Court Opinion

ID: 9469815
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-05 02:49:50.122561+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:41:34.945030
License: Public Domain

POTTER, District Judge *,
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent from Part Four of the majority’s opinion and disagree with Judge Murnaghan’s concurring position stated in Part Three of his opinion.
The majority has reversed the convictions on the grounds that the trial court wrongfully excluded certain exculpatory statements made by a third co-defendant, to the prejudice of defendants, Brainard and Bit-tick. Because I believe that this claim does not amount to reversible error, and in any event, find that the record reflects substantial evidence of guilt in this matter so as to overcome any undue prejudice, I would affirm the convictions.
I.
This case involved a very complex and intricate scheme of investment fraud and consumed four weeks of trial. Initiated by Sheldon Moss, the fraud was one of substantial financial dimensions whereby some one thousand citizens of North Carolina were convinced to invest four and a half million dollars in a sham investment known as a “Ponzi scheme.” As a result of this scheme, Brainard and Bittick’s brokerage firm, NEP, received over $550,000 in commissions. Although Sheldon Moss pleaded guilty, Brainard and Bittick raised the defense that they were duped by Moss just as the investors had been, and that they were not knowing or willful participants in the fraud.
It was this defense of good faith ignorance of the fraud that the government repeatedly challenged, and I believe, eventually destroyed by the substantial incriminating evidence presented at trial. First of all, the TVM investment was not an obscure item, hidden from inspection among NEP’s other investments; rather, TVM was NEP’s star offering. The commissions from the sale of TVM accounted for approximately 45% of NEP’s income during the years .it was sold, and no other offering produced even half as much income to NEP. Yet, oddly enough, TVM had no prospectus, no financial statement, no annual report, or any other written financial information of any sort. Inquiring junior salesmen of NEP were told by Brainard and Bittick simply that they had “checked things out.”
The evidence further established that Brainard and Bittick were thoroughly ac*1129quainted with Sheldon Moss and were on quite intimate business relations with him. Both defendants knew that Moss had previously been the target of criminal investigation for his investment schemes and had previously been enjoined by the S.E.C. from selling securities. When NEP had financial problems of its own, Moss arranged to have some $49,000 transferred to NEP. As a result of these transfers, Brainard and Bit-tick were relieved of a $13,800 debt to NEP, and Sheldon Moss ended up owning 30% of the stock of NEP. From such direct payments of money to them by Moss, and from their sizeable commissions on the sale of TVM stock, Brainard and Bittick profited substantially from their various business dealings with Moss.
Part of the sales scheme designed to boost the credibility of TVM as an attractive investment were the repeated representations made by Brainard and Bittick that Sears, Roebuck Co. was backing the commercial paper. Brainard acknowledged at trial that he had no direct proof of Sears’ backing of TVM, yet investors who also testified at trial stated that Brainard and Bittick personally assured them that the investment was safe, it was backed by Sears, and that they had checked things out. With regard to his specific representation on one occasion that Sears had purchased ten million cases of a product through TVM, a totally false statement, Brainard, at trial, could only offer the response that “I am sure that I have erred in some of my verbiage.” (Tr. at 3172). Brainard also had repeatedly stated to his salesmen that the TVM investment had been registered with, or otherwise approved by, the State of Illinois. This statement was also untrue and would have been discovered to be so had Brainard really “checked things out.”
Perhaps the most blatant examples of Brainard’s misrepresentations were revealed in the testimony of Merlene Burzell and Robert Staub. Having already lost money on a questionable Florida land purchase deal set up by Bittick, Ms. Burzell was determined to make sure an investment in TVM would be safe. On the evening of the same day that he received a cease and desist order from the Securities and Exchange Commission on the sale of TVM, Brainard went to Ms. Burzell’s home and persuaded her to invest $30,000 of her husband’s retirement pension fund in TVM. As Ms. Burzell testified, although she was wary of the TVM investment, Brainard assured her that the investment was safe, it was backed by Sears, he had run a Dun & Bradstreet check on Sears 1, and that her investment was guaranteed.
