Opinion ID: 349452
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Individual Appellants and the Charged Conspiracy

Text: 9 Before turning to an examination of the proof adduced as to each appellant, a few established principles should be restated. First, the gist of the offense (of conspiracy) remains the agreement, and it is therefore essential to determine what kind of agreement or understanding existed as to each defendant. United States v. Borelli, 336 F.2d 376, 384 (2d Cir. 1964), cert. denied, 379 U.S. 960, 85 S.Ct. 647, 13 L.Ed.2d 555 (1965). In making this determination, courts often look to such factors as knowledge and dependency as evidence of an agreement. These factors, in turn, may be inferred from an assessment of the nature of the criminal enterprise and the defendant's role in it, since it would be unrealistic to assume that major producers, importers, wholesalers or retailers (of narcotics) do not know that their actions are inextricably linked to a large on-going plan or conspiracy. United States v. Arroyo, 494 F.2d 1316, 1319 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 419 U.S. 827, 95 S.Ct. 46, 42 L.Ed.2d 51 (1974); see United States v. Ortega-Alvarez, 506 F.2d 455, 457 (2d Cir. 1974) (per curiam), cert. denied, 421 U.S. 910, 95 S.Ct. 1559, 43 L.Ed.2d 775 (1975); United States v. Mallah, 503 F.2d 971, 983-84 (2d Cir. 1974), cert. denied, 420 U.S. 995, 95 S.Ct. 1425, 43 L.Ed.2d 671 (1975); United States v. Bynum, 485 F.2d 490, 495-96 (2d Cir. 1973), vacated on other grounds, 417 U.S. 903, 94 S.Ct. 2598, 41 L.Ed.2d 209 (1974); Note, supra, 42 Brooklyn L.Rev. at 256-57, citing United States v. Bruno, 105 F.2d 921 (2d Cir.), rev'd on other grounds, 308 U.S. 287, 60 S.Ct. 198, 84 L.Ed. 257 (1939). For such an inference to be drawn, however, it is necessary to examine the qualitative nature of the act or acts (of each defendant) . . . in the context of the entire conspiracy . . . . United States v. Torres, 503 F.2d 1120, 1124 (2d Cir. 1974). 10 1. Wesley. Viewing the relevant conspiracy as one grounded in the New York distributing operation of Pugliese and his lieutenants, we have no difficulty in concluding that the evidence was sufficient to convict appellant Wesley as a member of that conspiracy. 11 Dawson met Wesley in early 1971 through Robinson, who persuaded Dawson to hire Wesley to work at Dawson's bar. Wesley not only accompanied Dawson and sometimes Robinson to New York and New Jersey, where they purchased multikilogram quantities of heroin from the Pugliese operation, but he also allowed his Maryland apartment to be used for the cutting and storing of the heroin. He picked up some drugs from Pannirello in New Jersey without making full payment, so that Dawson later had to reimburse Pannirello. Wesley's knowledge of the overall enterprise could properly have been inferred from his considerable dealings. 12 2. Salley. Appellant Salley was also closely connected with Robinson. His house was used to cut and store heroin, and he traveled to New Jersey with March to pick up heroin from Pannirello. Later, he went with Robinson to New Jersey for meetings with Pannirello and Provitera; Robinson told them that Salley was working for him and that Provitera should deliver to Salley. Within two weeks after one such meeting, Salley obtained a package of heroin at a Howard Johnson's Motel in New Jersey from Provitera. He otherwise participated in Robinson transactions sufficiently so that the jury could have readily inferred that he was fully aware of Robinson's dealings and the size and scope of the conspiracy. 13 3. Taylor. Appellant Taylor's case is more difficult. There was no evidence linking him to New York, and there was direct evidence of only two conspiracy-related drug transactions, involving a total of two to two and one-half ounces. While such proof is qualitatively quite weak in the context of the entire conspiracy, see United States v. Tramunti, supra, 513 F.2d at 1112, it was sufficient within United States v. Geaney, 417 F.2d 1116, 1120 (2d Cir. 1969), cert. denied, 397 U.S. 1028, 90 S.Ct. 1276, 25 L.Ed.2d 539 (1970), and its progeny to permit the introduction of Dawson's hearsay testimony, which made Taylor out to be a regular, if slow-paying, customer of Robinson's and one of his principal customers in 1971. See United States v. Stanchich, 550 F.2d 1294, 1297-1299, n. 4 (2d Cir. 1977). From Dawson's testimony, which indicated that Taylor was purchasing sufficient quantities to be in the retail distribution business, the jury could have inferred that he was knowledgeable as to the size of Robinson's operations and the source of Robinson's heroin. See United States v. Ortega-Alvarez, supra, 506 F.2d at 457, and authorities cited therein. 