U.S. v. Scarpa, Nos. 448
| Court | United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (2nd Circuit) |
| Writing for the Court | Before OAKES, Chief Judge, and MINER and MAHONEY; MAHONEY |
| Citation | 913 F.2d 993 |
| Parties | 31 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 311 UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. Gregory SCARPA, Jr., Kevin Granato, Cosmo Catanzano, Mario Parlagreco, William Meli, Joseph Savarese, Nunzio Decarlo, Letterio Decarlo, Ralph Russo, John Parlagreco, Defendants. Appeal of Cosmo CATANZANO, William Meli, Joseph Savarese, Nunzio Decarlo, Kevin Granato, John Parlagreco, Mario Parlagreco, Defendants-Appellants. to 454, Dockets 88-1392, 88-1423, 88-1424, 88-1425, 88-1453, 88-1454 and 88-1485. |
| Docket Number | Nos. 448 |
| Decision Date | 23 August 1990 |
Page 993
v.
Gregory SCARPA, Jr., Kevin Granato, Cosmo Catanzano, Mario
Parlagreco, William Meli, Joseph Savarese, Nunzio
Decarlo, Letterio Decarlo, Ralph Russo,
John Parlagreco, Defendants.
Appeal of Cosmo CATANZANO, William Meli, Joseph Savarese,
Nunzio Decarlo, Kevin Granato, John Parlagreco,
Mario Parlagreco, Defendants-Appellants.
88-1453, 88-1454 and 88-1485.
Second Circuit.
Decided Aug. 23, 1990.
Page 996
David W. Ely, New York City, for defendants-appellants William Meli, Joseph Savarese and John Parlagreco.
Christine E. Yaris, New York City, for defendants-appellants Mario Parlagreco and Kevin Granato.
Richard A. Rehbock, New York City, for defendant-appellant Cosmo Catanzano.
Susan G. Kellman, New York City, for defendant-appellant Nunzio DeCarlo.
Jerome C. Roth, Asst. U.S. Atty., E.D.N.Y., Brooklyn, N.Y. (Andrew J. Maloney, U.S. Atty., E.D.N.Y., Matthew E. Fishbein, David C. James, Asst. U.S. Attys., E.D.N.Y., Brooklyn, N.Y., of counsel), for appellee.
Before OAKES, Chief Judge, and MINER and MAHONEY, Circuit Judges.
Page 997
MAHONEY, Circuit Judge:
Kevin Granato ("Granato"), Cosmo Catanzano ("Catanzano"), Mario Parlagreco ("M. Parlagreco"), William Meli ("Meli"), Joseph Savarese ("Savarese"), Nunzio DeCarlo ("DeCarlo") and John Parlagreco ("J. Parlagreco") appeal from judgments of conviction for violations of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1962(c) (1988), a provision of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act ("RICO"), and various other federal laws entered after a jury trial in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, I. Leo Glasser, Judge.
An eleven-count superseding indictment, No. 87 Cr. 760(S-2)(ILG), was filed in the Eastern District of New York on January 27, 1988, 1 naming the appellants and others 2 as defendants. Count one charged that in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1962(c) (1988), Granato, Catanzano, M. Parlagreco, Meli and DeCarlo conducted, and participated in the conduct of, the affairs of a criminal enterprise led by Scarpa (the "Scarpa Crew" or "Crew"), which "reported to the Colombo Organized Crime Family." The "goal" of the Crew was allegedly "to raise money through the trafficking of narcotics and other controlled substances, and extortion." The Indictment charged that the Scarpa Crew "exerted control over certain areas in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn, New York," and "ran several marijuana concessions on Staten Island" from July, 1985 until January 27, 1988.