Robert Staub, an investment broker in Fayetteville, North Carolina, testified that he had been contacted by Brainard and Bittick to sell the TVM investment in his area. After being told by Brainard that the state of Illinois had approved the sale of TVM and had issued a certificate to TVM, totally false statements, Mr. Staub agreed to sell some of the stock to his investors. However, in July of 1976, when he attempted to get an $18,000 investment returned to one of his buyers, he encountered repeated difficulties and excuses from Brainard and Moss. Eventually, the money was returned in installments over six or seven months. Because of this incident and other problems, Staub informed Brainard that he would no longer handle TVM investments. He further stated to Brainard that “something had to be wrong” with TVM when it was taking in so much money and yet had difficulty returning investments in single lump sums. (Tr. at 740).
For all their bravado and confidence in representing TVM to the investors and junior salesmen as a safe investment which they had thoroughly checked out, it is grimly ironic that Brainard and Bittick, having been enriched by more than half a million dollars in commissions on the TVM sales, eventually claimed total ignorance of the true nature of TVM: a non-existent company, the investments in which went directly into the pockets of Sheldon Moss. After a *1130careful review of the entire record of the trial below, it is clear that there was substantial evidence to support the jury’s determination of guilt on the crimes charged. In my opinion, the substantial evidence of guilt was sufficient to overcome any prejudice which may have resulted from the assignments of errors discussed below.
II.
In Part Three of his opinion, Judge Murnaghan offers the concurring opinion that misquotations of Bittick’s testimony made by the prosecutor in his closing argument prejudiced the defendants. While I agree that the prosecutor may have been somewhat overzealous in his argument to the jury, I do not believe his indiscretion prejudiced the defendants’ case so as to require a new trial.
A reading of the statements in question as they appear in the full context in which they were made indicates that the prosecutor did not in fact specifically put words into the mouth of defendant Bittick or otherwise attribute specific testimony to him.2 Rather, the prosecutor, in an effort to show what the defendants knew or should have known, characterized the words of Bittick in a way designed to emphasize how unreasonable it was for Brainard to remain ignorant of the fraud. The prosecutor’s characterization was more an argument as to the reasonableness of the defendants’ claim of ignorance than an attempt to insert admissions or testimony otherwise not in evidence. From the context in which these statements were made, I find that a jury would have viewed them as argument, and would not have attributed the remarks to Bittick.
Judge Murnaghan’s concurrence in Part Three of his opinion cites Wallace v. United States, 281 F.2d 656 (4th Cir. 1960), and United States v. Guajardo-Melendez, 401 F.2d 35 (7th Cir. 1968), as supportive of his holding.3 In my view, these cases involved far more egregious conduct on the part of the prosecution than that which occurred in the present case. Furthermore, since Wallace and Guajardo-Melendez, this Court has adopted the standard of the District of Columbia in determining the prejudicial effect of improper statements made by the prosecution. That standard was articulated in United States v. Callanan, 450 F.2d 145, 151 (4th Cir. 1971) as follows:
*1131Whether the untoward remarks prejudiced [the defendant] must be tested by “the closeness of the case, the centrality of the issue affected by the error, and the steps taken to mitigate the effects of the error.” quoting, Gaither v. United States, ... 413 F.2d 1061, 1079 (D.C.Cir.1969).
