U.S. v. Cantwell

• Citation: 806 F.2d 1463
• Decision Date: 09 December 1986
• Docket Number: 84-2049,Nos. 84-2048,s. 84-2048
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Larry Otis CANTWELL, Defendant-Appellant. UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. James Arthur HAMILTON, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (10th Circuit)

Page 1463

806 F.2d 1463

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Larry Otis CANTWELL, Defendant-Appellant.

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. James Arthur HAMILTON, Defendant-Appellant.

Nos. 84-2048, 84-2049.

United States Court of Appeals Tenth Circuit.

Dec. 9, 1986.

Gary Hagman, Weatherford, Tex., for defendant-appellant Cantwell.

Vicki Mandell-King, Asst. Federal Public Defender (Michael G. Katz, Federal Public Defender, Denver, Colo., was also on brief), for defendant-appellant Hamilton.

Robert J. Hackman, Asst. U.S. Atty. (Robert N. Miller, U.S. Atty., Denver, Colo., was also on brief), for plaintiff-appellee.

Before HOLLOWAY, Chief Judge, and DOYLE ^* and LOGAN, Circuit Judges.

HOLLOWAY, Chief Judge.

Defendants Larry Otis Cantwell and James Arthur Hamilton appeal their convictions on a three count indictment for conspiracy falsely to make counterfeit federal reserve notes with intent to defraud, and to possess plates and the like for counterfeiting, in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 371, possessing and controlling counterfeiting equipment, in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 474, and falsely making and counterfeiting federal reserve notes with intent to defraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 471. We affirm.

I

A.

Viewing the facts in the light most favorable to the convictions, as we must at this juncture, the record reveals the following:

Defendant Cantwell started an appliance store across the street from the printing equipment repair shop of Bruce Buckner in Denver, Colorado in the summer of 1983. Buckner did some printing for Cantwell's business, and through Cantwell Buckner met defendant Hamilton, who also had Buckner print some brochures and business cards for him. Buckner saw Cantwell and Hamilton several times a week in the fall of 1983 and winter of 1983-84. Buckner would occasionally have soft drinks while visiting Cantwell's store, and Cantwell sometimes borrowed tools from Buckner.

On the afternoon of March 22, 1984, Cantwell and Hamilton came into Buckner's shop, and Cantwell asked Buckner if Buckner could go across the street and talk about a printing job defendants had. When Buckner asked if he, Buckner, could "make a buck out of it," Cantwell and Hamilton chuckled and left. II R. 127.

About twenty minutes later, Buckner went over to Cantwell's appliance store, and Buckner and the defendants went into an office. Cantwell asked Buckner if he could print money. Buckner responded, "What printer can't?" Cantwell told Buckner he had worked for a counterfeit-passing ring in Denver a few years before, and Hamilton said he had sources out of state and even out of the country to "get rid of large sums of counterfeit money." Cantwell explained that certain times were best for passing counterfeit money at business establishments such as Wendy's or Denny's, and that Cantwell had worked with other people who printed counterfeit money but that they had had trouble with the portrait on the bill. Cantwell said that, since he needed some money and it looked as if Hamilton and Buckner each needed money, making counterfeit money "looked like a good idea." Buckner concluded the conversation by saying that he did not have all the facilities to make counterfeit money and that he would have to think about it because Hamilton and Cantwell were asking him to do something very dangerous. II R. 128-30.

Buckner went back to his shop and called the Secret Service. That night he spoke with an answering service, and he telephoned the Secret Service again about 8:30 the next morning, on March 23. Buckner reported the conversation he had had with defendants the day before to an agent, and later that morning he met with two agents and reported his conversation with Cantwell and Hamilton to them. Pursuant to an agreement he made with these two agents, Buckner permitted two other agents to install a lamp containing a transmitter in his shop. II R. 131-33. ¹

After the lamp was installed on March 23, Buckner went across the street and motioned for defendants to come over to his shop. Cantwell came into Buckner's shop, and they had a conversation near the lamp-transmitter. When Buckner said he could not afford to buy a camera for them to use, Cantwell offered ideas on how he might obtain one. Cantwell discussed the kind of paper they needed and how they might obtain it and stated that he and Hamilton wanted Buckner involved as little as possible in purchasing the "raw goods" needed to make the counterfeit money. Cantwell went on to recount his past experience with counterfeit money, saying he "did" about $10,000 and made 20 cents on the dollar, and that he had been trained how to hide counterfeit money, how to separate it, how to put it in different places, and how to combine "good with bad." Cantwell also said that at one time he had the opportunity to buy a Chief printing press and had been trying to counterfeit for years. Cantwell explained how he and Hamilton would dispose of the counterfeit after Buckner printed it, and he remarked that Hamilton had "cooked up the idea" of printing counterfeit money. VI R. Gov't. exh. 12, at 2-29.