Count one of the Indictment alleged that, through various combinations of its membership, the Scarpa Crew engaged in the following eight acts of racketeering as predicates to a violation of section 1962(c): (1) conspiracy among Granato, Catanzano, M. Parlagreco, Meli and DeCarlo to distribute marijuana in or about and between July, 1985 and February, 1986 in violation of 21 U.S.C. Sec. 846 (1988); (2) conspiracy between Granato and M. Parlagreco to distribute cocaine hydrochloride in or about and between September, 1985 and February, 1986 in violation of 21 U.S.C. Sec. 846 (1988); (3) conspiracy between Granato and Catanzano to distribute heroin hydrochloride and cocaine hydrochloride on or about and between January 6, 1987 and March 20, 1987 in violation of 21 U.S.C. Sec. 846 (1988); (4) murder in the second degree of one Albert Nocha committed by Granato, Catanzano, M. Parlagreco and DeCarlo on or about and between December 8, 1985 and December 10, 1985 in violation of N.Y.Penal Law Secs. 125.25 and 20.00 (McKinney 1987); 3 (5) conspiracy among Granato, M. Parlagreco and Meli to affect commerce by extortion in or about and between September, 1985 and April, 1986 in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1951 (1988); (6) conspiracy among Granato, Catanzano, M. Parlagreco, Meli and DeCarlo to affect commerce by extortion on or about and between February 20, 1986 and April 23, 1986 in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1951 (1988), specifying as overt acts the beating of one Eric Leon ("Leon") for failure to pay a debt owed to Scarpa, and related events; (7) intimidation by DeCarlo of a witness, Leon, on or about February 24, 1986 in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1512(a)(3) (1982); and (8) bribery in the third degree of New York City police officers by DeCarlo on ten occasions from on or about November 9, 1985 to February 15, 1986 in violation of N.Y.Penal Law Sec. 200.00 (McKinney 1988).
Page 998
Count two charged Granato and M. Parlegreco with engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise in or about and between July, 1985 and January 27, 1988 in violation of 21 U.S.C. Sec. 848(a) (1988). Count three charged Granato, Catanzano, M. Parlagreco, Meli and DeCarlo with conspiracy to distribute marijuana in or about and between July, 1985 and February, 1986 in violation of 21 U.S.C. Secs. 846 and 841(b)(1)(D) (1988). Count four charged Granato, Catanzano, M. Parlagreco, Meli and DeCarlo with distributing marijuana in or about and between July, 1985 and February, 1986 in violation of 21 U.S.C. Secs. 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(D) (1988) and 18 U.S.C. Sec. 2 (1988). Count five charged Granato, M. Parlagreco and Meli with conspiracy to commit extortion in or about and between September, 1985 and April, 1986 in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1951 (1988). Count six charged Granato with carrying a firearm in relation to a crime of violence in September, 1985 in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 924(c) (1988).
Count seven charged Granato, Catanzano, M. Parlagreco, Meli, Savarese, DeCarlo and J. Parlagreco with conspiracy to extort Leon in or about and between February 20, 1986 and April 23, 1986 in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1951 (1988). Count eight charged Granato, Catanzano, M. Parlagreco, Meli, DeCarlo, Savarese and J. Parlagreco with committing extortion by physical violence and threats of physical violence upon Leon on or about February 20, 1986 in violation of 18 U.S.C. Secs. 1951 and 2 (1988). Count nine charged Granato, Meli and DeCarlo with assault resulting in serious bodily injury upon Leon for the purpose of maintaining or increasing their position in a criminal enterprise engaged in racketeering activity on or about February 20, 1986 in violation of 18 U.S.C. Secs. 1959 and 2 (1988). Count ten charged Granato and M. Parlagreco with intimidating a witness, Leon, on or about February 20, 1986 in violation of 18 U.S.C. Secs. 1512(b)(3) and 2 (1988). Count eleven charged DeCarlo with intimidating a witness, Leon, on or about February 24, 1986 in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1512(b)(3) (1988).
