Opinion ID: 577092
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: sufficiency of the evidence

Text: 17 Church argues that the government's evidence was insufficient to prove (1) that his two predicate acts of selling cocaine had the continuity and relationship necessary to form a pattern of racketeering activity under 18 U.S.C. 1962, 6 and (2) that he agreed to participate in the RICO conspiracy. 7 Coppola argues that the government's evidence was insufficient (1) to support his conviction of cocaine conspiracy and (2) to prove all five elements of a CCE violation under 21 U.S.C. § 848. 18 When evaluating a sufficiency-of-the-evidence claim, we must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the government, drawing all reasonable inferences in favor of the jury's verdict. See United States v. Gutierrez, 931 F.2d 1482, 1488 (11th Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 112 S.Ct. 321, 116 L.Ed.2d 262 (1991). The evidence is sufficient to support a conviction if a reasonable trier of fact could find that the evidence establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. United States v. Graziano, 710 F.2d 691, 697 (11th Cir.1983), cert. denied, 466 U.S. 937, 104 S.Ct. 1910, 80 L.Ed.2d 459 (1984).

19 A party seeking to show a pattern of racketeering activity under 18 U.S.C. § 1962, beyond proving at least two predicate acts, must establish that the predicate acts demonstrate both relationship and continuity. See H.J., Inc. v. Northwestern Bell Telephone Co., 492 U.S. 229, 239, 109 S.Ct. 2893, 2900, 106 L.Ed.2d 195 (1989). Church argues that his two predicate acts of facilitating the sale of cocaine to Lee do not satisfy the continuity requirement spelled out in H.J., Inc., in which the Supreme Court stated: 20 Continuity is both a closed- and open-ended concept, referring either to a closed period of repeated conduct, or to past conduct that by its nature projects into the future with a threat of repetition.... A party alleging a RICO violation may demonstrate continuity over a closed period by proving a series of related predicates extending over a substantial period of time. Predicate acts extending over a few weeks or months and threatening no future criminal conduct do not satisfy this requirement: Congress was concerned in RICO with long-term criminal conduct. Often a RICO action will be brought before continuity can be established in this way. In such cases liability depends on whether the threat of continuity is demonstrated.... Whether the predicates proved establish a threat of continued racketeering activity depends on the specific facts of each case. 21 Id. at 241, 109 S.Ct. at 2902. 22 The government presented evidence that (1) Church facilitated the sale of approximately half a kilo of cocaine to Lee in July, 1984 and the sale of approximately one kilo to Lee in September, 1984; (2) Lee informed Church between the first and second transactions that he planned to distribute the cocaine and then come back to buy more; and (3) Church offered to front Lee as much cocaine as he wanted in the future if Lee would be willing to handle larger amounts. Lee was arrested before any further transactions took place. 23 The H.J., Inc. Court offered examples of evidence that would demonstrate a threat of continuity, including a showing that the predicate acts or offenses are part of an ongoing entity's regular way of doing business. Thus, the threat of continuity is sufficiently established where the predicates can be attributed to a defendant operating as part of a long-term association that exists for criminal purposes. Id. at 242-43, 109 S.Ct. at 2902. 24 In United States v. Link, 921 F.2d 1523, 1527 (11th Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 111 S.Ct. 2273, 114 L.Ed.2d 724 (1991), this court, quoting a portion of the above language, held that a defendant's two purchases of drugs for redistribution from the same organization over an eight or nine month period demonstrated a threat of continued racketeering activity because the defendant operated as part of a long-term association that existed for criminal purposes. 25 Although Church's second connection with Coppola's enterprise was not long, spanning only three months, it is not the length of the defendant's connection with the association, or enterprise, that poses the threat of continued racketeering activity. Rather, it is the association's long-term existence and regular way of doing business that poses the threat of continued racketeering activity. 26 Here, Coppola's enterprise, long experienced in the distribution of illegal drugs, already had purchased cocaine for distribution on at least three separate occasions before turning to Church as a preferred source. The enterprise then dealt with Church twice. If this conduct--the continuing acts of an enterprise seeking sources and markets for cocaine--is alone not sufficient to establish the threat of continued racketeering activity as an ongoing entity's regular way of doing business, Lee's promise between the two transactions to return to Church to purchase more cocaine and Church's offer to front Lee as much cocaine as he wanted in the future established such a threat. A reasonable trier of fact could therefore find that this conduct demonstrated a threat of continued racketeering activity, thus constituting a pattern of racketeering activity. 27
