Opinion ID: 402397
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Gaspe Trip

Text: 29 Gibson contends that the government also failed to prove beyond doubt that the purpose of Gibson's trip to Gaspe, Canada, a remote fishing resort, was personal rather than official. Viewing the following evidence in the light most favorable to the government, we reject this contention as well. 30 No one disputes that Gibson and two Union officials, James Stamos and Herbert Schiffman 5 travelled in the Union plane to Gaspe, Canada for the last weekend in June, 1975. Gaspe is a resort in northern Quebec famous for excellent salmon fishing. The sole dispute is whether the government's evidence established that the trip was a social fishing jaunt, planned as such in advance by three old friends. 31 The prosecution called several witnesses to establish that the three men went to Gaspe only to fish for salmon and to relax. First the government called Nick Petri, Administrative Assistant to the General Secretary-Treasurer, who is responsible for paying Gibson's bills. Petri routinely kept a monthly memorandum of Gibson's travels as a record of Gibson's whereabouts. Petri had no actual knowledge whether any particular trip was personal or official, nor was he in a position to monitor whether Gibson conducted business on a particular trip. Petri stated that he always assumed that Gibson was on Union business whenever he travelled on the Union plane. Petri routinely reviewed all bills submitted by hotels and restaurants on Gibson's behalf. If Petri thought the expenses were proper, he would pay the various establishments that submitted vouchers. Gibson had an absolute right to charge the Union for all hotel and meal expenses incurred during Union business trips. According to Petri, Gibson's travel memorandum for June, 1975 showed that he was in Montreal, Canada on the last four days of the month. Expense sheets for the Union's pilots and for James Stamos showed that these men were in Gaspe, Canada from June 27 through June 30, 1975. 32 Next, the government called Lawrence Maloney, the owner of the small lodge in Gaspe in which the three stayed that weekend. Maloney testified that he and Stamos lunched together in April, 1975, at which time the two discussed salmon fishing in Gaspe. Based on his luncheon conversation with Stamos, Maloney began to make preparations for a salmon fishing weekend at his lodge in Gaspe. He opened the lodge for the occasion, rented two salmon rivers and guides, purchased food supplies and hired a staff of four. Maloney testified that he understood that the trip was planned as a salmon expedition, based on his April conversation with Stamos. Accordingly, he reserved two entire salmon rivers. Maloney further stated that the best time to fish for salmon is between June 7 and mid-July. 33 Maloney was on hand to greet the three men when they arrived in Gaspe. Gibson was the only one who brought his own fishing gear, most of which was unsuitable for salmon fishing except for a fly rod. Maloney arranged for proper fishing gear for Gibson and the others. According to Maloney, fishing was poor that year because the rivers were extremely low. Gibson nevertheless attempted to fish every day, although Stamos and Schiffman, less experienced and enthusiastic than Gibson, gave up in apparent frustration and played golf. Maloney recounted that on the day after the group arrived, he drove all three men to the airstrip where they met three ladies and a man named Cretier. The group returned to the lodge and had drinks and dinner together. Although Maloney ate and fished separately from the union group, and thus was not with Gibson the entire weekend, Maloney testified that when Gibson was in his presence he never heard the three discuss union business. Finally, Maloney testified that Gibson, Stamos, and Schiffman each paid him in cash for their hotel, bar, and fishing expenses, after some dispute about the cost of renting the rivers and guides. 34 Gary Garavaglia, one of the Union's pilots, took the stand. The government called this witness to establish the personal nature of the trip. According to Garavaglia, Gibson ordered him to fly to Quebec City on Saturday morning to pick up several passengers and bring them back to Gaspe. In Quebec City, two women wearing evening clothes boarded the plane along with another woman dressed casually and an unidentified man. The two ladies left the next day after an apparent argument with Gibson, Stamos, and Schiffman. Although the pilot did not spend much time with Gibson that weekend, he did observe Gibson and the others fishing. He also observed what he described as social activity. The government submitted that the pilot's inference was competent, based on his long association with Gibson and the events he observed in Gaspe. 