Opinion ID: 609734
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: sufficiency of the evidence

Text: 16 Thompson, Grady, Letters, DeMarco Jr., Bargalla, Litterio and Gilberti argue that the evidence introduced at trial was insufficient to support their convictions. 2 Defendants bear the heavy burden of demonstrating that no reasonable jury could have found them guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. See Rivera-Santiago, 872 F.2d at 1078-79. An appellate court must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, drawing all plausible inferences in its favor and resolving all credibility determinations in line with the jury's verdict. United States v. David, 940 F.2d 722, 730 (1st Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 112 S.Ct. 605, 116 L.Ed.2d 628 (1991). We conclude that, with one exception, the prosecution offered evidence adequate to support the convictions.
17 Thompson was convicted of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and marijuana, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 846 and 841(a)(1). Conviction for conspiracy requires proof that the defendant entered into an agreement with another to commit a crime, here, an agreement with Innamorati to distribute cocaine and marijuana. United States v. Concemi, 957 F.2d 942, 950 (1st Cir.1992). This agreement need not be expressed; it may be implicit in a working relationship between the parties that has never been articulated but nevertheless amounts to a joint criminal enterprise. United States v. Moran, 984 F.2d 1299, 1300 (1st Cir.1993). 18 There was evidence--in fact, Thompson admitted in his testimony before the grand jury--that Thompson provided registry checks of license plates at Innamorati's request. When Innamorati became suspicious of vehicles that he thought were following him or that were being used by prospective drug purchasers, he asked Thompson, a former police officer, to run the plates through the state's computer registry. If the registry check came back not on file or no response, Innamorati had reason to believe that the vehicle belonged to a law enforcement agency and was being driven by an undercover agent. Thompson also admitted that he acquired two cellular telephones for Innamorati's use which Thompson leased in his own company's name. 19 Relying primarily on Direct Sales Co. v. United States, 319 U.S. 703, 709, 63 S.Ct. 1265, 1268, 87 L.Ed. 1674 (1943), Thompson argues that there was insufficient evidence that Thompson knew of the use to which Innamorati put these goods and services, or that Thompson intended that they be used in that manner. But Thompson admitted in testimony before the grand jury that he regularly purchased cocaine from Innamorati when he was employed as a police officer from 1970 to 1978. Tulowiecki testified that he regularly distributed cocaine to Thompson from Innamorati in 1987. Thompson was assigned a beeper number in Innamorati's communications network. Thompson also admitted that he knew that the cellular telephones he provided were to be used to elude law enforcement. 20 Thompson argues vehemently that he could not have been a full-fledged conspirator because he was excluded from certain locations at which Innamorati stored his drugs, and because Callahan and Fitzgerald could not identify him at trial. These facts do not defeat Thompson's membership in the conspiracy. It is black-letter law that one need not be familiar with every other person with whom he is found to have conspired, nor must he participate in the conspiracy to the same extent as all others. See United States v. Rios, 842 F.2d 868, 873 (6th Cir.1988), cert. denied, 488 U.S. 1031, 109 S.Ct. 840, 102 L.Ed.2d 972 (1989); United States v. Giry, 818 F.2d 120, 127 (1st Cir.), cert. denied, 484 U.S. 855, 108 S.Ct. 162, 98 L.Ed.2d 116 (1987). Taken as a whole, the evidence allowed the jury to find that Thompson was a knowing member of the drug conspiracy.
21 The evidence showed that Grady brought numerous shipments of cocaine and marijuana from Florida to Callahan and Innamorati in Massachusetts. Several witnesses, including Callahan, Fitzgerald and Reilly, described in consistent detail Grady's practice of transporting the cocaine and the cash in a tool box in the cab of his tractor-trailer. There was also ample evidence that Grady knew that the shipments contained narcotics. Fitzgerald testified that he told Grady that the tool box contained cocaine. Reilly recounted one occasion on which Grady watched while bales of marijuana were loaded onto his truck. Evidence showed that Grady occasionally brought large amounts of cash from Massachusetts to Florida to pay Reilly. 22 In the face of this testimony, Grady contends that the evidence was insufficient to convict him of conspiracy to distribute. He argues that Callahan and Innamorati had suppliers other than Reilly and that even as to Reilly there were other couriers in addition to Grady. He also points out that although the conspiracy allegedly continued from 1984 until November 1988, the evidence of his participation was limited to the period between June 1985 and February 1988. But Grady need not have been the exclusive courier in order to be a conspirator, nor must he have been involved in the conspiracy during the entire life of the operation. See, e.g., United States v. Baines, 812 F.2d 41, 42 (1st Cir.1987). We have no trouble finding the evidence adequate to support Grady's conspiracy conviction. 23 In addition to conspiracy Grady was also convicted under counts three and four of the indictment of possession of cocaine on February 25 and 27, 1988, with intent to distribute. These were the dates on which DEA agents executed the search warrants on the Hyperspace facility and the Edgewater Hills apartment, respectively. The government's theory at trial was that Grady was guilty of possessing the cocaine found at these locations because he had carried that cocaine from Florida in his tractor-trailer. Although Grady was linked to the cocaine found in the Hyperspace facility, we agree with Grady that there was insufficient evidence that he ever possessed the cocaine found in the Edgewater Hills apartment. 