Opinion ID: 349452
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: nature of the conspiracy

Text: 2 The narcotics conspiracy involved in this appeal is, in the Government's words, an extension of that involved in United States v. Tramunti, 513 F.2d 1087 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 423 U.S. 832, 96 S.Ct. 54, 46 L.Ed.2d 50 (1975). The conspiracy alleged was that, from January 1, 1969, to December 6, 1973 (the same dates involved in Tramunti, see id. at 1093), the indicted defendants, together with Warren Robinson, Frank Pugliese and others, conspired to receive, buy, and sell, and to facilitate the transportation, concealment and sale of, unlawfully imported narcotics drugs and to distribute and possess with intent to distribute narcotic drug controlled substances. All of the 37 overt acts alleged in the indictment took place between March of 1971 and October of 1972, except for two overt acts allegedly occurring in June and October of 1973. The Government's proof primarily consisted of testimony by Harry Pannirello, Jimmy Provitera and Thomas Tennessee Dawson, very similar to their testimony in Tramunti, supra, see id. at 1097-98, and by two defendants who pleaded guilty, James March and Dorethea Ann Ellis. Broadly speaking, the proof was that Pugliese was the source of narcotics wholesaled by Warren Robinson in Washington, D. C., and Al Green in New York. The appellants other than Green were all either customers of Robinson and his partner, Dawson, in the Washington, D. C., area (appellants Taylor, Turner and Ramsey), or persons who assisted Robinson and Dawson in transporting, storing, diluting and delivering heroin in Washington (appellants Salley and Wesley). 3 In 1971, both Pugliese and his key lieutenant, Paul DiGregorio, went to jail, with Pugliese designating Pannirello and a Pat Dilacio to run the business in his absence. Commencing in January, 1972, Pannirello used his brother-in-law, Provitera, to make deliveries. Robinson's Washington operation and at least two of Pugliese's New York customers, appellant Green and fugitive defendant Basil Hansen, continued to deal with Pannirello and Dilacio on the same basis as they had with Pugliese. Thus the core group of the alleged conspiracy consisted of Pugliese, DiGregorio, Pannirello and Dilacio, a group that served, in the Government's term, as the hub 2 around which multikilogram quantities of narcotics were purchased and distributed.