28 Church claims that he was ignorant of the overall RICO conspiracy and thus did not agree to join the conspiracy in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1962(d). Agreement to participate in a RICO conspiracy, however, can be proved in either one of two ways: (1) by showing an agreement on an overall objective, United States v. Valera, 845 F.2d 923, 929 (11th Cir.1988), cert. denied, 490 U.S. 1046, 109 S.Ct. 1953, 104 L.Ed.2d 422 (1989); or (2) in the absence of an agreement on an overall objective, by showing that a defendant agreed personally to commit two predicate acts and therefore to participate in a single objective conspiracy. See United States v. Carter, 721 F.2d 1514, 1531 (11th Cir.), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 819, 105 S.Ct. 89, 83 L.Ed.2d 36 (1984). Here, the government presented sufficient evidence that Church agreed personally to commit two predicate acts of selling cocaine. The existence of the conspiracy agreement can be inferred from the conduct of the alleged participants or from circumstantial evidence of the scheme. United States v. Ard, 731 F.2d 718, 724 (11th Cir.1984) (quoting United States v. Ayala, 643 F.2d 244, 248 (5th Cir. Unit A 1981)). 29 Moreover, the government proffered evidence establishing Church's knowledge that Lee was part of a group that was distributing cocaine in Kansas City. This evidence was sufficient to convince a reasonable trier of fact that Church must necessarily have known that others were also conspiring to participate in the same enterprise through a pattern of racketeering activity, thus proving agreement on an overall objective as well. Valera, 845 F.2d at 929 (quoting United States v. Manzella, 782 F.2d 533, 585 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 476 U.S. 1123, 106 S.Ct. 1991, 90 L.Ed.2d 672 (1986)).
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31 Count Five involved a conspiracy, lasting from October, 1983 to April, 1984, to locate a source of cocaine in New York. The government alleged that the participants included Coppola, co-defendant Papanier, and Biscuiti. Coppola, pointing out that the evidence on this count consists primarily of Biscuiti's testimony and that Papanier was acquitted, argues that the inconsistent verdicts show that the jury disbelieved Biscuiti and that this evidence is therefore insufficient to support the conviction. Inconsistent verdicts on a conspiracy count, however, do not defeat the propriety of a defendant's conviction, even if every defendant but one is acquitted of conspiracy. See United States v. Andrews, 850 F.2d 1557, 1561-62 (11th Cir.1988), cert. denied, 488 U.S. 1032, 109 S.Ct. 842, 102 L.Ed.2d 974 (1989); see also United States v. Powell, 469 U.S. 57, 67, 105 S.Ct. 471, 478, 83 L.Ed.2d 461 (1984) (noting that sufficiency-of-the-evidence review is separate from, and should not be confused with, problems caused by inconsistent verdicts). In Andrews, we followed the reasoning of the Supreme Court in Powell that inconsistent verdicts could as easily be the result of mistake or lenity by the jury in acquittal as they could be proof of lack of evidence to support the conviction. Under the circumstances, 'the best course to take is simply to insulate jury verdicts from review on this ground.'  Andrews, 850 F.2d at 1562 (quoting Powell, 469 U.S. at 69, 105 S.Ct. at 479). There are no grounds, therefore, for reversing Coppola's conviction on Count Five.
32 Coppola challenges his CCE conviction on the ground that the government failed to prove at least one of the five elements of the offense. To prove a CCE, the government must show: 33
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38 United States v. Boldin, 818 F.2d 771, 774 (11th Cir.1987). 39 Coppola's contentions that he committed no felony narcotics violation and that evidence did not establish a continuing series of violations are without merit. The jury convicted Coppola outright on three narcotics counts, which is all that is necessary to satisfy the continuing-series element. See United States v. Alvarez-Moreno, 874 F.2d 1402, 1408 (11th Cir.1989), cert. denied, 494 U.S. 1032, 110 S.Ct. 1484, 108 L.Ed.2d 620 (1990). Further, the government presented evidence of several other CCE predicates, including the two transactions with Church. 40 Coppola next contends that the government failed to prove that (1) he acted in concert with five or more persons (2) with respect to whom he held a position as an organizer, supervisor, or manager. According to the CCE statute, the government must prove that the defendant occupies a position of organizer, a supervisory position, or any other position of management with respect to five or more other persons. 21 U.S.C. § 848(b)(2)(A). The Supreme Court has given this definition a common-sense reading, finding that it is designed to reach the 'top brass' in the drug rings, not the lieutenants and foot soldiers. Garrett v. United States, 471 U.S. 773, 781, 105 S.Ct. 2407, 2413, 85 L.Ed.2d 764 (1985). See also United States v. Oberski, 734 F.2d 1030, 1032 (5th Cir.1984) (defining these statutory terms according to their ordinary meanings). 