to affirm the jury's verdict is informed by our recognition above that groups like the Netas can act only through their individual members and that determining whether a group like the Netas engaged in racketeering activity requires a fact-based investigation into the ways in which the individual members of the Netas acted for the group and/or in concert with other members. 75 Accordingly, we hold that the evidence concerning drug trafficking was sufficient to have permitted a properly instructed jury to find beyond a reasonable doubt that the Netas engaged in the requisite racketeering act to support the Defendants' convictions. See 18 U.S.C. § 1961 (defining racketeering act to include dealing in a controlled substance identified by the Controlled Substances Act).