People v. Coppo

• Decision Date: 06 March 1959
• Citation: 183 N.Y.S.2d 313,16 Misc. 2d 879
• Parties: PEOPLE of the State of New York v. Louis COPPO, Vincent Cafaro and Arthur Martucci, Defendants.
• Court: New York County Court

Page 313

183 N.Y.S.2d 313

16 Misc.2d 879

PEOPLE of the State of New York v.Louis COPPO, Vincent Cafaro and Arthur Martucci, Defendants.

Queens County Court.

March 6, 1959.

Frank D. O'Connor, Dist. Atty., Long Island City, Lawrence Gresser, Asst. Dist. Atty., Jamaica, of counsel, for the People.

J. Wolfe Chassen, Ridgewood, for Louis Coppo.

James Schenker, New York City, for Vincent Cafaro.

Henry K. Schnitzer, New York City, for Arthur Martucci.

EDWARD THOMPSON, Acting County Judge.

Upon the conclusion of a trial without a jury (N.Y.Const., Art. I, § 2)the defendants have moved for dismissal of an indictment, the first count of which charges them with having acted in concert in the contrivance, proposal and drawing of a lottery--and in assisting therein--(Penal Law, § 1372) and the second count of which accuses them of mutual engagement in a conspiracy to contrive, draw and assist in a lottery.The motions to dismiss proceed on the ground that the evidence is insufficient to make out a prima facie case of defendants' guilt of either of the crimes charged, under the applicable provisions of law.The motions are denied and defendants are found guilty of the crimes, as charged, in both counts.The principal issue of law is whether the evidence makes out defendants' guilt--beyond reasonable doubt--of the crime charged in the first count or whether, on the other hand, the case made out by the prosecution only establishes their guilt of an inferior crime (Penal Law, § 974) if, indeed, it establishes that.In determining that issue it is appropriate to review the facts as I find them from the evidence adduced.

From the evidence in the case, including their own admissions (binding, of course, only on their respective makers) I find that the defendants, on and between the dates alleged in the indictment were-- and had been--engaged as principals, in carrying on the workings of a policy bank operating on credit.The circumstances leading up to and attending their apprehension were as follows.

On August 7, 8 and 11, 1958 agents of the Police Department, in the course of an investigation, placed a number of wagers with policy-collectors in Harlem.During the continuance of that investigation, defendant Martucci, on August 9, 1958, was seen to receive a green shopping bag from an unknown woman on an elevated railway station in Astoria, Queens County.Two days later Martucci--carrying a green shopping bag--and defendant Cafaro--carrying a brown shopping bag--entered the basement of a private dwelling house at Jackson Heights, Queens County.All of the defendants had been seen emerging from these premises on August 9th and entering them on the 11th.They were its sole occupants when the police raided the place on August 11th.

Upon their entry on that occasion the officers found defendant Coppo standing next to a chaise longue upon which were a number of envelopes and papers.These envelopes and papers contained the 'play' of August 7, 1958 and consisted of 29 envelopes enclosing 458 policy slips on which were recorded policy wagers in excess of $8,000.

The defendant Cafaro was sitting at a table on which there were papers, envelopes, rubber stamps, pencils and other paraphernalia.The papers consisted of loose claim slips and betting slips, and 13 envelopes containing 41 policy slips on which were recorded wagers of approximately $500 for August 11th and weekly wagers in excess of $400.Still another envelope found on the table enclosed 19 slips of paper (claim slips) containing notations that certain players had been unpaid and that the defendants had overlooked these people when checking and determining the winners of the previous day.

The defendant Martucci was standing near the table holding in his hand certain bundles of envelopes and papers.These envelopes contained 500 policy slips on which were listed wagers totaling in excess of $900.

Surrounding the table and against the wall were a number of brown shopping bags containing the 'play' and 'work' of previous days, together with carbon copies of controllers' tally sheets, headed by the initial or designation of the individual controller and the winning number for the day.These tally sheets listed the total collections made by the various collectors working for each controller connected with the policy bank, the records of amounts won by betters of the several collectors working under such controllers and the amount of the controller's and collector's commissions, to wit, thirty-five percent.The sum total of the 'play' of all collectors and their agents working under the controller was set forth as the minuend and substracted therefrom was the thirty-five percent due and owing as commissions to the controllers and collectors.Unpaid claims from previous day's winners--overlooked by the bank when the previous day's computations had been decided--were indicated as approved or disapproved.If approved, they were thence deducted from the previous remainder.The final remainder indicated the daily stricken balance after all adjustments, as previously set forth, had been made.It denoted the sum that the designated controllers owed the bank at the close of each day's business.This figure was carried forth to the following day and at times reduced by a substantial amount in the thousands of dollars, from which fact an inference may be reasonably drawn that such amount of money had been deposited with the bank by the controller overnight.An examination of the respective shopping bags and their contents as well as the contents of the envelopes and the material found on the table, all of which were received in evidence against the three defendants, disclosed that the indicia of wagers approximated $70,000 per week or more than $3,000,000 annually.

When questioned after his arrest, the defendant Coppo stated that he, Martucci and Cafaro opened the envelopes as they came in, totaled the slips and entered the amounts on the respective tally sheets for each controller.This was done before the winning number came out (the winning number being calculated from prices paid on the results of certain horse races).Thereafter they rechecked the slips for winning numbers and if nay were found the slips bearing them were put in a separate envelope and the remainder of the slips were gathered together.The daily wagers were retained for about a week, with the tally sheets for each day, since it sometimes took four or five days for a claim to come through.He further stated that the original of the tally sheets was sent to the respective controllers after they had been made out.The various claim slips were examined against the 'play' or 'work' for the day involved and Coppo and his co-defendants determined the validity of such claims.Since the day was a warm one, the defendant Coppo was in a state of partial undress, wearing neither shirt nor trousers at the time of his arrest.

Defendant Cafaro stated that the premises were his father's home; that he was there a few hours to work on the numbers; that his job was to meet a man nearby and bring a bag containing numbers to the premises; that he had the sole key to the premises and that he, Martucci and Coppo opened up the respective envelopes, checked the amounts played, inserted the slips in new envelopes with designations of the various collectors thereon made by them at that time, and after the slips were rechecked for winning numbers, the winning numbers were encircled.He said that he had been doing this for a few days.When asked to identify a certain paper, People's Exhibit '8C' Cafaro indicated that he knew it was a list of the controllers and balances owed by them, but stated that it was not his.

Martucci, when questioned, contended he checked the numbers and added them up and that he had obtained the job from a friend in a bar to make a few dollars.

In sum, the evidence establishes that, beyond reasonable doubt, and, pursuant to a conspiratorial agreement between them, the defendants arranged the delivery of policy wagers to the premises, they checked the wagers for winning numbers, they totaled the amounts 'played' on the various betting slips, they transposed the total amount 'played' to a controller's tally sheet, they marked out the respective slips for winners and indicated them on the tally sheets, they checked the claim slips sent in by players for previous day's 'play' or 'work' and gave validity or invalidity thereto on the tally sheet, they gave direction and instruction to the controller on said tally sheets to authorize payment of a claim by the collector, they wrote the tally sheets, they kept a running account of the controller's activity striking a daily balance, against such daily balance they deducted commissions for the controllers and collectors and any claims deemed valid, they worked on 'all the stuff in the premises' and they retained previous day's 'play' or 'work' for whatever time they deemed necessary. ...