24 Callahan testified that he gave Grady a toolbox containing three kilograms of cocaine in Florida on February 20, 1988, and that on February 24 he retrieved the toolbox from Grady in Massachusetts and drove to the Hyperspace storage facility. The next day, the government executed the search warrant at the facility and seized exactly three kilograms of cocaine. It is difficult to see, therefore, how the cocaine seized a few days later from the Edgewater apartment could also have come from Grady's February 20 shipment. The government argues that Callahan also testified that he brought the toolbox with him to the Edgewater apartment after leaving Hyperspace. Thus, the government says, [w]hile the evidence on [this] score may be open to dispute, that dispute was for the jury to resolve. 25 It is true that Callahan's testimony is unclear--one cannot tell whether he stored the three kilograms at Hyperspace, or took them with him when he left there and went to the Edgewater apartment. But the testimony of Scott, who accompanied Callahan, is clear on this point. Scott testified that Callahan took the cocaine out of the toolbox, placed it in the trunk of the car in the Hyperspace storage compartment, and then left the facility with the toolbox, now emptied of its drugs. The testimony is also clear that only three kilograms were transported by Grady on this trip, and that exactly three kilograms were seized by federal agents a few days later from the Hyperspace facility. 26 It is of course quite possible, indeed likely, that at least some of the cocaine found in the Edgewater apartment was a remnant of a prior shipment by Grady. But this is conjecture. The government does not advance the theory here, nor did it do so before the jury, and there was evidence of other suppliers and couriers. Accordingly, finding no evidence to support Grady's conviction for possessing the cocaine seized on February 27, we reverse his conviction on count four. This may have no effect on Grady's actual sentence, since the counts were grouped and the sentence was based on the volume of drugs foreseen; but out of an abundance of caution we remand his case to the district court for resentencing.
27 Letters was convicted of conspiracy and one count of possession with intent to distribute. He argues that there was insufficient evidence to prove he that entered into an agreement to distribute narcotics. He concedes that the evidence showed a number of deliveries of cocaine to him from Innamorati (via Tulowiecki), in amounts ranging from nine grams to, on one occasion, as much as an ounce (28 grams). But Letters says that the evidence also showed that he was a very heavy personal user of cocaine. He argues that there is no basis for an inference that he was involved in further distribution of the drugs he acquired. Thus, according to Letters, [t]he government's proof only demonstrated that Letters was a regular customer of Innamorati for personal use. 28 We need not decide when and whether a regular customer buying for personal use could be treated as a conspirator in a drug distribution ring, see Moran, 984 F.2d at 1302-04, because the evidence permitted the jury to find that Letters also distributed portions of the large amount of cocaine he purchased from Innamorati. During direct examination of Tulowiecki, the following exchange took place: 29 Q. And how did you package the cocaine for Letters?A. Well, with Bill Letters, we would take nine grams of cocaine and put in five grams of cut. 3 And I grind that all together, and it would come out to fourteen. And I would put these all into individual packages. And one, another specific package for Bill Letters himself that was pure cocaine. 30 . . . . . 31 Q. Why did [Innamorati] want you to package the cocaine this way [for Letters]? 32 A. Because Billy Letters didn't have a scale.... 33 From Tulowiecki's reference to individual packaging and to a separate package of cocaine for Bill Letters himself, there is certainly a permissible inference that the other individual packages were destined to be resold to others. This inference is reinforced by the use of cut and by the large volume of cocaine that Letters acquired, shown by Tulowiecki's records to be a total of 336.5 grams of cocaine between June 1987 and February 1988. Accordingly, Letters' convictions for conspiring to distribute cocaine and for possessing cocaine with intent to distribute were supported by adequate evidence. 34
35 DeMarco Jr. was convicted of conspiracy and possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. His challenge goes less to the quantity of the evidence in support of these convictions as to its quality. He argues that the evidence was deficient because the government did not catch him in the act, such as by recording his telephone conversations or conducting a controlled buy from him, but instead relies entirely on weak circumstantial evidence. The evidence may not be overwhelming but it is sufficient. 36 Both Callahan and Scott described repeated deliveries of cocaine to DeMarco Jr. In addition, Callahan testified that DeMarco Sr. told him that between May 1987 and February 1988, DeMarco Jr. was selling ounces, half-ounces and quarter-ounces of cocaine to his (DeMarco Jr.'s) various customers, and complained that DeMarco Jr. was putting all the profits up his nose. In addition, Scott testified that after Callahan was arrested, DeMarco Jr. complained that he (DeMarco Jr.) was supposed to receive the briefcase in which Callahan had stored a quantity of cocaine to conceal it from the DEA. The evidence was adequate to find that DeMarco Jr. entered into an agreement to distribute cocaine and possessed cocaine with intent to distribute it.
