Opinion ID: 199094
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Coviello's Role In Offense Adjustment

Text: 37 Coviello argues that the district court should have found him to be a minimal participant (entitled to a four-level decrease) or minor participant (entitled to a two-level decrease) pursuant to USSG § 3B1.2. To be eligible for either role in the offense adjustment, the defendant must demonstrate that he was substantially less culpable than the average participant. United States v. Ocasio, 914 F.2d 330, 333 (1st Cir. 1990) (quoting USSG § 3B1.2 commentary, background). Coviello contends that he is entitled to at least minor participant status because he participated in only one transaction (the sale of 8,000 stolen Office discs) during the two-year long conspiracy. Our review is for clear error. See id. 38 For Coviello to obtain a role in the offense, adjustment, he cannot simply show that he was a minimal or minor participant in the conspiracy overall. He must demonstrate that he was a minimal or minor participant in the conduct that formed the basis of his sentence. See, e.g., United States v. James, 157 F.3d 1218, 1220 (10th Cir. 1998) (where sentence was based not on the collective amount of drugs distributed by all members of the conspiracy, but only on the amount of drugs distributed by the defendant, no role reduction is appropriate); United States v. Atanda, 60 F.3d 196, 198 (5th Cir. 1995) (When a sentence is based on an activity in which a defendant was actually involved, § 3B1.2 does not require a reduction in the base offense level even though the defendant's activity in a larger conspiracy may have been minor or minimal.); cf. United States v. Neal, 36 F.3d 1190, 1211 (1st Cir. 1994) (defendant mistakenly refers to the overall conspiracy encompassing five robberies as the benchmark for arguing that he played a minimal role, rather than the offenses for which he was convicted). Coviello's offense level was not based on the broader two-year conspiracy: it was based only on the single transaction in which Coviello engaged. Coviello received a fifteen-level increase for his participation in the attempted sale of $3.9 million worth of stolen Office discs. He did not receive the full seventeen-level increase other defendants received for selling all $17 million worth of stolen property. 39 Given these principles, the district court properly found that Coviello's sentence was based on his part in this aspect of the conspiracy, as to which he was a full, not a minor participant. Coviello played a critical role in the sale of the 8,000 stolen Office discs--the largest single sale attempted by Crazy Bob's, representing twenty-five percent of the total of 32,000 stolen Office discs. Coviello made the final arrangements with the buyer; he sent sample discs; he had custody of the stolen property and he delivered the property. Coviello was also set to keep a full one-third of the proceeds for the sale, amounting to about $80,000.