Opinion ID: 3049934
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: County’s Losses

Text: McNair argues that the government failed to prove any losses suffered by the County. We disagree. For starters, the evidence showed McNair received $851,927 in goods, services, labor, materials, and money as a result of the bribery 129 scheme. Further, during the same time period, the contractor-defendants received hundreds of millions of dollars in payments under their County contracts and made millions of dollars in profits.108 And the district court did not clearly err in finding that the contractors essentially recouped their bribe money by adding it back to their sewer and engineering contract bills as a cost of doing business with the County. See United States v. DeVegter, 439 F.3d 1299, 1303 (11th Cir. 2006) (“Assuming the bribe achieves its intended result, the benefit would usually exceed the bribe.”); see also Futrell, 209 F.3d at 1292 (concluding the district court did not abuse its discretion in ordering restitution under the MVRA based on “approximation” of loss resulting from defendants’ fraud). The district court’s determination is consistent with Supreme Court precedent stating that when a public official acquires an ill-gotten benefit as a result of his office, the government suffers losses in that amount. See United States v. Carter, 217 U.S. 286, 305-06, 30 S. Ct. 515, 520 (1910).109 108 See supra note 96. 109 In Carter, the Supreme Court stated: It is not enough for one occupying a confidential relation to another, who is shown to have secretly received a benefit from the opposite party, to say, “. . . you cannot show that you have sustained any loss by my conduct.” Such an agent has the power to conceal his fraud and hide the injury done his principal. It would be a dangerous precedent to lay down as law that unless some affirmative fraud or loss can be shown, the agent may hold on to any secret benefit he may be able to make out of his 130 McNair next contends the district court erred by failing to consider his financial ability to pay restitution and by not making an explicit finding that he had the financial ability to pay restitution of $851,927. We can locate no place in this voluminous record where McNair claimed in the district court that he lacked the financial ability to pay restitution or the $889,962 amount of restitution recommended in the PSI and sought by the government. See Jones, 289 F.3d at 1265. Because McNair raises this issue for the first time on appeal, we review it only for plain error. United States v. Rodriguez, 398 F.3d 1291, 1298 (11th Cir. 2005). We may not correct an error the appellant failed to raise in the district court unless there is: “‘(1) error, (2) that is plain, and (3) that affects substantial rights.’” Id. (quoting United States v. Cotton, 535 U.S. 625, 631, 122 S. Ct. 1781, 1785 (2002)). If the preceding three conditions are met, we may exercise discretion to correct a forfeited error, but only if “(4) the error seriously affects the fairness, integrity, or public reputation of judicial proceedings.” Id. (quotation marks omitted). agency. The larger interests of public justice will not tolerate, under any circumstances, that a public official shall retain any profit or advantage which he may realize through the acquirement of an interest in conflict with his fidelity as an agent. If he takes any gift, gratuity, or benefit in violation of his duty, or acquires any interest adverse to his principal, without a full disclosure, it is a betrayal of his trust and a breach of confidence, and he must account to his principal for all he has received. Carter, 217 U.S. at 305-06, 30 S. Ct. at 520. 131 McNair has not shown plain error for several reasons. First, “[d]istrict courts are not obliged to make explicit factual findings of a defendant’s ability to pay restitution if the record provides an adequate basis for review.” United States v. Dabbs, 134 F.3d 1071, 1084 (11th Cir. 1998) (quoting Twitty, 107 F.3d at 1493); accord United States v. Fuentes, 107 F.3d 1515, 1529 n.27 (11th Cir. 1997); United States v. Remillong, 55 F.3d 572, 574-78 (11th Cir. 1995); United States v. Hairston, 888 F.2d 1349, 1353 (11th Cir. 1989) (stating, “[i]f the record provides an adequate basis for . . . review, the court need not assign specific reasons for its decision to order full restitution. If the record is insufficient, reasons must be assigned.”) (quotation marks omitted).110 “‘In order to warrant a reversal of the