U.S. v. Gambino
| Decision Date | 04 March 1991 |
| Docket Number | G,Nos. 89-2087,No. 89-2089,No. 89-2088,No. 90-1034,I,No. 89-2090,E,No. 89-2087,89-2087,89-2088,89-2089,89-2090,90-1034,s. 89-2087 |
| Citation | 926 F.2d 1355 |
| Parties | 32 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 1068 UNITED STATES of America v. Francesco GAMBINO, Appellant ingnazio Antonino Mannino, Appellant inmanuele Salvatore Mannino, Appellant inrace Pulitano Mannino, Appellant innzo Varisco, Appellant into 89-2090 and 90-1034. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Third Circuit |
Joel A. Brenner (argued), East Northport, N.Y., for appellant Francesco Gambino.
Charles F. Carnesi, Brooklyn, N.Y., for appellant Ignazio Antonino Mannino.
F. Emmett Fitzpatrick, Philadelphia, Pa., for appellant Emanuele Salvatore Mannino.
John M. Apicella, Brooklyn, N.Y., for appellant Grace Pulitano Mannino.
Stanley A. Teitler (argued), New York City, for appellant Enzo Varisco.
Andrew Levchuk (argued), U.S. Dept. of Justice, Crim. Div., Appellate Section, Washington, D.C., Michael L. Seigel, Philadelphia Strike Force, Philadelphia, Pa., for appellee U.S.
Before SCIRICA, ALDISERT and HIGGINBOTHAM *, Circuit Judges.
Defendants appeal their jury convictions of conspiracy to import and distribute heroin (21 U.S.C. Secs. 963, 846) and money laundering (18 U.S.C. Sec. 1956(a)(1)). We will affirm.
Francesco Gambino supervised the importation and distribution of heroin from Italy to the New York-New Jersey area from 1985 to 1988. The scheme was coordinated by Antonio ("Tony") Mannino and Simone Zito, with assistance from Tony Mannino's brother Salvatore ("Sal") Mannino, Tony Mannino's wife Grace Mannino, and Simone Zito's brother Stefano Zito. Enzo Varisco was one of the conspiracy's cocaine distributors. 1
Before addressing defendants' contentions, it is necessary to recite the facts in some detail and in particular the background and role of William Kane, an FBI informant and the government's most significant witness. Kane ran an illegal video poker business in New York City with Giuseppe "Joe" Gambino, and operated out of the Cafe Giardino in Brooklyn, owned by Joe Gambino. Through his illegal business, Kane became involved with the defendants in this case.
In October 1986, however, Kane became a confidential informant for the FBI. In 1986 and 1987, Kane was introduced to Simone Zito and Tony Mannino, and later to Simone Zito's brother, Stefano Zito. Stefano Zito and Kane became friends. In 1987, Stefano told Kane that he, his brother Simone Zito, and Tony Mannino were members of the Mafia and that they were importing heroin into the United States. Stefano told Kane that Tony's brother Sal Mannino was then in Sicily, arranging for an exchange of heroin for cocaine. FBI interceptions of telephone conversations confirmed that Sal Mannino was in Sicily at the time.
Working with the FBI, Kane began to participate in the conspirators' illegal activities. Because neither Simone nor Stefano Zito had any legitimate source of income, Kane carried them on the payroll of his video game company and arranged financing for their automobiles. Kane soon moved on to more direct involvement in the conspiracy.
In October, 1987, Simone Zito told Kane that he wanted to purchase a townhouse, as an investment and as a place to cut heroin, but that all his money was tied up in heroin. After first discussing a possible loan, Simone agreed, in a tape-recorded conversation, to sell Kane seven ounces of heroin for $25,000. That conversation also revealed some of the details of Simone Zito's relationship with Tony Mannino. Kane mentioned that he did not want anyone to know about the transaction, not even Tony Mannino. Zito responded that "me and Tony's the same person."
Simone Zito delivered the heroin to Kane later that evening. The next day, Kane paid Simone Zito the $25,000. Tony Mannino accompanied Zito to that meeting, and afterwards Kane, Mannino and Zito discussed further heroin sales. In the course of these discussions, Kane mentioned that his boss in the drug trade was Joe Gambino. Mannino responded that his and Simone Zito's boss in the drug trade was Francesco Gambino.
On several other occasions, Simone Zito and Kane discussed further heroin transactions both in recorded and unrecorded conversations. In March or April 1988, the two had a conversation in the Cafe Giardino which significantly corroborated Mannino's earlier statement that he and Simone Zito worked for Francesco Gambino. Zito offered to sell Kane a kilogram of heroin on the spot. Kane, who was not able to purchase drugs without FBI authorization but did not want to seem disinterested, countered with a much lower offer. At that point, Simone Zito walked to the rear of the cafe, out of Kane's sight, then returned with the information that the price was negotiable, and that Kane could take a sample home to New Jersey. Shortly afterward, Kane determined that the only two people in the cafe, other than himself and Simone Zito, were Francesco Gambino and a bartender.