37 Bargalla was convicted of conspiracy to distribute, but acquitted of the substantive count of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute (the PWI count) and instead convicted of the lesser included offense of simple possession. Bargalla argues that there was inadequate evidence that he entered into a conspiracy to distribute and that, especially in light of his acquittal of the PWI offense, the conspiracy conviction must have resulted from prejudicial spillover. Bargalla argues that a conspiracy cannot fairly be inferred from the facts that Bargalla took possession of Callahan's briefcase after Callahan's arrest, and was in possession of Callahan's car at the time it was seized by the DEA. 38 The short answer is that additional evidence showed that Bargalla was a regular purchaser of cocaine and marijuana from Callahan and a distributer in his own right. For example, Jeffrey Scott testified that he made about five deliveries of marijuana to Bargalla from Callahan in 1987, and Callahan confirmed that he sold cocaine and marijuana to Bargalla on a regular basis beginning in late 1985 or early 1986. Moreover, there was evidence that Bargalla resold some of the narcotics he acquired from Callahan. Scott testified that he saw distribution paraphernalia--a small scale and chemicals such as Inositol that are used to mix with cocaine to increase its volume--in Bargalla's bedroom. Scott also testified that Bargalla complained that people were not paying him on time for the cocaine and marijuana that Bargalla provided them. 39 This evidence was more than sufficient to support Bargalla's conviction for conspiring to distribute cocaine and marijuana. The testimony concerning the briefcase and Callahan's car merely served to corroborate Bargalla's close relationship with Callahan and his organization. The jury's favorable treatment of him on the PWI count may or may not be a windfall but it cannot be used to impeach the conspiracy conviction. See United States v. Senibaldi, 959 F.2d 1131, 1135 (1st Cir.1992) (inconsistency in a criminal verdict is not grounds for overturning it).
40 Litterio does not question the sufficiency of the evidence to support his conviction for conspiracy. Instead, he challenges the evidence with respect to count five, under which he and Innamorati were convicted of possession with intent to distribute cocaine on or about September 2, 1987. We find the evidence sufficient. 41 The primary evidence supporting the possession charge was the testimony of Tulowiecki, who described a four-ounce purchase of cocaine by Litterio from Innamorati shortly before September 2, 1987. Tulowiecki testified in detail that he and Innamorati packaged four ounces of cocaine, delivered the package to Litterio, and received the $5300 payment several days later. Tulowiecki also testified that in the course of arranging this transaction Litterio said that he wanted the four ounces of cocaine for his brother Mark. In addition, in January 1989 Tulowiecki secretly recorded a conversation with Litterio in which Litterio referred to the four-ounce transaction. 42 Litterio argues at length that Tulowiecki's testimony was inherently unreliable and uncorroborated. The credibility of Tulowiecki's testimony was a matter for the jury to resolve. As it happens, there was evidence that Mark Litterio visited James Litterio immediately after the latter acquired the drugs, and further evidence that Mark Litterio was involved in the sale of four ounces of cocaine to undercover officers just after James Litterio's four-ounce purchase from Innamorati. The jury could easily conclude that James Litterio provided the four-ounce package to Mark after acquiring it from Innamorati.
43 Gilberti argues that evidence of isolated sales of cocaine from Callahan or Scott to Gilberti is not sufficient to convict Gilberti of participation in a conspiracy to distribute. The evidence, however, showed more than mere isolated sales; it showed that Gilberti was another cog in the Callahan/Innamorati machine. 44 Scott testified that he delivered cocaine to Gilberti for Callahan in 1986, generally in one to two-ounce quantities. He testified that he made approximately 25 to 50 deliveries of this nature to Gilberti over a six-month period, including one four-ounce delivery. Callahan confirmed that Gilberti was one of the individuals to whom he delivered cocaine. Gilberti developed a code with Scott and Callahan so that he could order drugs over the telephone without detection; he would refer to green buckets of paint when ordering marijuana, and white buckets of paint when requesting cocaine. 45 There was also evidence that the distribution of the cocaine did not end when it reached Gilberti. Scott testified that he gave Gilberti drug distribution paraphernalia--including a scale, ziploc bags and other packaging, and sudocaine, a product used to mix with cocaine--and showed Gilberti how to use these items. Callahan testified that Gilberti told him that he, Gilberti, had been distributing cocaine to an individual named Ricky Green. The evidence was adequate to support Gilberti's conviction for conspiracy and possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. The same evidence supported the forfeiture of Gilberti's property under 21 U.S.C. § 853, since his only challenge to that forfeiture is that the evidence underlying the conspiracy conviction was deficient.