Opinion ID: 590887
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Sufficiency of Evidence for Extortion Counts

Text: 48 Dischner contends the evidence was insufficient to convict on the Hobbs Act counts. The evidence is sufficient if, viewing it in the light most favorable to the government, any reasonable jury could find the elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. United States v. Adler, 879 F.2d 491, 495 (9th Cir.1988). 49 The elements of a Hobbs Act violation are extortion and a nexus with interstate commerce. United States v. Zemek, 634 F.2d 1159, 1173 (9th Cir.1980), cert. denied, 450 U.S. 916, 101 S.Ct. 1359, 67 L.Ed.2d 341 (1981). The statute defines extortion as the obtaining of property from another, with his consent, induced by wrongful use of actual or threatened force, violence, or fear, or under color of official right. 18 U.S.C. § 1951(b)(2). Obtaining property is generally wrongful if the alleged extortionist has no lawful claim to that property. United States v. Enmons, 410 U.S. 396, 400, 93 S.Ct. 1007, 1010, 35 L.Ed.2d 379 (1973). Criminal intent must also be shown. Aguon II, 851 F.2d at 1168. 50 Thus, in order to prove extortion by wrongful use of force or fear, the government must establish that (1) the defendant induced someone to part with money, property, or other valuable right by the wrongful use or threat of force or fear; (2) the defendant acted with the intent to obtain money or property that defendant knew he was not entitled to receive; and (3) commerce from one state to another was or would have been affected in some way. See Manual of Model Jury Instructions for the Ninth Circuit, Instruction 8.31A at 212 (1989).
51 Count five involved a $19,000 payment from William Fowler, President of Alaska International Construction (AIC), to Dischner in the spring of 1983. AIC was involved in a water and sewer project in the Borough. At some point during the project, Dischner learned from Dana Pruhs, a governmental affairs liaison and lobbyist for Enserch Corp. (the owner of AIC), that AIC had purchased $119,000 of materials from a vendor other than the one specified in the contract. As a result, Dischner did not receive his ten percent cut. 52 Pruhs testified, under a grant of immunity, that Dischner was upset about this. According to Pruhs, Dischner indicated that he had lost a commission of $19,000 and stated that he didn't know why he should continue to help Bill Fowler and his construction company when he would do things like this. Pruhs took the statement seriously because he wanted his company to continue to get work in the Borough. Because he didn't need to see Mr. Fowler or the construction company be in a bad light with Mr. Dischner, Pruhs told Fowler that Dischner was upset. Fowler then approved payment of $19,000 to Dischner to take care of this problem. Fowler testified that he made the payment because he did not want Dischner angry with Enserch and its companies. Fowler also commented that alienating Dischner certainly could affect the future business of all our companies. The payment was sent to Dischner via Fowler's brother's company, and the two brothers falsified documents to cover it up. 53 Dischner argues that this does not prove extortion by inducing payment through fear of economic loss for two reasons: first, the evidence shows that Fowler made the payment not out of a concern that Dischner was threatening to harm his company economically, but out of a concern that Dischner would not help him in the future; and second, it does not show that Dischner had no claim of right and knew he had no lawful right to the payment. 54 The jury unquestionably could conclude that Dischner had no claim of right to a ten percent commission on business he had nothing to do with, and that he knew it. Dischner's other argument is more troublesome. He relies on United States v. Garcia, 907 F.2d 380 (2d Cir.1990), to urge that the possibility of losing future business distinguishes his case from those where harm was feared and extortion was found. See also United States v. Capo, 817 F.2d 947 (2d Cir.1987); cf. United States v. Bucci, 839 F.2d 825 (1st Cir.) (affirming conviction of head of city's legal department and aide to the Mayor whom person making payment knew could get him out of doing business with the city as easily as he got him in), cert. denied, 488 U.S. 844, 109 S.Ct. 117, 102 L.Ed.2d 91 (1988). We need not resolve whether fear of the loss of an ongoing business relationship suffices, however, because the instructions defined fear as including fear of economic loss including the possibility of lost business opportunities. Dischner neither objected to this instruction nor cites it as error on appeal. The evidence overall was more than sufficient for the jury to conclude that Fowler made a $19,000 kickback payment out of a reasonable fear that Dischner would otherwise adversely affect his business opportunities.