restitution order, the challenging party must show that the record is devoid of any evidence that the defendant is able to satisfy the restitution order.’” Dabbs, 134 F.3d at 1084 (quoting United States v. Davis, 117 F.3d 459, 463 (11th Cir. 1997)). However, “we will not uphold the district court’s exercise of discretion if the record is devoid of any evidence that the defendant is able to satisfy the restitution order.” Remillong, 55 F.3d at 574. Second, the record is not devoid of any evidence of McNair’s ability to 110 Since 1989 this Court has agreed “with the courts that have declined to adopt a rigid rule requiring district courts to make findings of fact whenever they impose an order of restitution under the VWPA.” Hairston, 888 F.2d at 1352. 132 satisfy the restitution order. The PSI set forth McNair’s finances in detail, the district court said it had reviewed that financial information, and McNair did not contest the facts as to his finances. There is no dispute that McNair has equity of $379,455 in his studio building, which was built in part using the bribe money. The studio value could reduce the restitution from $851,927 to $472,472. In addition, McNair has a net cash flow of $1,741 per month, which is about the size of his monthly Jefferson County retirement check of $1,794. That retirement check alone permits McNair to pay $21,528 annually toward the restitution. Five years of $21,528 payments annually would equal over $100,000 in restitution. The unique problem in this case, however, is that McNair is now 84 years old.111 Although the PSI states McNair “reports no current medical problems or prescription medications taken on a regular basis,” it would take McNair 21.94 years at $21,528 per year to pay the remaining $472,472 left in restitution. Therefore, the record does not necessarily show that McNair has the financial ability to pay the full $851,927 in restitution. Nonetheless, under the fourth prong of plain error review, we conclude any error does not seriously affect the fairness, integrity, or public reputation of judicial proceedings because (1) McNair, not the government, has the burden to prove lack 111 The PSI states McNair’s date of birth is November 22, 1925. 133 of financial ability to pay the restitution in full; (2) the district court did not impose any fine but only restitution; (3) McNair does not dispute that he received $851,927 in goods, services, materials, labor, and other things of value; (4) no one, not even the district court if we remanded for further findings, knows how long McNair will live and continue to receive his monthly Jefferson County pension and thus be able to pay some restitution each month; and (5) the party owed this restitution is the same party currently paying McNair $1,749 per month, making it eminently fair to recapture these payments as restitution for as long as they are made. Given all of the unique circumstances in this case, McNair has not shown plain error in the district court’s restitution order. McNair also challenges the restitution order on the ground that United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220, 125 S. Ct. 738 (2005), requires that the factual predicate for restitution be found by a jury beyond a reasonable doubt. McNair’s Booker challenge is foreclosed by our precedent. United States v. Williams, 445 F.3d 1302, 1310 (11th Cir. 2006) (“Booker does not apply to restitution orders.”), abrogated on other grounds by United States v. Lewis, 492 F.3d 1219, 1222 (11th Cir. 2007). We thus reject this argument.112 112 McNair objected to this statement in the PSI: “Theo Lawson, County Attorney for Jefferson County, AL, appeared at the sentencing in U.S. v. Dougherty, (05-61, 05-544) and indicated that the county requests restitution in each of these cases on the amount of the bribes.” On appeal McNair claims the PSI’s inclusion of this “testimony” violated his right to 134 For the first time on appeal, McNair also claims the district court erred in ordering any restitution because co-defendant Roland Pugh was not ordered to pay restitution. We review this claim for plain error. See United States v. Rodriguez, 398 F.3d 1291, 1298 (11th Cir. 2005). Seven of McNair’s co-defendants were ordered to pay restitution, to wit: PUGH ($239,652), Bobby Rast ($141,000), Danny Rast ($141,000), RAST ($141,000), Swann ($355,533), FWDE ($225,149), and Dougherty ($225,149). McNair has shown no plain error in this regard.113 For all these reasons, we affirm the restitution order as to McNair.