In the present case, the statements in question may have touched directly on the issue of the defendant’s knowledge of the fraud, but they were not the only evidence of the defendants’ guilt. Since the record reveals substantial other evidence of the defendants’ guilty knowledge, I consider this case not to be a close one within the meaning of the Callanan standard. Furthermore, it is significant that the statements were not explicitly attributed to Bit-tick, but were couched in argumentative terms as to the effect that his words should have had on Brainard. In this situation, the prosecutor’s cautionary statement that the jury should recall the testimony from their own memory and not rely on his representations, buttressed by the Court’s instructions that the arguments were not evidence and that the jury was to rely on its own recollection of the evidence and testimony, were more than sufficient measures to mitigate the effects of any improper statements.4
In considering this claim of prejudice arising from prosecutorial statements, it is helpful to note the words of the Supreme Court as set forth in United States v. Socony-Vacumn Oil Co., 310 U.S. 150, 239-40, 60 S.Ct. 811, 851-52, 84 L.Ed. 1129, as cited in, United States v. Elmore, 423 F.2d 775, 781 (4th Cir.), cert. denied, 400 U.S. 825, 91 S.Ct. 49, 27 L.Ed.2d 54 (1970):
[E]ach case necessarily turns on its own facts. And where . .. the record convinces us that these statements were minor aberrations in a prolonged trial and not cumulative evidence of a proceeding dominated by passion and prejudice, reversal would not promote the ends of justice.
Similarly, in the present case, the challenged statements of the prosecutor were but a small portion of his argument, and assessing these statements in the context of the prosecutor’s total argument and the evidence accumulated in the course of the four-week trial, there is no reason to believe that the statements so misled the jury as to deprive the defendants of their right to a fair trial.5 Consequently, in light of the isolated nature and the character of the remarks, the context in which they were made, the cautionary and mitigating statements of the prosecutor, defense counsel, and the court, and in light of the substantial other evidence of the defendant’s guilty knowledge of the fraud, I would find, based upon the standard enunciated in the Calla-nan decision, .that the prosecutor’s argument to the jury did not prejudice the defendants so as to require a new trial.6
*1132III.
The majority cites as the ground for reversal, the failure of the trial court to allow into evidence hearsay statements of' Sheldon Moss to his secretary to the effect that Brainard and Bittick had no knowledge of the fraud. Having found Moss to be an unavailable witness, the majority concludes that his statements are admissible under Rule 804(b)(3). That rule states:
A statement tending to expose the declarant to criminal liability and offered to exculpate the accused is not admissible unless corroborating circumstances clearly indicate the trustworthiness of the statement, (emphasis supplied.)
After a finding of nonavailability, the application of this rule has been held to require a two step analysis. First, “do the offered remarks come within the hearsay exception as a ‘statement against interest?’ and second, if they do, is there sufficient corroboration to clearly indicate trustworthiness.” United States v. Barrett, 539 F.2d 244, 251 (1st Cir. 1976). See also United States v. Alvarez, 584 F.2d 694, 699 (5th Cir. 1978). It has been held that “the against-interest component of this exception poses a legal issue, [and] the consideration of the statement’s trustworthiness raises a fact ordinarily to be reviewed according to a clearly erroneous standard.” United States v. Alvarez, supra, at 701.
In the present case, Moss’ statement to his secretary that Brainard and Bittick were not aware of the fraud is a statement against his interest to the extent that Moss is admitting that the investment scheme he created was a fraud. However, the statement with regard to his belief that Brainard and Bittick were without knowledge of the fraud is not against his interest, as all three could be guilty of separate but related offenses, and the guilt is not displaced from the accused to the declarant by Moss’ statements. See Barrett, supra, at 252 (“exculpating Barrett was not in itself against Tilley’s interest since both could have participated in the crime.”). Likewise, attempting to absolve Brainard and Bittick of knowing participation may very well have been in Moss’ best interest. It must be remembered that the statements were made after the scheme had collapsed and the apprehension of Moss for both criminal and civil liability was certain. Thus, by exculpating Brainard and Bittick, Moss stood a chance of forestalling additional criminal liability on charges of conspiracy. See United States v. Evans, 635 F.2d 1124, 1126 (4th Cir. 1980), cert. denied, 452 U.S. 943, 101 S.Ct. 3090, 69 L.Ed.2d 958 (1981). (Admissions of guilt were found to be in rather than against the declarant’s interest as the statement was designed to support a defense against a charge of a more serious crime.) It is not unlikely that Moss was aware of the full criminal liability to which he might be exposed as he had on previous occasions been the target of criminal investigations and an S.E.C. injunction.