35 Viewing this evidence and all reasonable inferences in the government's favor, we conclude that a reasonable mind could fairly find Gibson guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of misusing the Union plane for a personal fishing trip to Gaspe. In our view the government presented ample evidence in its case in chief to send these counts to the jury. The evidence clearly invites and permits the inference that Gibson, Stamos and Schiffman planned a weekend fishing trip together at the height of the salmon season. Gibson is an avid fisherman and the three are old friends. The evidence supports the government's theory that Gibson tried to conceal the fact that he took the plane to Gaspe: Petri's records show that Gibson was in Montreal from June 27 to June 30. Furthermore, Gibson paid his own lodging and fishing expenses in cash, and he never sought reimbursement from the Union, although he had a right to be reimbursed for all business expenses. If the jury credited the testimony of Petri, Maloney and Garavaglia, the evidence was sufficient to establish that Gibson consciously misused the Union plane for his personal benefit, and that he planned this misuse with his two friends. 36 Our assessment of the evidence is not altered by the testimony of the defense witnesses. Gibson called Hanley and Stamos, a co-conspirator and President of the Local in Montreal, to describe the official nature of the Gaspe trip. Hanley stated that the International was then facing organizational problems in Canada due to the Separatist movement in Quebec which gathered strength in the spring of 1975. In January of that year, the International's Executive Board discussed in great detail the Canadian problem at a meeting attended by Hanley, Gibson, and Stamos. Hanley testified that he asked Gibson to travel to Quebec to investigate this and related union problems. Finally, Hanley testified that he received some information from Gibson after the Gaspe trip. 37 Stamos corroborated Hanley's testimony about the topic of the January meeting. According to Stamos' version of history, Gibson called him in May, 1975 to say that he was authorized to travel to Canada to talk about the Union's problems. Stamos then notified Maloney to open his lodge in Gaspe. Stamos testified that he and Gibson discussed the Quebec situation on the night of arrival, and that the three men spent approximately sixty to sixty-five percent of the weekend discussing union matters. Gibson ordered Stamos to bring a man named Cretier to Gaspe. Cretier was the Union's business representative in Quebec City. Accordingly, Stamos called Cretier from the lodge on Saturday morning and invited him for the weekend. Later that day Cretier arrived on the union plane. All three men picked him up at the airstrip. According to Stamos, Gibson got mad when he saw that Cretier had brought two extra women with him. Gibson reportedly said who are these people and ordered the women to leave on a commercial flight the next morning. On cross-examination Stamos was unable to explain why all three men paid the airfare to send the women back to Quebec City, if the three had not in fact known in advance that the women were coming. The prosecution reminded Stamos that he had testified at Gibson's first trial that Cretier had brought the women along for entertainment. When the prosecution asked why Gaspe had been chosen for a business meeting, Stamos responded that Gibson came to Gaspe to get closer to the Quebec problem. However, Stamos also stated that Gibson could not travel to Quebec City or Montreal, where the union actually operated because Gibson had to be insulated from the source of the trouble. Stamos was extremely vague when cross-examined about specific topics he, Gibson, and Schiffman discussed at Gaspe. He mentioned that they discussed the provisions of certain collective bargaining agreements in detail, but he could not identify them. Furthermore, Stamos was not able to explain why not one of the three brought along any of the documents or working papers that Stamos claims they discussed. 38 We conclude that the government's evidence was not only sufficient to warrant submission to the jury, but that it was also sufficient to establish Gibson's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Direct proof of each element of a section 501(c) violation is not necessary to convict. United States v. Vitale, 489 F.2d 1367 (6th Cir. 1974). The jury was entitled to draw adverse inferences from the testimony of the government's witnesses and to discredit the testimony of Hanley and Stamos, a highly interested witness. On balance, the evidence substantially supports the jury's finding of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.