41 In United States v. Apodaca, 843 F.2d 421 (10th Cir.), cert. denied, 488 U.S. 932, 109 S.Ct. 325, 102 L.Ed.2d 342 (1988), the Tenth Circuit examined the statutory definition, noting the significance of the fact that the statute is phrased in the disjunctive: The government can prove a defendant's role as an organizer or a supervisor or any other type of manager, and the terms can denote differing levels of managerial control and coordination. Id. at 426. 42 The Second Circuit has stated that [i]n ordinary parlance, a relationship of supervision is created when one person gives orders or directions to another person who carries them out. United States v. Stratton, 779 F.2d 820, 827 (2d Cir.1985), cert. denied, 476 U.S. 1162, 106 S.Ct. 2285, 90 L.Ed.2d 726 (1986). 43 An organizer, on the other hand, is not necessarily able to control those whom he or she organizes. United States v. Ray, 731 F.2d 1361, 1367 (9th Cir.1984). Rather, an organizer can be defined as a person who puts together a number of people engaged in separate activities and arranges them in their activities in one essentially orderly operation or enterprise. Apodaca, 843 F.2d at 426 (quoting 2 E. Devitt & C. Blackmar, Federal Jury Practice and Instructions § 58.21 (1977)). 44 The defendant need not be the only, or even the dominant, organizer, supervisor, or manager, see United States v. Becton, 751 F.2d 250, 255 (8th Cir.1984), cert. denied, 472 U.S. 1018, 105 S.Ct. 3480, 87 L.Ed.2d 615 (1985); United States v. Losada, 674 F.2d 167, 174 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 457 U.S. 1125, 102 S.Ct. 2945, 73 L.Ed.2d 1341 (1982), and the government need not show that the defendant had the same type of relationship with respect to each of the five or more persons. See United States v. Smith, 918 F.2d 1501, 1513 (11th Cir.1990), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 112 S.Ct. 253, 116 L.Ed.2d 207 (1991). Further, to satisfy the in-concert element the government need not prove that Coppola conspired with the five other persons at the same time or that the five conspired with one another. See id. 45 The government presented evidence that in the New York conspiracy, which formed the basis for Count Five, Coppola acted as a supervisor of Biscuiti and as a supervisor or organizer of Tribiano and Papanier. 8 Biscuiti, for instance, reported to Coppola on the ongoing negotiations with the potential source and had to await Coppola's approval before going ahead with the deal. 46 With respect to Counts Six and Seven and other CCE predicate acts, the government presented evidence that Coppola acted either as a supervisor or organizer of Lee and Rodovich, organizing the scheme, telling Lee and Rodovich what their roles would be, telling Lee when to acquire cocaine, how to dispose of the profits, and whom to contact as a source. Although the three agreed to split the profits equally, Coppola financed the scheme. Lee, whose role was to transport the cocaine, testified that he considered that he worked for Coppola. 47 Further, this court has held that [a]n individual need not have direct communications with participants in order to be their supervisor.... [I]f a defendant personally hires only the foreman, that defendant is still responsible for organizing the individuals hired by the foreman to work as the crew. United States v. Rosenthal, 793 F.2d 1214, 1226 (11th Cir.1986), cert. denied, 480 U.S. 919, 107 S.Ct. 1377, 94 L.Ed.2d 692 (1987). Adding Lee underlings Caswell, Ray Fosberg (Fosberg), and Marilyn Jones (Jones) for their part in the Kansas City distributions brings the total of persons acting in concert with Coppola to eight. Several other individuals arguably could be added to this total. A reasonable trier of fact could therefore find from the evidence that Coppola held a position as organizer, manager, or supervisor with respect to five or more persons. 48 Finally, Coppola claims that the government failed to prove that he derived substantial income or resources from the CCE. The Ninth Circuit, noting that [i]n applying the CCE statute, other courts have wisely refrained from establishing a precise definition of what constitutes 'substantial' income or resources, has found that [t]he practical meaning of [this term] will normally be a question for the trier of fact and its scope will develop case by case. United States v. Medina, 940 F.2d 1247, 1251 (9th Cir.1991). This court has held that evidence that large amounts of cocaine and tens of thousands of dollars passed through the operation satisfies this element. Smith, 918 F.2d at 1514. 49 The government offered evidence that in the first three Kansas City distributions and the May, 1984 transaction with Edelstein, the organization reaped approximately $140,000. The jury may reasonably conclude that the supervisors and managers of such a lucrative operation derived income from it. Id. Large portions of the kilos of cocaine remaining in the possession of members of the organization count as resources under the statute. See id., 918 F.2d at 1513-14. Under any definition, Coppola's share of this income and these resources was substantial.