Williams v. United States, 12711.

Citation179 F.2d 656
Decision Date10 January 1950
Docket NumberNo. 12711.,12711.
PartiesWILLIAMS v. UNITED STATES.
CourtUnited States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (5th Circuit)

A. C. Dressler, Miami, Fla., Bart A. Riley, Miami, Fla., for appellant.

Leo Meltzer, Sp. Asst. to Atty. Gen., Fred Botts, Asst. U. S. Atty., Miami, Fla., Herbert S. Phillips, U. S. Atty., Tampa, Fla., for appellee.

Before HOLMES, WALLER, and SIBLEY, Circuit Judges.

WALLER, Circuit Judge.

This case is another instance where in applying the third degree in an endeavor to unearth a crime a more reprehensible crime was thereby committed.

The appellant, Williams, a private detective, was indicted, along with Perry, Bombaci, Ford, Yuhas, and Lindsley Lumber Co., an alleged corporation, in four counts under Section 52 now § 242, Title 18, U.S.C.A. Section 20, U. S. Criminal Code, for willfully depriving four persons (Purnell, Robinson, Sturniolo, and Priest) of rights, privileges, or immunities secured or protected by the Constitution and laws of the United States, and also in four counts, under Section 51 now § 241, Title 18 U.S.C.A., Section 19, U. S. Criminal Code, for conspiring to injure, oppress, or interfere with the same four individuals in the exercise of rights and privileges under the Constitution and laws of the United States. There was a mistrial of all of the defendants under the four conspiracy counts under Section 51. There was a conviction of the appellant, Williams, on each of the four counts charging the substantive offenses under Section 52, but the other defendants were acquitted under those counts. Later there was a retrial of the four defendants under a revised indictment on the conspiracy counts, which resulted in all four being convicted, from which an appeal was also taken to this Court. See Williams et al. v. U. S., 5 Cir., 179 F.2d 644, for more complete details of the facts common to both cases.

The appeal which we are here considering is by Williams from his conviction and sentence under the four substantive counts under Section 52 of Title 18.1 The indictment in the present case charged, in Count 2, that the appellant, together with defendants Perry and Bombaci, were special police officers under written authority from the City of Miami, Florida, and acting under the laws of the State and ordinances and regulations of the municipality, who with Charles R. Ford, a police officer of the City of Miami, acting under the laws of the State, together with Andrew J. Yuhas and the Lindsley Lumber Company, did willfully, and under color of the laws, statutes, ordinances, regulations, and customs of the State of Florida and of the municipality of Miami, subject, and cause to be subjected, Frank J. Purnell, Jr., an inhabitant of the State of Florida, to deprivations of the rights, privileges, and immunities secured to him and protected by the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, to wit, "the right and privilege not to be deprived of liberty without due process of law, the right and privilege to be secure in his person while in the custody of the State of Florida, the right and privilege not to be subjected to punishment without due process of law, the right and privilege to be immune, while in the custody of persons acting under color of the laws of the State of Florida, from illegal assault and battery by any person exercising the authority of said State, and the right and privilege to be tried by due process of law and if found guilty to be sentenced and punished in accordance with the laws of the State of Florida; that is to say, on or about the 28th day of March, 1947, the defendants arrested and detained and caused to be arrested and detained the said Frank J. Purnell, Jr., and brought and caused him to be brought to and into a certain building sometimes called a shack on the premises of the Lindsley Lumber Co., at or near 3810 N. W. 17th Avenue, in said City of Miami, Florida, and did there detain the said Frank J. Purnell, Jr., and while he was so detained the defendants did then and there illegally strike, bruise, batter, beat, assault and torture the said Frank J. Purnell, Jr., in order illegally to coerce and force the said Frank J. Purnell, Jr., to make an admission and confession of his guilt in connection with the alleged theft of personal property, alleged to be the property of said Lindsley Lumber Co., and in order illegally to coerce and force the said Frank J. Purnell, Jr., to name and accuse other persons as participants in alleged thefts of personal property, alleged to be the property of the said Lindsley Lumber Co., and for the purpose of imposing illegal summary punishment upon the said Frank J. Purnell, Jr."

The other three substantive counts involved in this appeal were identical except that in the other substantive counts 4, 6, and 8, Chester M. Robinson, Henry W. Priest, and John P. Sturniolo were successively and respectively named as the victims instead of Frank J. Purnell, Jr.

There is substantial evidence in this case to the effect that Williams, the owner and operator of a private detective agency in Miami, Florida, was employed by the Dania Supply Company, doing business as Lindsley Lumber Co., to investigate thefts from it of lumber and material. Williams had a special police card issued by the Director of Public Safety of the City of Miami. He received no compensation as such special police officer and his official status is not very definitely shown by this record. Section 24(a) of the charter of the City of Miami — which is more of a negation than a definition — provides: "No person, except as otherwise provided by general law or this charter, shall act as special police or special detective except upon written authority from the director of public safety. Such authority, when conferred, shall be exercised only under the direction and control of the chief of police and for a time specified in the appointment."

It is argued that the card issued to Williams was somewhat in the nature of a courtesy card and gave no authority to him to act as a policeman except under the explicit direction and control of the Chief of Police. It is not disputed, however, that Ford was a regular policeman of the City and was detailed to assist the detective and the Supply Company in investigating the stealing. It is also shown that this police officer was present during the beatings and maltreatment of the suspects, although it does not appear that he actually participated in the assaults or that he personally administered any beatings to these suspects. Purnell, one of the victims, testified that Williams flashed a badge and stated that it was his identification, while Priest, another victim, testified that Williams informed him he was from the F. B. I. However, the Government undertakes to support its allegation that Williams was acting under color of law by its showing that he was a special policeman of the City of Miami, pursuant to the charter of the City, and not as a federal officer.

There is ample evidence to show that Williams brought the suspects, Priest, Sturniolo, Purnell, and Robinson — singly — into a paint shack on the grounds of the Supply Company and there, in the presence of Ford, the city policeman, aided and abetted by Bombaci, Yuhas, and Perry, beat, struck, threatened, intimidated, and otherwise maltreated them so as to provoke admissions or confessions which justified, in the opinion of Williams, the arrest of three out of four suspects. The fourth was released upon the promise that he would become a spy and make reports on others. The records of the Miami Police Department show Priest as having been "arrested by J. Williams and J. Avery". The record does not show that either of the victims was ever brought to trial for the alleged thefts.

A sentence of one year was imposed on Williams under each of the four substantive counts.

Appellant contends: First, that the Fourteenth Amendment, as implemented by Section 20 of the Criminal Code, Section 52, Title 18 U.S.C.A., was not intended...

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