U.S. v. Rendini, 83-1506

• Decision Date: 10 July 1984
• Docket Number: No. 83-1506,83-1506
• Citation: 738 F.2d 530
• Parties: 16 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 675 UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. Maurizio P. RENDINI, Defendant, Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — First Circuit

Page 530

738 F.2d 530

16 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 675

UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. Maurizio P. RENDINI, Defendant, Appellant.

No. 83-1506.

United States Court of Appeals First Circuit.

Argued April 5, 1984.

Decided July 10, 1984.

Usher A. Moren, Medford, Mass., with whom John F. Zamparelli, and David Berman, Medford, Mass., were on brief, for appellant.

A. John Pappalardo, Asst. U.S. Atty., Boston, Mass., with whom William F. Weld, U.S. Atty., and Thomas J. Curley, Jr., Asst. U.S. Atty., Boston, Mass., were on brief, for appellee.

Before CAMPBELL, Chief Judge, COFFIN, Circuit Judge, and BONSAL, ^* Senior District Judge.

BONSAL, Senior District Judge.

Appellant Maurizio Paul Rendini ("Rendini") was convicted in the District Court of Massachusetts on June 2, 1983 of twenty counts of mail fraud (18 U.S.C. Sec. 1341). ¹ On July 1, 1983 he was sentenced to imprisonment for a period of one year. He appeals his conviction.

The facts as brought out at the trial may be summarized as follows:

At approximately 2 p.m. on April 2, 1980, Rendini, a budget analyst for the City of Boston, was riding in an automobile which was traveling along Boylston Street in Boston. Rendini was seated in the rear seat on the passenger side. The car was driven by its owner, John E. Powers, Clerk of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. Michael Donovan, Suffolk County Clerk for Civil Business, sat next to Powers, and Angus Griffin, Superintendent of the Suffolk County Courthouse, sat next to Rendini. As Powers' car approached a red light at the corner of Boylston and Arlington Streets, it was involved in an accident when an oil truck rolled along the driver's side of the car, contacted it and forced it towards the curb. After the accident, everyone got out of the car, and Powers asked each of the passengers if he was hurt. Each answered no. An attorney, Lawrence O'Donnell, a passerby who recognized all of the passengers in the car except Rendini, asked if anyone was hurt, and each of the passengers answered no. Rendini stated that the accident "couldn't hurt a flea." The passengers then got back into Powers' car and rode to their destination.

Rendini mentioned the accident to Albert DeMatteis, a co-worker in the Budget Department. DeMatteis, knowing that Rendini had a history of back problems, asked Rendini if he had hurt his back. Rendini said no, but added that the accident provided an excellent opportunity for a disability pension because of the witnesses available. Two or three days after the accident Rendini asked Griffin, a fellow passenger in Powers' car, if he realized that the accident occurred while they were on official business. When Griffin answered affirmatively, Rendini asked him if he had filled out an accident report. When Griffin answered "No. Why should I?" Rendini said, "Well, you never can tell. Something might occur later on that could be attributed to that accident and you'd be covered." On April 14, 1980 Rendini filed an accident report with the City of Boston's Workmen's Compensation Department.

Rendini reported for work on the day after the accident, April 3, 1980, and continued to work for the rest of the year. He visited his family physician, Dr. Philip Goldsmith, on September 15, 1980 for a routine six-month physical check-up and did not mention the April 2nd accident, nor did he complain about his back. When Dr. Goldsmith examined him on an unrelated matter in December, 1980, Rendini again did not mention his back.

In September, 1980, some five months after the accident, Rendini's immediate supervisor, McNeill, and other officials considered a proposal to transfer Rendini to the Deer Island Penal Institution in Winthrop to serve as Budget Officer. Rendini learned of the proposal and told colleagues that he did not want to go to Deer Island under any circumstances.

On October 14, 1980 Rendini consulted Dr. H. Archer Berman, an orthopedic surgeon, and informed Dr. Berman that he had suffered a back injury due to an accident on April 2, 1980. Dr. Berman concluded that Rendini was partially disabled. Rendini continued working, however, and On May 20, 1981 Rendini applied to the City of Boston Retirement Board for an accidental disability pension, citing the April 2, 1980 accident as the cause of his alleged disability. A panel of three doctors met to examine him on June 17, 1981 in accordance with M.G.L. c. 32 Sec. 7. The panel included Dr. Berman, as Rendini's physician, Dr. George Keenan, as the Retirement Board's physician, and Dr. Diane English, who represented the Massachusetts Commissioner of Public Health and acted as the chairman of the panel. Rendini's medical history was discussed by the panel, and afterwards the panel members examined him. The three doctors, based on the evidence before them, agreed that Rendini had degenerative arthritis of the spine with probable degeneration of discs in the cervical and lumbar regions. The doctors reported muscle strain and irritation of nerves which had been aggravated by recent trauma.

went to Dr. Berman's office frequently for heat treatments. On January 5, 1981, at Rendini's request Dr. Berman wrote a letter which stated that Rendini was permanently disabled. He stopped working on January 6 and took sick leave from January 7 until June 30, 1981.

The Retirement Board met on June 25, 1981, considered the doctor's report, and voted to grant Rendini an accidental disability pension of approximately $24,850 a year.

In 1982, in view of the expense of Rendini's pension, the City of Boston considered the possibility of suing the oil company or the driver of the truck which had been involved in the accident on April 2, 1980. However, examination of the accident records showed that no one had claimed to be injured. This led to an inquiry into the granting of the accidental disability pension to Rendini and a reopening of the proceedings before the Retirement Board. Rendini's indictment for mail fraud followed.

DISCUSSION

Rendini contends that since he was granted an accidental disability pension in a state administrative proceeding, the federal mail fraud statute is not applicable. He asserts that this prosecution under the mail fraud statute constitutes an impermissible federal intrusion into state affairs in violation of the 10th Amendment to the Constitution.

Article I, Sec. 8, Clause 7 of the Constitution provides that the Congress shall have the power to establish post offices and post roads, and Clause 18 provides that Congress has...