On March 27, 1984, Buckner again met with Cantwell and Hamilton. At this meeting Cantwell spoke of his mounting debt and said he had to "get this goddamn money done" and had to "get about, about, ah, 3 to 4 grand turned." VI R. Gov't. exh. 13, at 47. Cantwell said he needed the money to carry out a business franchise he was planning. When Buckner asked why Cantwell needed to counterfeit money if he was planning to make large profits from his franchise venture, Cantwell replied it was because "we were talking about [counterfeiting] before [the franchise] came through." Id. at 45.

During the meeting Buckner told Hamilton what materials would be needed for the counterfeiting process, and Hamilton listed them on a piece of paper. Buckner and the defendants studied samples of ink from an ink swatch book Buckner had and discussed what colors most closely matched the two shades of green found on the twenty dollar bill. Buckner and the defendants decided the defendants would buy the supplies, ink, paper and other items discussed during the meeting. Buckner did not give the defendants any money to buy supplies. III R. 4-9. When discussing how to pay for the special camera needed to do the counterfeiting, Hamilton suggested that Buckner pay by check and then stop payment on the check, but Buckner rejected the idea. VI R. Gov't. exh. 13, at 11.

Buckner again met with the defendants on March 28, 1984. Cantwell brought to the meeting two cans of green ink defendants and Buckner had discussed earlier. That day Buckner moved a paper cutter he had acquired several months earlier and was storing elsewhere into his shop. The paper cutter was suitable for cutting paper into the size of individual bills. III R. 14-16. Cantwell told Buckner that he, Cantwell, had lined up three different cameras to use in the counterfeiting process. VI R. Gov't. exh. 14, at 7. Hamilton returned to Buckner's shop with 1,200 sheets of Old Council Tree bond paper and some chemicals Buckner had told him to purchase for the counterfeiting process. III R. 16. Hamilton said he was getting "happier and happier" and "all excited" thinking about the counterfeit money they were about to make. VI R. Gov't. exh. 14, at 27, 31.

The next day, March 29, Buckner and defendants met again. Hamilton brought some additional Old Council Tree bond paper to Buckner's shop, and Hamilton and Cantwell compared the feel of a sheet of Old Council Tree to the feel of a genuine federal reserve note. III R. 33-34; IV R. Gov't exh. 15, at 2. Cantwell volunteered to go to the bank to get the bills to use as models for counterfeiting, and Hamilton said he wanted to buy some black plastic to line the windows of Buckner's shop so light would not be visible from the outside at night while they were working. Id., at 11-13. When Hamilton complained he did not have enough money for supplies, Cantwell said the "main concern" was to get the money printed as quickly as possible because they were "really runnin' short." Id., at 21-23. Buckner told defendants what photographic supplies they needed, and they agreed to meet again that day after the defendants had obtained the camera and photographic supplies. Id. at 35-44.

Later that day defendants returned and told Buckner they had the supplies and that the camera and supplies were all set up in the basement of Cantwell's store. Buckner went to Cantwell's store to inspect the camera, and although defendants thought it safer to photograph the bills in Cantwell's basement, Buckner and Cantwell moved the camera into Buckner's shop while Hamilton blocked out the windows of Buckner's shop with black plastic. Hamilton, Cantwell and Buckner then went to a nearby camera store to buy some filters for the camera. III R. 26. During the drive back from the camera store Buckner said he was getting nervous. Cantwell responded that Buckner should "just pump the shit and do the best job [he] can," and both defendants said they were excited. VI R. Gov't. exh. 15, at 96.

After returning to Buckner's shop from the camera store, Hamilton, Cantwell and Buckner used the camera and the supplies Cantwell and Hamilton had obtained to attempt to make negatives of twenty dollar bills. Buckner operated the camera; Cantwell held a red "safe light" over the developing trays; and Hamilton turned the shop's lights on and off as needed. They had difficulty creating a negative of sufficient quality to use in making the plates for the printing process because the chemicals Hamilton had purchased were not suitable, and they manufactured no counterfeit bills that night. III R. 36-37.

Buckner met the defendants the next morning, on March 30. Hamilton gave Buckner more money so Buckner could buy additional chemicals to use in developing negatives. Buckner left the defendants, met with Secret Service Agents monitoring the...