U.S. v. Greenidge

• Decision Date: 17 July 2007
• Docket Number: No. 05-5083.,No. 05-4887.,No. 06-2506.,05-4887.,05-5083.,06-2506.
• Citation: 495 F.3d 85
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America v. Carleen GREENIDGE, Appellant. United States of America v. Mario Pallitta, Appellant. United States of America v. Joseph DiGregorio, Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Third Circuit

495 F.3d 85

UNITED STATES of America v. Carleen GREENIDGE, Appellant.

United States of America v. Mario Pallitta, Appellant.

United States of America v. Joseph DiGregorio, Appellant.

No. 05-4887.

No. 05-5083.

No. 06-2506.

United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit.

Submitted Under Third Circuit L.A.R. 34.1(a) June 29, 2007.

Opinion Filed: July 17, 2007.

Rena Rothfeld, Livingston, NJ, for Appellant Carleen Greenidge.

Kevin F. Carlucci, Office of Federal Public Defender, Newark, NJ, for Appellant Mario Pallitta.

Henry E. Klingeman, Klingeman Law, Florham Park, NJ, for Appellant Joseph DiGregorio.

George S. Leone, Sabrina G. Comizzoli, Office of United States Attorney, Newark, NJ, for United States of America.

Before: BARRY, FUENTES, and GARTH, Circuit Judges.

OPINION

GARTH, Circuit Judge:

Appellants Joseph DiGregorio, Carleen Greenidge, and Mario Pallitta appeal their convictions and DiGregorio appeals his sentence. We have jurisdiction over the challenges to the convictions pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and over the challenge to the sentence pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3742(a). We will affirm.

I.

In October 2001, the Federal Bureau of Investigation began an investigation into the bank deposits of stolen and altered corporate checks and the wire transfers of proceeds from those checks. The investigation revealed a bank fraud and money laundering conspiracy involving approximately 20 co-conspirators and a theft of over $5 million.

The conspiracy involved essentially three tiers. At the top was Melvyn Waldron, a/k/a "Rankin," who, along with other co-conspirators, obtained stolen checks from mail rooms and post offices and arranged for those checks to be altered and deposited into various accounts and for the proceeds to be withdrawn. Rankin handed the checks off to Samuel Massaquoi, who served as a liaison between Rankin and Emmanuel Deji, the co-conspirator who altered the payee names on the checks in exchange for a fee. In the middle tier of the conspiracy were the "recruiters." These recruiters solicited "depositors," people on the bottom tier of the conspiracy who were willing to use their personal or business bank accounts to deposit the stolen and altered checks in order to make them appear legitimate.

DiGregorio

DiGregorio was recruited into this conspiracy by his bookie, John Elsis, who cooperated with the government and testified at trial. DiGregorio told Elsis that the company for which he worked, KnowYourStuff.com ("KYS"), was struggling financially. Elis suggested DiGregorio join this scheme in order to obtain cash for the company, telling DiGregorio that "you can erase the name of the company and put your company's name on the check." (Pallitta App. 413.) Elsis told DiGregorio that if he recruited a depositor, the depositor could keep 50% of the proceeds from the check.

DiGregorio recruited the CEO of KYS, William Nash, at a November 2001 meeting also attended by Daniel McGowan, head of sales for KYS. DiGregorio told Nash that he could keep a third of the funds. Nash, who cooperted with the government, testified that in order to keep KYS afloat, he would need approximately $420,000, and so asked DiGregorio to obtain a check for approximately $1.4 million. DiGregorio relayed this request to Rankin, who agreed.

To explain to KYS's employees and investors this large infusion of cash, DiGregorio, McGowan, and Nash invented a business deal with Samsung Electronics and a fictitious third company, "B & D Systems." They memorialized the deal in a fake contract, and asked Rankin to set up a bank account for the phony B & D Systems in order to make a future wire transfer to that account seem legitimate. Rankin registered the fake business with the state, and opened a bank account in the name of B & D Systems.

On November 26, 2001, Rankin and Elsis picked up DiGregorio and Nash and drove to a Merrill Lynch branch office where KYS maintained a bank account. Rankin had a stolen check in the amount of $1,401,647.28. The payee's name had been altered by Deji, and after examining the check, DiGregorio and Nash commented that it looked "good." Nash deposited the check. During the ride back to KYS, Nash told Rankin, in DiGregorio's presence, that if Rankin gave him his account number, Nash would wire a portion of the funds to the B & D Systems account.

DiGregorio informed Elsis when the check cleared. On December 6, 2001, Nash wired $980,000 from the KYS account to the B & D Systems account. Nash used $260,000 of the proceeds for business expenses, including employee backpay. From this $260,000, DiGregorio received $10,500 to represent his purported "sales commission" from the phony Samsung/B & D Systems deal, and another $8,000 in salary and backpay.