Regardless of whether it is determined that Moss’s statement in its entirety was “against his interest,” the second requirement of the rule that corroborating circumstances “clearly indicate the trustworthiness of the statement” has not been met. As stated above, this decision is reserved to the discretion of the trial court under a clearly erroneous standard. The cases have been consistent and quite supportive of the trial court’s discretion on this issue. See, e.g., United States v. Barrett, supra, at 253 (“We read this Rule as investing the district court with a substantial degree of discretion in making this important finding on trustworthiness. ... In cases that are open to reasonable differences, this Court is unlikely to substitute its judgment for that of the district court.”). In United States v. Bagley, 537 F.2d 162 (5th Cir. 1976), cert. denied, 429 U.S. 1075, 97 S.Ct. 816, 50 L.Ed.2d 794 (1977), the Fifth Circuit outlined the deference to be given to the trial court’s determination of trustworthiness, saying that
*1133[t]he requirement that the corroborating circumstances ‘clearly indicate’ the trustworthiness of the statement should be construed to permit the trial judge, who has the opportunity to judge the credibility of the witness, to exercise discretion in determining whether he is satisfied that the statement is trustworthy. If there is evidence before him from which he could conclude that the statement was not actually made (or would not be reliable evidence of the truth of the matter asserted) his exclusion of the statement should be affirmed, (emphasis supplied).
The majority indicates that Moss’ statements were not mere opinion on the ultimate issue of guilt, but should be construed to mean that Moss had not told Brainard and Bittick that TVM was a fraud. If this analysis were taken one step further, Moss’ statements, even if he himself believed them to be true, could only prove that Brainard and Bittick had not told him they were aware of his fraud. Viewed in this light, it does not appear that Moss’ statements were “reliable evidence of the truth of the matter asserted” — Brainard and Bittick’s lack of guilty knowledge — as Moss had no way of knowing what Brainard and Bittick actually knew about the fraud, regardless of what communications had or had not passed between them.
The trial court had before it substantial other evidence that Brainard and Bittick had knowingly participated in the fraud and had deliberately avoided inquiries and attempts to verify the authenticity of the TVM investment. Additionally, the statements in question here were made by Sheldon Moss, a man who had pleaded guilty to masterminding a fraud which was perpetuated by the use of an endless series of lies, fabrications, and cover-ups. Considering the nature of the crime and the confessór, I would consider any statements made by Sheldon Moss, other than admissions of his own guilt, to be highly suspect.7 Ironically, even the defense counsel argued to the jury that Moss lacked credibility, was a “conman”, the “Wizard of Oz”, and a liar. Under these circumstances, and in view of all the evidence presented at trial and the lack of corroborating circumstances which would clearly indicate the trustworthiness of the statements in question, I would find that the trial court was within its discretion when it excluded Moss’ statements to his secretary. Additionally, even if sufficient corroborating circumstances were present and the district court, under the standard discussed above, was “clearly erroneous” in excluding the statements, I find that no prejudice resulted to the defendants, as the statements were substantially outweighed by the other evidence of guilty knowledge presented at trial. See United States v. Hinkson, 632 F.2d 382, 386 (4th Cir. 1980).
Consequently, for the reasons -discussed above, I would find no prejudicial error and affirm the convictions.

