Opinion ID: 400105
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Bragg

Text: 57 The indictment charged that Bragg and the other defendants had employed several devices in carrying out the alleged scheme to defraud. These included improper authorization of SITO, inflating weights, charging for accessorial services not provided, and charging for crates and other packing materials not utilized. As noted above, there was insufficient evidence to establish that the charges for SITO were part of a scheme to defraud the government. Approximately twenty of the thirty-five mailings related to SITO alone, as did the only five mailings which occurred after February 21, 1975. These latter five mailings formed the basis for the five mail fraud counts upon which we reverse the convictions of Bethea and Bragg above. There was evidence adduced at trial to support the allegations of Bragg's involvement in a scheme to defraud employing means other than SITO. However, none of the mailings which related to any scheme involving these acts occurred after February 21, 1975. 58 In order to establish a pattern of racketeering activity to support a conviction under § 1962(c) of RICO, the government must prove at least two acts of racketeering activity, one of which occurred after the effective date (of the RICO statute, Oct. 15, 1970) and the last of which occurred within ten years (excluding any period of imprisonment) after the commission of a prior act of racketeering activity. 18 U.S.C.A. § 1961(5) (West Supp.1981). Under § 1961(1), an act of mail fraud in violation of § 1341 constitutes racketeering activity. Therefore, in order to convict Bragg under § 1962(c), the jury is required to find that Bragg engaged in a pattern of activity evidenced by two acts of mail fraud occurring within ten years of each other. 59 The RICO statute does not contain its own statute of limitations. Therefore, the general five-year statute of limitations for noncapital offenses, 18 U.S.C.A. § 3282 (West 1969), applies to RICO prosecutions. United States v. Forsythe, 560 F.2d 1127, 1134 (3d Cir. 1977); United States v. Boffa, 513 F.Supp. 444, 479 (D.Del.1980); United States v. Field, 432 F.Supp. 55, 59 (S.D.N.Y.1977), aff'd without opinion, 578 F.2d 1371 (2d Cir.), cert. dismissed, 439 U.S. 801, 99 S.Ct. 43, 58 L.Ed.2d 94 (1978). This statute of limitations runs from the date of the last act of racketeering activity alleged in the indictment and proved at trial. See United States v. Davis, 533 F.2d 921, 926 (5th Cir. 1976) (§ 3282 requires that the government allege and prove at least one overt act in furtherance of a conspiracy within five years of the return of the indictment in order to sustain conspiracy conviction). Therefore, in order to convict a defendant of violating § 1962(c) by participating in a pattern of racketeering activity, the jury must find that the defendant committed at least two acts of racketeering activity, one of which must have occurred within five years of the date of the indictment. 60 The indictment in the instant case was returned on February 21, 1980. The statute of limitations is five years. In order for Bragg's conviction to have been proper, the jury must have found that one of the acts of racketeering activity occurred after February 21, 1975. Since there is insufficient evidence to connect any of the alleged mailings occurring after February 21, 1975,-which related only to the SITO allegations-to a scheme to defraud the government, the jury could not properly convict Bragg for engaging in a pattern of racketeering activity. In other words, the RICO Count II contained no alleged mailings occurring after the crucial February 21, 1975, date, except for the SITO mailings with respect to which we have found insufficient evidence. The several alleged mailings which do involve inflation of weights and other improprieties all occurred before February 21, 1975. There being no racketeering activity in this case which occurs after February 21, 1975, the statute of limitations bars the conviction under Count II. Therefore, we must reverse Bragg's conviction on Count II.