U.S. v. Parker, s. 76-4190

• Decision Date: 15 December 1978
• Docket Number: 77-2198,Nos. 76-4190,s. 76-4190
• Citation: 586 F.2d 422
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Paul Henry PARKER, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit

Page 422

586 F.2d 422

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Paul Henry PARKER, Defendant-Appellant.

Nos. 76-4190, 77-2198.

United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit.

Dec. 15, 1978.

Arnold Levine, Tampa, Fla., for defendants-appellants in both cases.

John L. Briggs, U. S. Atty., Jacksonville, Fla., Mark L. Horwitz, Asst. U. S. Atty., Orlando, Fla., for plaintiff-appellee in both cases.

Appeals from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

Before TJOFLAT and HILL, Circuit Judges, and HIGGINBOTHAM, ^* District Judge.

JAMES C. HILL, Circuit Judge.

In these consolidated appeals from his conviction, No. 76-4190, and the order denying his Motion for New Trial, No. 77-2198, Appellant, Paul Henry Parker, claims several errors: (1) the inadequacy of the District Court's In camera review of materials subject to the attorney-client privilege which he sought for impeachment purposes; (2) the insufficiency of credible evidence on which the jury could find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt; (3) the pretrial delay violated the statute of limitations and his right to a speedy trial; (4) the Government failed to comply adequately with his request for materials under Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 83 S.Ct. 1194, 10 L.Ed.2d 215 (1963). Also pending before us is Parker's motion to remand to the District Court and to direct an evidentiary hearing on the motion filed for new trial. We affirm Parker's judgment of conviction and dismiss his motion to remand.

I.

The procedural history of Parker's conviction and the underlying facts are not in dispute. ¹ Viewed in the light most favorable to the Government, See Glasser v. United States, 360 U.S. 15, 62 S.Ct. 457, 86 L.Ed. 680 (1942), the evidence disclosed the following sequence of events.

Parker has been President and Business Manager of Teamsters Local Union No. 385 since it was chartered in 1968. The jurisdiction of the local union covers Orange and Lake Counties and surrounding areas in Florida. Under the bylaws of the union, the President is the head business agent and business manager whose duties are to run the local in accordance with the constitution and bylaws. Parker is in full charge of the local; as President he sets the salaries of the union business agents and secretary and has authority for their hiring and firing. He also negotiates the terms of contracts between the union and companies on behalf of the union.

The general procedure for unionizing a company was for the local union representatives to hold an election of the company's employees. If a majority of the employees should vote for unionization, representatives of the local union would call on the company's management and request the union be recognized as the union bargaining agent for the company's employees. If the company's management should refuse the union this recognition, the union would petition the National Labor Relations Board to hold an election of the company's employees. If the union should receive a majority of the votes, the National Labor Relations Board would certify the union as the bargaining agent for the company's employees.

For both Keystone Trucking Company, located in Killarney, Orange County, Florida, and Overland Hauling Company, located in Ocoee, Orange County, Florida, Parker, as president and business manager of the union, had himself taken a lot of action to organize the employees of these companies. However, after the local union had been certified as the bargaining agent for these companies' employees, these two companies refused to meet with the representatives of the union. The union called an election of the employees of these companies, and upon secret written ballot two-thirds of the employees present voted to call a strike.

On February 25, 1971, after obtaining approval of the International Union, Parker, as president of the local union, called a strike against both Keystone Trucking Company and Overland Hauling Company. At this time, Parker established a picket line at the premises of each company and assigned a business agent to each stricken company to assure that each picket line was maintained and all the entrances were covered, to keep a record of the number of trucks crossing the line, and to serve as a general coordinator. After the picket lines were set up, he had discussions and meetings with the business agents and other strikers and instructed them concerning how the picket lines would be conducted.

At the time the strike was called on February 25, 1971, the local union office staff included Parker as president and business manager, Hermon Fulton Witt as business agent since 1969, Charles Newman Sharp as business agent, and Carl G. Crosslin as business agent and as the elected secretary/treasurer. The duties of a business agent are to carry out the assignments of the president and business manager pertaining to union contracts with companies and employees and companies' grievances. Anything other than very minor complaints must be processed at the direction of the president and business manager.

