Court Opinion

ID: 9460752
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-04 21:59:29.031438+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:36:46.063188
License: Public Domain

STEVENS, Circuit Judge
(dissenting).
If the conversations between Moore and Coduto were admissible against Fiorito, the evidence supporting Fiorito’s conviction was plainly sufficient. The admissibility of the Moore-Coduto conversations depends, however, on whether the wiretapped conversations between Coduto and Fiorito on February 15, 1971, implicated Fiorito in the conspiracy. In answering that question, three points must be kept in mind: First, direct, nonhearsay evidence unequivocally identified Coduto as a distributor of heroin; second, nothing more than “slight” evidence of a connection between Fiorito and Coduto is required to make the Moore-Coduto conversations admissible against Fiorito; and third, in ruling on the admissibility of ambiguous evidence, the trial judge may properly draw inferences favorable to the government.
Having established by clear, convincing and unquestionably admissible evidence that Coduto was a middleman in the heroin trade, the conversation between Fiorito and Coduto which Judge Cummings has quoted * reasonably gives rise'to these inferences: (1) Fiorito called Coduto for a reason which was not purely social; (2) Fiorito and Coduto were discussing a commercial transaction in which they might both participate; (3) the transaction was of a character which they did not desire to discuss frankly and openly; (4) Coduto *111was not in a position to participate immediately, but expected to be able to do so in a week or 10 days; (5) the activities of a group of unidentified persons made it appropriate to take no action for a short time — presumably those persons were law enforcement agents; (6) Coduto had certain legal difficulties about which he wanted Fiorito to be informed; and (7) since Coduto was engaged in the heroin traffic, it is inferable that his legal problems related to his business and that Fiorito would so understand.
Although none of these inferences may have been compelled, in view of the conversants’ manner of speaking, in my opinion each inference was not only permissible but indeed entirely reasonable for the trial judge to draw in making his appraisal of the admissibility of other evidence shedding further light on the relationship between these two persons. Collectively, these inferences certainly constitute more than the requisite “slight” evidence of a connection between Fiorito and Coduto’s heroin business. Since the other evidence in the record is therefore admissible against Fiorito and amply establishes his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, I would affirm his conviction.

 The only portion of the conversation which is omitted contains certain uncouth language and a reference to a federal judge and a trial lawyer. The omitted segment is consistent with my view that the conversation as a whole may reasonably be interpreted as relating to the illegal business activities of Coduto.