On December 21, 2001, Nash's Merrill Lynch broker called him to inform him that the check had been fraudulent. Merrill Lynch froze the remaining $160,000 in the account. Nash informed DiGregorio and McGowan, and they agreed to continue representing that the source of the money was a legitimate business deal between Samsung Electronics and B & D Systems. Nash typed a script and gave DiGregorio and McGowan copies. When interviewed by members of the United States Attorney's Office, DiGregorio told this story, which became the basis of an obstruction of justice enhancement at sentencing.

Greenidge

Greenidge was recruited by Kenson Gilbert, who cooperated with the government and testified at trial. In October 2001, Greenidge met with Gilbert and co-conspirator George Nicholas. At this meeting, Gilbert explained that Rankin would deposit a stolen and altered check into the account of the moving and storage company Greenidge owned and operated, Signature Van Lines. Gilbert said that they would split the proceeds of the check, with 50% going to Greenidge and 50% to Rankin. Greenidge agreed to the plan, and Gilbert told her that she would be instructed how and when to withdraw the money from her business account in order to avoid suspicion by the bank.

A few days later, Greenidge met with Gilbert, Nicholas, and Rankin. Greenidge gave Rankin her business name, business account number at HSBC Bank, and personal identification number ("PIN").

On November 17, 2001, Rankin deposited a stolen check for $253,000.00 into the Signature Van Lines account. Deji had altered the name of the payee on the check.

A week later, the check cleared. Greenidge met with Rankin and Gilbert and gave Rankin an envelope containing several checks from Signature Van Lines. Rankin gave Greenidge the account number for B & D Systems and told Greenidge to transfer his remaining share of the proceeds there. On November 30, 2001, Greenidge wire transferred $68,047.21 from her business account into the B & D Systems account.

Pallitta

Pallitta, like DiGregorio, was recruited into the conspiracy by Elsis. Pallitta knew Elsis because Pallitta placed bets with Elsis and Elsis's bookmaking partner, Joe Bellero. In November 2001, Elsis and Bellero recruited Pallitta to be a depositor on behalf of Anthony Dunlock, a construction worker who had been performing work on Elsis's home. Dunlock asked Elsis if Elsis could help him "get rid" of some stolen checks. (Pallitta App. 408.) Elsis approached Bellero, who recruited Pallitta. They decided that Pallitta would earn 50% of the check's proceeds, while Rankin would keep 40%, and Bellero and Elsis would each keep 5%.

Elsis discussed with Pallitta the specifics of the scheme, telling him that the checks were stolen and that the names of the payees were electronically altered so that the bank could not detect the fraud, and, on Rankin's instruction, asked Pallitta how much he would be willing to deposit into his business account. Pallitta responded that because his account was frequently overdrawn, he did not want a large check which would arouse the bank's suspicion. Pallitta and Elsis agreed that Pallitta would deposit a check for approximately $130,000.

On November 26, 2001, Rankin, Elsis, and Pallitta met at an empty dry cleaning business next door to Amici's Restaurant, the pizzeria Pallitta owned. Rankin gave Pallitta a stolen check in the amount of $138,494.30. Deji had altered the name of the check's payee. Pallitta examined the check and said that it looked "good." (Pallitta App. 410.)

Pallitta provided Rankin with a pre-printed deposit slip for Amici's Restaurant's bank account, and Rankin deposited the check in the bank across the street. When Rankin returned, Pallitta gave him his business account number, PIN, and the bank's telephone number so that Rankin could call to find out when the check cleared.

Later that day, Pallitta called the assistant bank manager to ask when the funds would be available for withdrawal. The assistant manager became suspicious because the deposit was so large compared to the $11.30 account balance and the fact that the account was frequently overdrawn. She examined the check and noticed that the name of the payee was typed in a slightly larger and darker font than the other print on the check. After showing the check to the bank manager, the bank put a hold on the account. None of the funds were withdrawn.

Arrests and Procedural History

The arrests began with Rankin, in January 2002. The arrests continued in February (Gilbert and Massaquoi); August (Elsis); and September (DiGregorio, Nash, Pallitta, and Bellero). In April 2003, Greenidge, Deji, and Dunlock were arrested.

On October 23, 2003, DiGregorio, Greenidge, and Pallitta were charged in a nine-count superseding indictment with other defendants including Deji and McGowan. Count One charged Pallitta, Greenidge, and Deji with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, contrary to 18 U.S.C. § 1344 and in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371. Count Six charged Pallitta with aiding and abetting the crime of bank fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1344 and 18 U.S.C. § 2. Count Seven charged Pallitta, Greenidge, DiGregorio, and McGowan with conspiracy to engage in a...