Opinion ID: 16318
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: conclusion

Text: 20 It ill behooves government agents and prosecutors to enter into agreements of transactional immunity with mid-level co-conspirators, milk them of substantial leads and information that literally make the government's case against the big fish while coincidentally giving the government a lay-down winning hand against the cooperating co-conspirator; then, at the last moment, rely on some technical or relatively minor deficiency in performance to pull the rug from under the cooperating informant by claiming a breach and proceed to prosecute him in a slam-dunk case based largely on his own revelations. Yet, this is precisely what we perceive to have happened here, and due process cannot abide such behavior. For the reasons explained above, we conclude that the district court erred in failing to grant Castaneda's motion to dismiss the indictment, which was obtained in violation of a transactional immunity agreement, that the government failed to prove was materially breached. Castaneda's conviction of RICO conspiracy is reversed, the sentence imposed in accordance with that conviction is vacated, and the case is remanded to the district court for entry of a judgment of acquittal. 21 REVERSED; sentence VACATED; and REMANDED with instructions.