Opinion ID: 546225
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Instructions Regarding RICO and Co-Conspirator Liability

Text: 266 After instructing the jury at length about the essential elements of a RICO conspiracy offense, the district court elaborated upon the general law of conspiracy, stating in pertinent part that: 267 a conspiracy is like a train, and where one party knowingly steps on board that train he's a part of the crew. Knowingly now. He becomes a part of the crew and assumes conspirators' responsibility for the existing freight or conduct, regardless of whether he is aware of just what it is composed of. 268 Tr. 11/19/88 at 116. 269 Judging from the context, these comments appear to have been made in response to the closing arguments of certain defense counsel that their clients were too young to be held responsible for criminal conduct occurring at the outset of the RICO conspiracy, in 1976. 88 Id. at 115. The district court followed its train analogy with an instruction concerning the circumstances under which the jury could consider co-conspirators' statements against defendants not present at the time the statements were made. 89 270 Following the court's charge, defense counsel promptly objected to the train analogy on the ground that it improperly suggested that membership in the Mafia in itself was an offense. Tr. 11/17/88 at 135. Joseph Pungitore's attorney added that [t]he example you gave about the train, that you have to have it proven beyond a reasonable doubt that you know what's going on, you know where the train is going, you know what they're doing ... Id. at 136. In response to these objections, the district court gave the following supplemental instruction: 271 I want to stress one thing. I gave you the example of the train and that was quoted from United States v. Barnes [sic]. But I want to emphasize one word because I think it's important. 272 Proof of membership in the Mafia in and of itself is not sufficient to convict, just standing by itself is not sufficient to convict. Now I told you conspiracy is like a train, and it is. But when a party knowingly steps aboard, it must be knowingly. You've got to know. Then he is part of the crew and assumes conspirators responsibilities. And he assumes those responsibilities for the existing freight or conduct, regardless of whether he is aware of just what it is composed of. Id. at 136 (emphasis supplied). 90 273 Defense counsel then assured the court that the jury instructions were satisfactory. Id. at 138. 274 Appellants Scafidi, Ciancaglini, Joseph Pungitore, and Joseph Grande now complain that the train analogy invited the jury to convict on the RICO conspiracy charges without finding that individual appellants had the requisite specific intent regarding the underlying predicate acts. Brief for Ciancaglini at 44. They argue that the agency theory of co-conspirator liability reflected in the instruction is primarily relevant to the admissibility of co-conspirator statements under Fed.R.Evid. 801(d)(2)(E) and does not bear directly on substantive conspiracy law. They further maintain that even in cases involving Rule 801(d)(2)(E), this Court has consistently condemned the delivering of any jury instructions on the coconspirator hearsay exception. Brief for J. Pungitore at 39 (citing United States v. Continental Group, Inc., 603 F.2d 444, 460 (3d Cir.1979), cert. denied, 444 U.S. 1032, 100 S.Ct. 703, 62 L.Ed.2d 668 (1980)). 91 275 We will grant a new trial if the district court erred as a matter of law instructing the jury. United States v. Phillips, 874 F.2d 123, 128 (3d Cir.1989). However, because no objection was made to the supplemental jury instructions, we may reverse only if the alleged error amounted to plain error. See United States v. Thame, 846 F.2d 200, 204-06 (3d Cir.), cert. denied, 488 U.S. 928, 109 S.Ct. 314, 102 L.Ed.2d 333 (1988). We find no plain error. 276 First, contrary to appellants' assertions, we have never condemned the practice of giving jury instructions on the admissibility of co-conspirator's statements against individual defendants. In Continental Group, we suggested in dicta that jury instructions concerning the factual foundation required for application of the co-conspirator exception to the hearsay rule are best omitted, as they give the jury the opportunity to second-guess the court's decision to admit coconspirator declarations. 603 F.2d at 459. We observed, however, that such instructions could not give rise to reversible error because, if anything, they inure to the benefit of the defendant. Id. In short, appellants' reliance on Continental Group is misplaced. 277 Second, the disputed comments were an accurate explanation of substantive conspiracy law. It is true that many of the recent cases discussing the agency theory of co-conspirator liability have involved disputes concerning the admissibility of co-conspirator statements under Fed.R.Evid. 801(d)(2)(E). See United States v. Fields, 871 F.2d 188, 194 (1st Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 110 S.Ct. 369, 107 L.Ed.2d 355 (1989) (When a party jumps aboard the 'conspiracy train' he assumes responsibility for all conduct whether or not he is conscious of its extent and therefore a co-conspirator's statements in furtherance of the conspiracy made before the defendant entered the conspiracy are admissible against him); United States v. Baines, 812 F.2d 41, 42 (1st Cir.1987) (same); United States v. Jannotti, 729 F.2d 213, 221 (3d Cir.), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 880, 105 S.Ct. 243, 83 L.Ed.2d 182 (1984); United States v. Tombrello, 666 F.2d 485, 490-91 (11th Cir.), cert. denied, 456 U.S. 994, 102 S.Ct. 2279, 73 L.Ed.2d 1291 (1982). See also United States v. United States Gypsum Co. 333 U.S. 364, 393, 68 S.Ct. 525, 541, 92 L.Ed. 746 (1948) (espousing same rule regarding admissibility of co-conspirator statements as that embodied in Rule 801(d)(2)(E)). However, while the above cases directly concerned the reach of Rule 801(d)(2)(E), that does not mean that the principle of co-conspirator liability has force only in the context of evidence questions. Rather, the principle formed part of the common law of conspiracy which itself gave rise to the evidentiary rule. Baines, 812 F.2d at 42 (Fed.R.Evid. 801(d)(2)(E) does not change the common law.). 278 The concept that co-conspirators act as mutual agents for one another has been a longstanding principle of conspiracy law. Pinkerton v. United States, 328 U.S. 640, 645-48, 66 S.Ct. 1180, 1183-84, 90 L.Ed. 1489 (1946) (co-conspirators are liable for all foreseeable substantive offenses committed during the course of and in furtherance of a conspiracy). In United States v. Riccobene, 709 F.2d at 224, we agreed with the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit that in enacting section 1962(d), Congress did not radically alter traditional conspiracy law except to the extent that it proposed a dramatically new conspiratorial objective. Thus, it was not error for the district court to include in its RICO conspiracy instructions comments concerning traditional conspiracy law. 279 To be sure, had the district court confined its RICO conspiracy instructions to general conspiracy doctrine, there could have been a problem, as the defendant's assent to the commission of the predicate offenses is an essential element of the RICO conspiracy offense. See id. However, the district court's instructions, read in their entirety, were sufficiently balanced to convey to the jury the distinguishing characteristics of a RICO conspiracy. Accordingly, we find no merit to the appellants' challenge to the RICO conspiracy instructions.