U.S. v. Matos, 1000
| Citation | 907 F.2d 274 |
| Decision Date | 21 June 1990 |
| Docket Number | No. 1000,D,1000 |
| Parties | UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. Porfirio A. MATOS, Defendant-Appellant. ocket 89-1590. |
| Court | United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (2nd Circuit) |
Adina Schwartz, New York City (The Legal Aid Soc., Federal Defender Services Unit, New York City, of counsel), for defendant-appellant.
Amy E. Millard, Asst. U.S. Atty., Southern District of New York, New York City (Otto G. Obermaier, U.S. Atty. for the Southern District of New York, David E. Brodsky, Asst. U.S. Atty., Southern District of New York, New York City, of counsel), for appellee.
Before FEINBERG, MESKILL and WINTER, Circuit Judges.
This is an appeal from a judgment of conviction entered in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Haight, J. Defendant-appellant was found guilty after a bench trial on stipulated facts of falsely making, forging and counterfeiting United States Federal Reserve Notes in violation of 18 U.S.C. Secs. 471 and 2. He was subsequently sentenced under the Sentencing Guidelines (Guidelines) to twenty-four months imprisonment, two years supervised release and a $50 special assessment. On appeal, he contends that the district court erred in increasing his offense level by two points for obstruction of justice under Guidelines Sec. 3C1.1 on the basis of his false testimony at a suppression hearing.
The facts relevant to the resolution of this appeal may be summarized as follows. On February 26, 1988, Secret Service Agents arrested appellant at his print shop on counterfeiting charges. After being advised of his constitutional rights, appellant admitted printing counterfeit currency and stated that he had given the counterfeit money along with the plates and negatives to someone named "Carmello." He was again advised of his rights and consented to a search of his print shop and his apartment.
After the searches, the agents took appellant to the Secret Service's New York Field Office. Special Agent James Figliuolo advised appellant of his constitutional rights, this time using a one page printed waiver form. Figliuolo wrote the date and time on the form, and appellant signed it. In response to questions that followed, appellant restated that he had printed the counterfeit money but had given the money, plates and negatives to "Carmello." Appellant thereafter agreed to take a polygraph test. Before the test, Figliuolo again advised appellant of his rights, using a two page printed waiver form on which appellant marked his initials and wrote the time and date. The results of the polygraph examination showed evidence of deception. After additional questioning, appellant finally admitted that he had given the counterfeit money to his girlfriend. He then signed and dated a three page statement detailing his counterfeiting activities.
At a pretrial suppression hearing, appellant testified, in contradiction to the testimony of the agents involved, that he had not been advised of his constitutional rights until after he had made his various oral and written statements, that he had been forced to sign the waiver forms with the times and dates left blank, and that the agents backdated the time on the forms. He also testified that he asked to consult a lawyer at the print shop and that his request was ignored. The district court discredited appellant's testimony, finding that his rendition of the events was "inherently implausible" and that his claim that his request for an attorney was ignored was nothing more than "an effort to shore up his motion."
Appellant was found guilty after a bench trial on stipulated facts. At sentencing, the district court added two points to the calculation of appellant's offense level for obstruction of justice under Guidelines Sec. 3C1.1 on the ground that he had testified falsely at the suppression hearing.
Guidelines Sec. 3C1.1 provides:
If the defendant willfully impeded or obstructed, or attempted to impede or obstruct the administration of justice during the investigation or prosecution of the instant offense, increase the offense level by 2 levels.
Application Note 1(c) to this section specifically...
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