14 4. Turner. Appellant Turner claims that there was insufficient nonhearsay evidence to justify the submission of his case to the jury and that his single act going to Robinson's apartment in Maryland, sampling three different piles of narcotics that Robinson and Dawson were cutting on the table, and saying that, if the narcotics were good, he and his friends would buy all that Robinson and Dawson could supply was insufficient to show willing and knowing participation in the conspiracy. But the visit to Robinson's apartment does show that Turner was at least considering becoming a quantity customer of Robinson and Dawson in connection with conspiracy narcotics. There was further direct, nonhearsay evidence that Turner frequently visited Robinson's men's clothing store, where the latter carried on many of his narcotics transactions, and that Dawson and Robinson visited Turner's home. Taken together, this evidence was sufficient under United States v. Geaney,supra, to make admissible the hearsay declarations of Robinson, testified to by Dawson and March, that the purpose of Turner's visits to the clothing store was related to narcotics transactions. There were two other instances specified by March, but these transactions were sales by Turner to Robinson and hence did not involve conspiracy narcotics; they demonstrated only that Turner and Robinson knew each other as narcotics operators. But Dawson and March also testified as to a transaction taking place in New York involving the sale by Robinson to Turner of a kilogram of heroin, which was the subject matter of a substantive count on which Turner was acquitted. Robinson and Dawson left Robinson's girlfriend's Bronx apartment in March, 1972, to deliver a kilogram of heroin bought from Pannirello in New Jersey; Robinson told March, who remained at the apartment, that they were going into town to meet Dog (Turner's nickname) and that (i)f he called, to tell Dog, they were on their way. Turner did call the apartment and speak to March, who told him that Robinson was on his way to meet him, and Turner said, according to March, If Warren gets back tell him I will call him. Robinson and Dawson went to a Manhattan hotel, and, according to Dawson, who waited outside, Robinson went inside with the kilo of narcotics and returned with a bag containing.$19,000, Robinson saying that Turner wanted more narcotics. Upon their return to the Bronx apartment, March told Robinson of Turner's call and Robinson said that  they had met Turner. Obviously, if the jury credited this evidence, it had more than adequate grounds for finding that Turner was a knowing member of the conspiracy. 3 15 5. Ramsey. Ramsey, a Washington customer of Robinson's, during the summer of 1971 complained to Dawson that he should have been getting higher quality narcotics than Robinson was delivering to him because he, Ramsey, was putting up (part of) the front money. He told Dawson that, if Dawson introduced him to the connection, Ramsey would put up all the front money. This alone would probably suffice to tie Ramsey to the conspiracy, but there was also evidence that in the latter part of October, 1971, after Dawson, Robinson and March had returned from a trip to New York or New Jersey for conspiracy narcotics, Ramsey arrived at the apartment of a Robinson girlfriend in Maryland when the others had cut about a half kilo of the narcotics. Ramsey had an argument with Robinson as to the quantity Ramsey wanted to buy and the money he owed Robinson; he eventually left with one kilo. March's and Dawson's testimony in this regard is sharply challenged by appellant Ramsey, on the basis that they could not have seen Ramsey from the bedroom where Robinson had them hiding while Ramsey was there. But the inconsistencies relied upon were matters for the jury to resolve. See United States v. Andrino, 497 F.2d 1103, 1107-08 (9th Cir.), cert. denied, 419 U.S. 1048, 95 S.Ct. 621, 42 L.Ed.2d 642 (1974); United States v. Birnbaum, 373 F.2d 250, 257 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 389 U.S. 837, 88 S.Ct. 53, 19 L.Ed.2d 99 (1967). There was also evidence that Ramsey made at least one (unsuccessful) effort to buy heroin directly from Pugliese. Taking the evidence in the light most favorable to the Government, as we are required to do after a jury conviction, Ramsey clearly qualifies as a conspirator knowledgeable as to the size, scope and purpose of the conspiracy. 16 6. Green. It is true that appellant Al Green and convicted fugitive codefendant Basil Hansen had no particular connection with Robinson, Dawson and the Washington branch of the Pugliese-Pannirello drug operation. Green and Hansen were, however, major customers of Pugliese and subsequently Pannirello and Provitera, as Pugliese's agents, and both Green and Hansen received substantial deliveries at their apartments in the Bronx. There was testimony that Pugliese himself introduced Pannirello both to Hansen and to Green and told Green that Pannirello would be delivering heroin to Green in the future. Green agreed to the arrangement and thereafter received delivery of two packages from Pannirello. From the quantity of Green's purchases, from his close connections with the suppliers and with another large-scale distributor (Hansen) with the same source (Pugliese), appellant Green must be considered one of those as to whom the jury could infer knowledge both that the conspiracy had a scope, and for its success required an organization, wider than that disclosed by his personal participation, and that there were other major purchasers like Hansen and himself. See United States v. Aqueci, 310 F.2d 817, 826 (2d Cir. 1962), cert. denied, 372 U.S. 959, 83 S.Ct. 1013, 10 L.Ed.2d 11 (1963); United States v. Mallah, supra, 503 F.2d at 983-84.