Opinion ID: 572644
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Issues Raised by Bafia

Text: 52 Bafia makes four claims on appeal: (1) that he committed no acts in furtherance of the conspiracy after November 1, 1987 (the effective date of the Guidelines), and, thus, was not subject to sentencing under the Guidelines; (2) that his convictions for using extortionate means to collect debts and for using a weapon in committing a crime of violence violate the Double Jeopardy Clause; (3) that he was deprived of due process because his sentence was based on quantities of cocaine that were not proven at trial; and (4) that the district court erred by enhancing his offense level for obstruction of justice. None of these claims leads us to reverse the district court. 53 Bafia argues that there were two conspiracies: the Cappas conspiracy that was charged in the indictment, and an uncharged conspiracy involving transactions between Bafia and a cocaine buyer named Edgar Rosa. Bafia contends that the only act with which he is charged that occurred after the effective date of the Guidelines concerned the uncharged conspiracy with Rosa. Thus, Bafia argues, the acts committed by him that did involve the Cappas conspiracy which were charged in Count Three of the indictment occurred before the Guidelines went into effect. See Bafia Brief at 18. In the alternative, Bafia urges us to hold that he withdrew from the charged (i.e. Cappas) conspiracy in the summer of 1987 after he wrecked one of Cappas' corvettes and, as a result, had a falling out with Cappas. 54 We are not persuaded. There was ample evidence to show that Cappas was the source of the cocaine advanced on credit to Rosa by Bafia. Thus, Bafia's efforts to collect money from Rosa, which continued into 1988 after the Guidelines became effective, were part of the charged conspiracy. The evidence showed that Rosa began buying from Bafia in the summer of 1986. Rosa's last purchase took place in October 1986. The purchase involved one ounce of cocaine, at a price of $1500, which Rosa took on credit. Bafia made numerous attempts to collect on Rosa's debt. These collection efforts lasted until the spring of 1988. As we noted when considering Cappas' claims, this court, in accord with every other circuit that has decided the issue, has held that where a conspiracy began prior to the effective date of the Guidelines but continued beyond it, the Guidelines apply. See Fazio, 914 F.2d at 958-59 and n. 14. 55 Moreover, it is equally well-settled that a member of a conspiracy is liable for the acts of his co-conspirators committed in furtherance of the conspiracy. See United States v. Andrus, 775 F.2d 825, 850 (7th Cir.1985). In the instant case, Count Two alleged that the conspiracy began in 1985 and did not end until 1988. Even assuming that Bafia committed no acts in furtherance of the conspiracy after November 1, 1987, he was still a member of the conspiracy in 1988 and liable for the acts of his co-conspirators, that is, unless he withdrew from the conspiracy prior to the effective date of the Guidelines. Absent such a withdrawal, the Guidelines appropriately were applied to Bafia. 56 Yet, that he withdrew from the conspiracy is Bafia's alternative argument. He relies on two points: the evidence that he and Cappas experienced a change in their relationship as a result of Bafia's demolition of Cappas' Corvette in the summer of 1987, and the lack of any evidence that Cappas delivered cocaine to Bafia after the car crash. It is not, however, all that easy to withdraw from a conspiracy. Withdrawal requires an affirmative act to either defeat or disavow the purposes of the conspiracy, such as making a full confession to the authorities or communicating to co-conspirators that one has abandoned the enterprise. United States v. Patel, 879 F.2d 292, 294 (7th Cir.1989). Merely ceasing participation in the conspiracy, even for extended periods, is not enough. Id. Even assuming Bafia's collection efforts in 1988 served an uncharged conspiracy and that he stopped selling cocaine after the car crash in the summer of 1987, these actions are still not sufficient to constitute withdrawal. We are not persuaded by Bafia's claims that his relationship with Cappas had so deteriorated as a result of the car crash that his involvement in the conspiracy had come to an end. The evidence showed that before Bafia wrecked the Corvette, he and Cappas were very close, but that after the crash, they were no longer on good terms. Trial Trans. at 2830-31, 3348. There is simply no evidence of any affirmative act by Bafia that would communicate to Cappas or anyone else that he had renounced the goals of the conspiracy. 57 Bafia also argues that, even if he committed acts in furtherance of the conspiracy after November 1987, the Guidelines still should not apply because the bulk of his conduct occurred before the effective date. He relies on United States v. Davis, 718 F.Supp. 8, 10 (S.D.N.Y.1989), in which the district court refused to apply the Guidelines because the vast majority of the defendant's conduct occurred prior to November 1987. The rationale for Davis eludes us, nor are we bound by its result. In sharp contrast to Davis stands our decision in Fazio in which we considered--and rejected--both statutory and constitutional arguments against applying the Guidelines to a conspiracy that straddles the effective date. See Fazio, 914 F.2d at 958-59. Bafia offers meager justification why this court should revisit its reasoning in Fazio. Thus, we hold that the district court appropriately applied the Guidelines in sentencing Bafia on the conspiracy conviction. 58 Bafia's second argument urges us to reverse his convictions for extortion and firearm violations. Bafia claims that trying him for both these offenses violates the Double Jeopardy Clause's prohibition against multiple prosecutions for the same offense. Again, we are not persuaded. Bafia's argument overlooks the full implications of the dual sovereignty doctrine which instructs us that prosecution by both state and federal authorities for the same conduct does not violate either the Double Jeopardy Clause or the Due Process Clause. Abbate v. United States, 359 U.S. 187, 193-96, 79 S.Ct. 666, 669-71, 3 L.Ed.2d 729 (1959). 