Opinion ID: 609734
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 9

Heading: payments to witness

Text: 96 Scott, a key witness for the prosecution, received $250,000 from the government prior to trial for his cooperation as well as immunity from prosecution and enrollment in the federal witness protection program. The $250,000 payment was made pursuant to a DEA program that awards twenty percent of the value of seized assets to parties who are instrumental in successful investigations. Gilberti argues that these benefits conferred upon Scott were so likely to induce perjury that they infringed upon defendants' right to a fair trial, and he points to our dictum in United States v. Dailey, 759 F.2d 192 (1st Cir.1985), that we can think of no instance in which the government would be justified in making a promised benefit contingent upon the return of an indictment or a guilty verdict. Id. at 210 (footnote omitted). 97 Subsequently in United States v. Cresta, 825 F.2d 538 (1st Cir.1987), cert. denied, 486 U.S. 1042, 108 S.Ct. 2033, 100 L.Ed.2d 618 (1988), this court upheld an agreement much like that in this case. In Cresta a government witness was promised $50,000 from the sale of a vessel that was to be seized and forfeited to the government as a result of the witness's cooperation. Cresta relied upon the facts that the terms of the agreement were disclosed to defense counsel and explored on cross-examination; there was substantial corroboration of the witness's testimony; and the court admonished the jury to weigh carefully the credibility of accomplice testimony. See id. 825 F.2d at 546. 10 98 Those same facts are present in this case. The terms of the agreement were not concealed; to the contrary, defendants' counsel questioned Scott closely about his arrangements with the government, and argued at length in closing that Scott should be disbelieved as a result of them. There was evidence to corroborate virtually every aspect of Scott's testimony. And the court instructed the jury to consider carefully any inducements or advantages that any witnesses had received. Finally, the $250,000 payment to Scott was completed several days prior to trial, and the payment was thus not directly dependent upon the result of Scott's testimony in court. 99 Clearly such immense payments are troubling. The payments may be for information, rather than for later testimony or convictions, but the steps are linked and the inducement to testify in accordance with prior reports is obvious. Yet defendants are regularly convicted based on testimony secured by the prosecutor's decision to reduce or dismiss charges against testifying co-defendants. In fact, Congress has enacted statutes that directly reward those who disclose misconduct and who doubtless testify for the government in the ensuing trials. 11 In all events, Cresta is the governing law in this circuit and controls this case.