 Robert D. Potter, United States District Court Judge for the Western District of North Carolina sitting by designation.

. Brainard did not reveal to Ms. Burzell whether or not a Dun and Bradstreet had been performed on TVM, the very company the security of which she was concerned about.

. The portions of the prosecutor’s closing argument in question are set out below:
“In other words, if we are to believe Mr. Bit-tick, he was telling King right then and there on King’s return back from Chicago, ‘something ain’t right about what we got there. The description you’re giving me of that product is not accurate. There is something fraudulent there. You’ve got the pitch wrong. There’s something wrong there.’ I personally, and, of course I don’t mean to say that’s what Mr. Bittick said and put it in quotes. You recall what he said and did not say, but I believe you will recall something to the effect that T won’t recommend that to any of my customers.’ (Tr. at 3577)
“With respect to Mr. Bittick, according to his testimony, he told Mr. Brainard that this thing stinks in 1973, and he never did anything about it. (Tr. at 3598)
“I suggest to you that what happened with Mr. Bittick in 1973, his company was not in good straits. It may make it; it may not. They need that competitive edge. Mr. Brainard goes up to Chicago and comes back down, and Mr. Bittick hears about this and says either (A) that’s a hairbrain scheme, or (B) it’s a downright fraud, but they needed a product such as Television Marketing. It may [be] able to float for a while, who knows? Maybe these products will take off. He lets his company get involved, but I suggest to you that the evidence is fair to say that he thought things probably were pretty risky there. . .” (Tr. at 3601-02)

. In Guajardo-Melendez, the court found that the improper statements of the prosecutor amounted to “ ‘testimony’ of an alleged hearsay statement” which denied the defendants their Sixth Amendment right of confrontation, an error that could not be cured by jury instructions. 401 F.2d at 40.
In Wallace, the United States Attorney on six occasions during trial and in his closing argument misquoted the testimony of a government witness. It was this series of “repeated and seemingly deliberate misquotes” which the court found to be prejudicial. Additionally, the prosecutor improperly argued his own impression of the character of the defendant and sought to have the jurors draw an unfavorable inference from Wallace’s failure to call as character witnesses fellow attorneys from his community. 281 F.2d at 667-68.

. Even defense counsel partially mitigated any harmful effects of the prosecutor’s remarks by stating in his own closing argument that the prosecutor’s statements were only a characterization, and that Bittick’s actual words were not “Television Marketing stinks.” (Tr. at 3687)

. See also United States v. Harris, 542 F.2d 1283, 1316 (7th Cir. 1976), cert. denied, 430 U.S. 934, 97 S.Ct. 1557, 51 L.Ed.2d 779 (1977), wherein it was held that
“rarely are trials perfect, and improprieties in argument by counsel do not call for a new trial unless they are of a nature as probably to prejudice the defendant and the prejudice is not neutralized by the trial judge before submission of the case to the jury.” (citation omitted).

. As a final note, I would add that the record indicates that no objection to the remarks was made either during or after the prosecutor’s closing argument. Consequently, I would question the propriety of raising this issue on appeal when the trial court was never given an opportunity to respond immediately to the alleged problem and to provide a limiting instruction, if indeed one was necessary. In ruling on a similar issue, the Third Circuit in United States ex rel. Perry v. Mulligan, 544 F.2d 674, 680 (1976), cert. denied, 430 U.S. 972, 97 S.Ct. 1659, 52 L.Ed.2d 365 (1977), commented that,
We note also that defense counsel made no objection to these remarks nor did he request any corrective instruction from the trial court. In Estelle v. Williams, 425 U.S. 501 [96 S.Ct. 1691, 48 L.Ed.2d 126] . . . (1976), the Supreme Court again emphasized the necessity of entering an objection upon the rec*1132ord so that the trial judge would have an opportunity to remedy the error. The absence of protest may also be a gauge of the courtroom atmosphere. It may be assumed that the prosecutor’s oratory, although extended, fell short of being electrifying and defense counsel saw no need to do anything other than ignore it. (citations omitted).

. In denying a post-trial motion for a new trial, a motion that was premised upon Sheldon Moss’s willingness to take the stand in order to exculpate the defendants, the trial court reaffirmed its earlier ruling, stating that “such a man is unworthy of belief.”