The government also presented evidence of the workings of the heroin importation scheme. Several members of the conspiracy who were indicted with defendants pled guilty and testified for the government. Salvatore Allegra testified that in 1985, he was asked by Tommaso Scalici to hire couriers to smuggle heroin into the United States. Supervised by Simone Zito, Allegra arranged for couriers who travelled to the United States from Sicily with packages of heroin hidden on their bodies. In the United States, the heroin was delivered to Salvatore Caruso, an associate of Francesco Gambino. Allegra oversaw several deliveries before he was arrested by Italian authorities in 1986.
Tony Mannino and Simone Zito also sought Kane's assistance in their cocaine distribution scheme. Salvatore Rina, a friend of Kane's who lived in Florida, had access to large amounts of cocaine. Mannino and Zito wanted Kane's help in obtaining cocaine from Rina. 2
Timothy Zepp, another FBI informant, also testified about the conspiracy's involvement in the cocaine trade. According to Zepp, Zito sold cocaine to Enzo Varisco. Zepp was one of Varisco's customers. On one occasion, Zepp arrived at Varisco's pizzeria to pick up a cocaine delivery. Because the cocaine had not yet arrived, Varisco told Zepp to wait. Soon Simone Zito arrived, carrying a bag. After Simone and Varisco went briefly to a back room, Varisco handed Zepp his cocaine. In a later conversation with Zepp, Simone Zito revealed that he knew the price Varisco charged for the cocaine, and offered Zepp a better price.
Grace Mannino, Tony Mannino's wife, was also involved. Because Tony Mannino knew that his telephone was being tapped, the conspirators devised an elaborate system of arranging for calls to and from various public pay telephones to conduct their drug trade. Typically a conspirator would call Grace Mannino and arrange for a telephone call to the "attorney's office" at a particular time. At the specified time, Simone Zito or Tony Mannino would be observed by government agents picking up a pay telephone.
Many of the telephone calls by conspirators to the Mannino residence were in halting, guarded code. For example, on January 5, 1988, Grace Mannino told Giovanni Angelo Mannino, Tony Mannino's brother, to call her husband Tony "at the same place as two days ago." Later that day, Simone Zito called the Mannino residence and told Sal Mannino to "call your brother ... not at that place where you went two days ago ... the one before ... be careful at what you are doing." Calls that were not so cryptic explained when Tony Mannino would arrive in Brooklyn for his frequent meetings with Francesco Gambino.
The conspirators laundered their proceeds. In 1987, Tony Mannino, Sal Mannino, Grace Mannino, and Simone Zito purchased a house to shelter their drug profits. As we have noted, in October, 1987, Simone Zito told Kane that he needed money to buy a townhouse both as an investment and as a place to cut heroin. The day after Kane delivered the $25,000 to Simone Zito and Tony Mannino, $16,000 in cash was deposited in the bank account of SNT corporation, the corporate name of a pizzeria owned and operated by the Manninos. Like the money that Kane handed Simone, the deposit contained a large number of one hundred dollar bills. The government presented evidence at trial suggesting that the remaining $9,000 was paid into the account over the next several weeks.
Two other incidents corroborate Francesco Gambino's role in the conspiracy. As we have noted, Kane helped Stefano and Simone Zito obtain automobiles. Kane made these arrangements through Robert Reyers, who was an automobile dealer in southern New Jersey. Through these transactions, Reyers became familiar with Stefano and Simone Zito, Tony Mannino, and Enzo Varisco. Reyers testified as a witness for the government at trial. In January, 1988, Robert Reyers told Kane, Simone Zito and Tony Mannino that Reyers' wife, a court reporter in the federal courthouse in Philadelphia, could obtain names that came before a federal grand jury sitting in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Soon afterwards, Simone Zito gave Reyers a list of four names, with instructions to contact him immediately if any of the names came up in connection with the grand jury. Those names were Simone Zito, Tony Mannino, Domenico Mannino, and Francesco Gambino.
The second incident was recounted by Simone Ricupa, a former heroin dealer in New York City. One day in 1985, Ricupa was told by his supplier, Sal DiMaggio, that DiMaggio's supplier needed as much money as possible to send to Italy as soon as possible. Ricupa gathered about $100,000 from some of his dealers, placed it in a paper bag and, as instructed, delivered the money to DiMaggio's restaurant. When he arrived at the restaurant, Ricupa saw Francesco Gambino sitting in a car parked near the restaurant. Ricupa and DiMaggio went into the restaurant and DiMaggio went to an apartment...
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