Opinion ID: 14712
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 8

Heading: Impact of the Ex Post Facto Clause on the Money

Text: Laundering Conspiracy Conviction 120 Garcia Abrego contends that all of the acts that formed the basis of his conviction for conspiracy to launder money occurred before October 28, 1992, the effective date of 18 U.S.C. § 1956(h), which raised the maximum penalty for such a conspiracy to the same level as the underlying substantive offense. See 18 U.S.C. § 1956(h). He also argues that, even if only one of the acts comprising the offense occurred before § 1956(h)'s effective date, the Ex Post Facto Clause precludes applying the statute's harsher penalty provisions to the offense. 121 As an initial matter, we reject Garcia Abrego's argument that his conviction under § 1956(h) violated the Ex Post Facto Clause if any of the conduct in furtherance of the conspiracy occurred before the statute's effective date. Conspiracy is a continuing offense. See Bermea, 30 F.3d at 1577.  '[W]here a crime is still being carried on and continued after the date when the act becomes effective,' a statute imposing a greater penalty for conspiracy does not violate the constitutional prohibition of ex post facto laws. United States v. Todd, 735 F.2d 146, 150 (5th Cir.1984) (quoting Huff v. United States, 192 F.2d 911, 914-15 (5th Cir.1951)); see also United States v. Harris, 79 F.3d 223, 229 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 117 S.Ct. 142, 136 L.Ed.2d 89 (1996); Bermea, 30 F.3d at 1577; United States v. Garfinkel, 29 F.3d 1253, 1259 (8th Cir.1994); United States v. Jackson, 845 F.2d 1262, 1265 (5th Cir.1988). 122 In circumstances in which many acts in a continuing offense occurred before the effective date of the statute criminalizing the continuing offense, the trial court must inform the jury of the effective date of the statute and instruct the jury that, in order to convict the defendant of the offense, it must find that the offense continued after the effective date of the statute. See Todd, 735 F.2d at 150. The district court gave such an instruction in this case, and the government presented ample evidence that the conspiracy to launder money occurred after the effective date of § 1956(h). 123 Among the post-October 1992 evidence supporting Garcia Abrego's conviction of conspiracy to launder money is the testimony of Carlos Resendez that he participated in a large cocaine transaction in 1993 and turned the proceeds over to Garcia Abrego in Monterey, Mexico. Additionally, Resendez testified that he picked up money in the United States for Garcia Abrego in 1993. Resendez also testified that he engaged in a cocaine transaction in 1994 and that he delivered the money pursuant to Garcia Abrego's instructions. Furthermore, Tony Ortiz testified that, in November 1992, he delivered approximately $40,000 to Medrano for use in bribing a Mexican official. Based upon this evidence, the jury could reasonably conclude that the money laundering conspiracy continued after the effective date of § 1956(h). Therefore, Garcia Abrego's conviction for violation of § 1956(h) did not violate the Ex Post Facto Clause. 124