U.S. v. Granados
| Decision Date | 24 April 1998 |
| Docket Number | No. 97-1900,97-1900 |
| Citation | 142 F.3d 1016 |
| Parties | UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Gilberto Lopez GRANADOS, Defendant-Appellant. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit |
Brian P. Netols, Brian R. Havey (argued), Office of the United States Attorney, Criminal Division, Chicago, IL, for Plaintiff-Appellee.
Steven Shobat (argued), Chicago, IL, for Defendant-Appellant.
Before POSNER, Chief Judge, and EASTERBROOK and KANNE, Circuit Judges.
Gilberto Lopez Granados appeals his conviction for conspiracy and attempt to commit extortion in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951(a). He argues that the evidence was insufficient to convict him, and that certain comments made by the prosecutor during closing argument and the judge's erroneous oral charge to the jury deprived him of a fair trial. Because we find these arguments unpersuasive, we affirm Granados's conviction.
Granados published a Spanish-language newspaper in Chicago entitled La Tribuna de America. Granados distributed this newspaper free of charge throughout the Mexican community in Chicago on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. One of Granados's competitors was Socorro Grajeda, the publisher of another Spanish-language newspaper called El Pueblo. Prior to purchasing La Tribuna, Granados had worked for Grajeda at El Pueblo. The two had a falling out, after which Granados ceased writing for El Pueblo.
In addition to her publishing efforts, Grajeda was president of Mexicanos de Afuera ("MEDA"), a not-for-profit organization that distributes food to members in need and also provides attorneys for members with legal problems. Granados had also once worked at MEDA, but his involvement with MEDA ceased at about the same time he quit working for El Pueblo.
A few weeks after Granados quit El Pueblo and MEDA, he began publishing articles in La Tribuna. These articles were highly critical of MEDA, Grajeda, and Grajeda's associate, Homer Alvarado. The articles claimed that MEDA was defrauding the community, that the food it distributed was "waste from warehouses," and that Grajeda behaved "like a vulgar market woman" in promoting MEDA.
On at least two occasions Grajeda encountered Granados on the street. On each occasion she pleaded with him to stop publishing the derogatory articles. Granados responded that he would not stop until he had destroyed both Grajeda and MEDA.
Granados's attacks continued throughout 1987 and 1988. In February 1989, a local grocery store owner, Serafin Castillo, bought La Tribuna from Granados. He published two issues, one of which contained an article that referred favorably to MEDA. However, because of Castillo's inexperience in publishing, he was unable to continue printing the paper.
In May 1989, the derogatory articles in La Tribuna resumed. Castillo told Grajeda that Granados had repurchased La Tribuna. Grajeda contacted Granados and again asked that he cease printing articles critical of her and MEDA. Granados repeated his intent to continue publishing the articles until both Grajeda and MEDA were destroyed. However, a few days later, Granados called Grajeda at MEDA and said that if she paid him, he would stop printing the articles. Grajeda responded that she did not have money to pay him.
After this telephone conversation between Granados and Grajeda, Castillo began calling and visiting Grajeda. He instructed Grajeda to obtain the money to give to Granados. Castillo informed Grajeda that Granados wanted $26,000 to stop writing the articles. He also assured Grajeda that if she found the money for Granados, he would ensure that Granados ceased publishing derogatory remarks about her and MEDA.
In October 1989, Grajeda confided in her business associate, Homer Alvarado. She explained the constant pressure she was receiving from Castillo to get the money to give to Granados. Alvarado contacted the Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI"), who in turn contacted Grajeda.
FBI agents recorded the next phone call from Castillo to Grajeda. In that conversation, Castillo inquired about the money and said that Granados wanted to meet the next day to arrange payment. Grajeda asked to speak with Granados directly, but Castillo refused. Shortly after the telephone conversation, Castillo showed up at the MEDA offices. He told Grajeda that Granados would talk to her but that she would have to call him from a pay phone because of Granados's fear that she was recording the call. Grajeda, Castillo, and an undercover FBI agent posing as Grajeda's friend obliged. At the pay phone, Castillo dialed a number and handed the phone to Grajeda; Granados answered. Grajeda told Granados that she had the money for him and that she wanted assurance that the articles would stop. Granados told her to arrange it with Castillo. After the conversation, Grajeda asked Castillo why he was involved in this situation; he responded that he wanted to see the articles stopped and that Granados would pay him some money he was owed if everything worked out. Castillo arranged a meeting between Grajeda and Granados for the next day at his grocery store.