55 Counts six and seven involved payments from two individuals to Dischner and Mathisen through their company Tri-Leasing. The payments came about in this way: Pruhs suggested to Dischner in the summer of 1984 that the various airplanes contractors used to fly their people to the North Slope Borough be consolidated. Dischner suggested that Mathisen be brought into the deal. The idea was to lease a plane, with an option to buy after Mayor Brower won reelection in 1984. Mathisen and Dischner tapped their influence with Mayor Brower and required contractors to use the Tri-Leasing jet if they wanted their transportation costs reimbursed by the Borough. Tri-Leasing drew up contracts that required the contractors to pay nonrefundable advance payments for future transportation services. If Brower lost the election, Dischner and Mathisen would pocket the advances; if Brower won, the Borough would buy them a jet for their use. The contractors did not like the plan, nor did they want to pay the nonrefundable advances. 56 After Brower lost the election (and before the new Mayor took office), Fowler still owed a deposit to Tri-Leasing. Mathisen told Pruhs to collect. Pruhs then told Fowler, How do you expect to get your bills paid if you don't pay your bills? Fowler, who had submitted a request to get $235,000 in expenses reimbursed from the Borough but had not yet been paid, immediately wrote out a personal check for $210,000 and delivered the remaining $25,000 to Dischner and Mathisen at Dischner's home in Palm Springs. 57 Dischner contends that the evidence does not show that he had any role in inducing the payment. We disagree. Not only did the evidence show how Dischner handled Borough construction contract awards and the ten percent kickbacks from various contractors, including Fowler, but there was substantial evidence detailing Dischner's dominant role in the Tri-Leasing scheme. The plane's ID number was LD 88 (Dischner's initials and the year in which the plane would be paid off), and Dischner made a $140,000 profit in the one-and-a-half-months of Tri-Leasing's operation. From this, together with evidence that Fowler personally delivered the rest of the payment to Dischner and Mathisen at Dischner's home, and that Dischner himself demanded a Tri-Leasing payment from another contractor, as charged in count seven, the jury could find beyond a reasonable doubt that Dischner was involved in inducing the $235,000 payment from Fowler. 58 Dischner also contends that the evidence fails to demonstrate that he knew he did not have a lawful claim to the money. Even though the contracts between the contractors and Tri-Leasing give Tri-Leasing the right to nonrefundable advances, the jury could conclude that the payment was wrongful. There was strong evidence that Fowler's fear of economic loss motivated him to sign up with Tri-Leasing in the first place, most notably that a contract Fowler had with the Borough was held up until he signed the Tri-Leasing agreement. Therefore, despite the fact that Dischner may have had a right to the money under the contract, the underlying contract was procured by extortion. Dischner can have no lawful claim to the proceeds of an extortionate transaction. 59 We also believe the evidence on count seven, charging that Dischner extorted $335,000 from MMCW Consultants (a joint venture between two companies, McCoolMcDonald Architects and Coffman White Engineering) and its director, Joe Brock, was sufficient. Before Brower lost the election, Al McDonald had not made either the initial $275,000 nonrefundable advance payment or the first $50,000 monthly payment. Dischner told Brock that he was angry because McDonald had not made the payments, and if Mr. McDonald didn't make that payment they'd see that he didn't do any more work in Alaska. Although Brock testified that in retrospect, he did not take the threat seriously, he relayed the message to McDonald. Dischner's statement, when viewed in light of his other conduct, constitutes sufficient evidence that MMCW's payment was wrongfully induced by a reasonable fear of economic loss.