When the strikes were called on February 25, 1971, Parker assigned business agent Hermon Fulton Witt the responsibility of monitoring the picket line at the Keystone Trucking Company and business agent Charles N. Sharp responsibility of monitoring the picket line at Overland Hauling Company.

Witt, the business agent of the local union assigned to maintain the picket line at Keystone Trucking Company, and Charles William Bullard, a union member on the picket line at Keystone Trucking Company, both testified that shortly after the strike began Witt, Bullard and Parker had a conversation in the union hall during which Parker said that he wanted to "rain dynamite" on Keystone Trucking Company, Overland Hauling Company, the Jahna Sand Mine and some other companies. Parker told them that if the dredging machine at the sand mine was blown up, it would stop Keystone and Overland trucks hauling sand. Bullard told Parker that if Parker could get the dynamite, Bullard could create the "shower."

Shortly after the strike was called, in a conversation in the union hall with Witt, Parker asked Witt if he knew anything about dynamite and Witt replied that he did not. When Parker asked if Witt knew anyone who was familiar with dynamite, Witt replied that his son Hermon Ronald Witt had been a demolition expert in the armed services. Parker requested Witt to ask his son if he was interested in doing some bombing. A day or so later, Witt informed Parker that Witt's son wanted to know if there would be any payment involved and Parker said there would not because Witt's son's affiliation with the union was enough of an incentive. Witt was then told by Parker to ask his son if he was willing to put together some bombs if Parker supplied him with the dynamite. When Witt reported back to Parker that his son would make the bombs, Parker told Witt that he knew where he could get the dynamite. Witt heard Parker make a telephone call from the union office to someone he referred to as Jack Forenzo concerning "contracts with tales on them," meaning dynamite fuse and caps, and Parker said that he would send someone down to pick up the "contracts." After the telephone conversation, Parker instructed Witt to travel to the Teamsters' local office in Miami, Florida, and gave him a manilla envelope containing currency to deliver. Witt left the next morning, and at the Miami office gave the envelope to a person identifying himself as Jack Forenzo. This person then directed Witt to a restaurant, where Witt rendezvoused with two men and where a cardboard box was transferred from their automobile to Witt's automobile. Upon returning to Orlando, Witt carried the box into the union hall and placed it on Parker's desk. At this time Witt observed that it contained dynamite, caps, and fuse. Parker referred to the contents of the box as dynamite and told Witt to remove it from the office. Witt took the box and its contents to his garage at his home in Casselberry, Florida.

Curtis Leroy Love met Witt on the Keystone Trucking Company picket line, sometime before the bombing of the Jahna Sand Mine. At that time, Witt mentioned to him that Witt desired to have some bombings perpetrated in order to coerce a truck company to sign union contracts. Love told Witt he would think about it and let him know at a later date.

Business agent Witt testified that, sometime after taking the dynamite to his home, he had his son fashion some bombs and instructed his son to deliver all but three of the bombs to Bullard at the Keystone Trucking Company leaving the remaining three bombs at Witt's house. Witt testified that later he took the three bombs to the union office and showed them to Parker and others. Witt first stored them in his office desk drawer and later in the ceiling of the union hall.

Bullard and Johnny Mack Brown, a picketer at the Keystone Trucking Company, both testified that on a night early in March of 1971, out on the strike line at Keystone Trucking Company, Bullard received some bombs from Witt's son; that Bullard and Brown had a conversation about bombing the Jahna Sand Mine; and that Bullard and Johnny Mack Brown stored the bombs in Brown's house trailer.

On March 9, 1971, a dynamite bomb was exploded under a boat trailer on the premises of the Keystone Trucking Company. Bullard and Johnny Mack Brown testified that they travelled in Brown's car to the Keystone Trucking Company premises and exploded a five-stick dynamite bomb which they had received a few days before at the picket line at that company.

Witt further testified that sometime before the Municipal Justice Building was bombed on March 19, 1971, a need arose for additional dynamite and that Parker asked him to ask Bullard if he could acquire some more dynamite. When Witt asked Bullard, Bullard told him that he had a cousin in South Carolina who had access to dynamite. Witt was unable...