59 Bafia was arrested by Palos Heights, Illinois police officers shortly after he and other Cappas persuaders shot at the home and through the windows of one of the conspiracy's debtors. Bafia ultimately pleaded guilty in state court to a charge of criminal damage to property. His participation in that incident formed the basis of his conviction in this case on Counts Eleven and Twelve, which charged extortion and the use of a firearm in relation to crimes of violence and drug trafficking. It is this double prosecution--first his conviction in state court for criminal damage to property and then his conviction in the district court on Counts Eleven and Twelve--that Bafia contends violate his rights under the Fifth Amendment. 60 Bafia argues that the recent decision in Grady v. Corbin, 495 U.S. 508, 110 S.Ct. 2084, 109 L.Ed.2d 548 (1990), heralds the demise of the dual sovereignty doctrine, even though Grady involved successive prosecutions by the same state and nowhere mentions dual sovereignty. In Grady, the defendant caused an automobile accident in which one person was killed and another was injured. The defendant was ticketed for two misdemeanors, driving under the influence of alcohol and failing to keep right of the median. He pleaded guilty to these charges and subsequently was indicted on several felony charges, including criminally negligent homicide. The Court held that the Double Jeopardy Clause bars subsequent prosecution if, to establish an essential element of an offense charged in that prosecution, the government must prove conduct that constitutes an offense for which the defendant already has been prosecuted. Id. 110 S.Ct. at 2093. 61 Bafia argues that the dual sovereignty doctrine should be re-examined because the rationale of Grady can be applied to successive state and federal prosecutions just as well as to successive prosecutions by the same sovereignty. See Bafia Brief at 26-27. We disagree. The dual sovereignty doctrine has been a fixture of constitutional law for decades, see United States v. Lanza, 260 U.S. 377, 43 S.Ct. 141, 67 L.Ed. 314 (1922), and was once described by Justice Holmes as too plain to need more than statement. Westfall v. United States, 274 U.S. 256, 258, 47 S.Ct. 629, 629, 71 L.Ed. 1036 (1927). The concerns that underlie the dual sovereignty doctrine are different from those that support Grady. Multiple prosecutions by the same sovereign for the same offense are inherently unjust, not only because they subject the defendant to anxiety and uncertainty, but also because they allow the state an opportunity to rehearse its presentation of proof, increasing the risk of an erroneous conviction. Grady, 110 S.Ct. at 2091-92. 62 The doctrine of dual sovereignty, however, recognizes that the federal government and each of the states derive their power from different sources, and that the same conduct may affect the interests of each sovereign. Heath v. Alabama, 474 U.S. 82, 88-91, 106 S.Ct. 433, 437-439, 88 L.Ed.2d 387 (1985). As the Court explained in Heath, [W]hen the same act transgresses the laws of two sovereigns, 'it cannot be truly averred that the offender has been twice punished for the same offence; but only that by one act he has committed two offences, for each of which he is justly punished.'  Id. at 88, 106 S.Ct. at 437 (quoting Moore v. Illinois, 14 How. 13, 20, 14 L.Ed. 306 (1852)). There is no dispute that the State of Illinois and the federal government represent different sovereignties. See id. at 89, 106 S.Ct. at 437 ([T]he Court has uniformly held that the States are separate sovereigns with respect to the Federal Government because each State's power to prosecute is derived from its own inherent sovereignty, not from the federal government. (quotations omitted)). That Illinois and the federal government may prosecute and convict Bafia for essentially the same conduct is no affront to the Fifth Amendment. 63 We can dismiss Bafia's remaining arguments rather easily. Bafia claims that the district court made two erroneous findings regarding the conspiracy count during the sentencing hearing: that Bafia possessed with intent to distribute 5,386.5 grams of cocaine over the course of the conspiracy (determining the defendant's sentencing range under the Guidelines); and that Bafia committed perjury when he testified at trial (supporting a two level increase in the defendant's offense level for obstruction of justice). Both of these determinations by the district court are findings of fact, which must be affirmed unless clearly erroneous. See United States v. Ross, 905 F.2d 1050, 1054 (7th Cir.1990); Brown, 900 F.2d at 1103. 64 Both findings by the district court are supported amply by the record. The district court essentially arrived at the 5,386.5 gram figure by multiplying the lowest estimate of the weekly amount of cocaine Bafia admitted to receiving (five ounces per week) by the number of weeks Bafia acted as a distributor for Cappas. See Transcript of Proceedings for Bafia Sentencing at 21-23. Bafia's admission was corroborated by several other distributors and by the large amounts of money Bafia owed Cappas. Surely it was not clearly erroneous to find that Bafia received slightly over five kilos of cocaine. 65 Similarly, the record strongly supports the district court's finding that Bafia obstructed justice, and thus deserved the two level increase in his adjusted offense level. Testifying untruthfully at trial represents conduct that may be the basis for the two level increase. See Guideline 3C1.1, Application Note 1. At trial, Bafia testified that, among other things, he never received or sold cocaine. Given the verdict of the jury, the district court could only find that Bafia lied. Thus, it was not clearly erroneous to find that he obstructed justice, thereby warranting the two level increase.