The next day Castillo called Grajeda and told her that he and Granados were ready to meet. The FBI agents equipped Grajeda with a body recorder and transmitter and provided her with cash to give Granados. The agents treated the cash with a fluorescent contact powder. During the meeting, Granados insisted that Grajeda give the money to Castillo. Grajeda refused because Granados was the one writing the articles. In addition, Grajeda wanted a written guarantee that the articles would stop; Granados refused to give such a guarantee, stating that Grajeda could use it to put him in jail. However, he did offer to give Grajeda a receipt for the money. Grajeda then handed Granados the money.
When the FBI agents heard that the money had changed hands, they entered the store. Both Granados and Castillo had the fluorescent powder on their hands, and they were both arrested.
Castillo and Granados were tried in a joint trial in the District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. On October 10, 1990, a jury found Granados guilty of conspiracy and attempt to affect interstate commerce by extortion, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951(a). On the date scheduled for sentencing, Granados failed to appear in court. The district judge issued a bench warrant for his arrest. The government did not locate Granados until December of 1996. In April 1997, the district court entered a judgment of conviction and sentenced Granados to an 18-month term of imprisonment followed by one year of supervised release. Granados filed this timely appeal.
A defendant challenging the sufficiency of the evidence faces "a heavy burden." United States v. Campbell, 985 F.2d 341, 344 (7th Cir.1993). An appellate court reviews the evidence in the light most favorable to the government, see id., and will uphold the conviction if "any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt." Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 2789, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979); see also United States v. Katalinich, 113 F.3d 1475, 1480 (7th Cir.), cert. denied, --- U.S. ----, 118 S.Ct. 260, 139 L.Ed.2d 187 (1997). An appellate court will overturn the verdict only if the record contains no evidence, regardless of how it is weighed, from which the jury could find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. See United States v. Agostino, 132 F.3d 1183, 1192 (7th Cir.1997); United States v. Hickok, 77 F.3d 992, 1002 (7th Cir.), cert. denied, 517 U.S. 1200, 116 S.Ct. 1701, 134 L.Ed.2d 800 (1996); United States v. Moralez, 964 F.2d 677, 679 (7th Cir.1992).
The jury found Granados guilty of conspiracy to commit extortion and attempt to commit extortion in violation of the Hobbs Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1951(a). Extortion is the wrongful use of force or fear, including fear of economic harm, to obtain money or property from another person. See 18 U.S.C. § 1951(b)(2) (defining extortion); United States v. Sturman, 49 F.3d 1275, 1281 (7th Cir.1995) (); United States v. Lisinski, 728 F.2d 887, 890 (7th Cir.1984) (same). To establish the conspiracy offense, the government had to "provide substantial evidence that a conspiracy existed and that the defendant knowingly agreed to join that conspiracy." United States v. Larkins, 83 F.3d 162, 166 (7th Cir.1996). To support a conviction for attempt to commit extortion, the government needed to prove that Granados attempted to obtain money or property from Grajeda through extortionate means (i.e. through wrongful use of force or fear), and that the extortion affected interstate commerce. See United States v. Knox, 68 F.3d 990, 995-96 (7th Cir.1995), cert. denied, sub nom. Carreiro v. United States, 516 U.S. 1119, 116 S.Ct. 926, 133 L.Ed.2d 854 (1996); United States v. Morgano, 39 F.3d 1358, 1371 (7th Cir.1994). The government also needed to prove that Grajeda's fear was reasonable. See Knox, 68 F.3d at 996.
Granados argues that the evidence produced at trial was insufficient to prove that he was part of a conspiracy, that he acted with the intent to extort money from Grajeda, or that Grajeda's fear of economic harm was reasonable. We disagree.
A reasonable jury could have concluded that Granados was part of a conspiracy to extort money from Grajeda based on Granados's interactions with Castillo and Castillo's interactions with Grajeda. The evidence showed that Granados told Grajeda that he would stop publishing the articles if she paid him; then Castillo entered the scene, exerting constant pressure on Grajeda to come up with the money. Castillo also relayed messages between Grajeda and Granados, including information regarding the amount of money Granados wanted. When Grajeda told Castillo she had the money and wanted to talk to Granados,...
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