Before he could be brought to trial, Scarpa fled the jurisdiction, became a fugitive, and was thereafter apprehended and arrested by agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration ("DEA") in a motel in Lakewood, New Jersey on August 29, 1988. He was tried separately before a jury in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, I. Leo Glasser, Judge, and convicted of conducting a racketeering enterprise in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1962(c) (1988); engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise in violation of 21 U.S.C. Sec. 848(a) (1988); conspiring to distribute marijuana in violation of 21 U.S.C. Sec. 846 (1988); distributing marijuana in violation of 21 U.S.C. Sec. 841(a)(1) (1988); and two counts of conspiring to commit extortion, and one count of extortion, in violation of 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1951 (1988). See United States v. Scarpa, 897 F.2d 63, 64 (2d Cir.1990), petition for cert. filed, No. 89-1856 (U.S. May 24, 1990). His appeal was heard in tandem with the instant appeal, and his conviction was affirmed by this court on February 23, 1990. Id.
The trial of the appellants herein, which took place while Scarpa was a fugitive, began on May 23, 1988 and ended on July 15, 1988, when the jury returned a verdict. Granato, Catanzano, M. Parlagreco, Meli and DeCarlo were all convicted on count one, the RICO count. The jury determined that all predicate acts were proved, as charged, against all defendants, except that predicate act four, the murder of Albert Nocha, was proven only against DeCarlo, and not against Granato, Catanzano and M. Parlagreco. All defendants were found guilty of all other counts as charged in the Indictment, except that Granato was acquitted on count six, carrying a firearm in relation to a crime of violence.
All appellants except J. Parlagreco were sentenced to concurrent prison terms on each count of conviction, with the maximum term for each appellant as follows: Granato, fifteen years plus a special parole term of ten years and a $10,000 fine; Catanzano, seven years plus a special parole term of five years; M. Parlagreco, twenty years plus a special parole term of five years; Meli, fifteen years plus a special
Page 999
parole term of ten years; Savarese, five years plus five years probation; and DeCarlo, twenty years plus a special parole term of ten years. J. Parlagreco's sentence was suspended, and he was placed on probation for five years. The district court also imposed, as required by 18 U.S.C. Sec. 3013 (1988), a special assessment of fifty dollars upon each defendant for each count of conviction.We affirm.
Background
In view of the jury verdicts, we consider the evidence in the light most favorable to the government. The evidence presented at trial included surveillance photographs, soundless videotapes, tape recordings and the testimony of numerous witnesses. The Scarpa Crew, under the leadership of Scarpa, an alleged "capo" in the Colombo organized crime family, operated several lucrative marijuana sales locations (known as "spots") in parts of Brooklyn and Staten Island from approximately July, 1985 until the termination of that activity as a result of this criminal proceeding.
Other illegal activity that stemmed from the operation of the spots included bribing...
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U.S. v. Murgas, No. 95-CR-384 (HGM).
...not met by merely showing a defendant's chances of Page 711 acquittal would be improved by a separate trial. See United States v. Scarpa, 913 F.2d 993, 1015 (2d Defendant Cesar Todd-Murgas argues that he is only named in two counts of the indictment and would therefore be prejudiced if trie......
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U.S. v. Coffey, No. 04-CR-651(ILG).
...and relevant to the charge, then regardless of how prejudicial the language is, it may not be stricken." United States v. Scarpa, 913 F.2d 993, 1013 (2d Cir.1990) (internal citation and quotation omitted). Given this exacting standard, such motions are rarely granted. See United States v. D......
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Ramos v. Racette, 11-CV-1412 (JG)
...a course intentionally pursued by the government for an improper purpose." (internal quotation marks omitted)); United States v. Scarpa, 913 F.2d 993, 1014 (2d Cir. 1990); United States v. Hoo, 825 F.2d 667, 671 (2d Cir. 1987); United States v. Elsbery, 602 F.2d 1054, 1059 (2d Cir. 1979) ("......
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U.S. v. Pharis, No. 00-2855.
...States v. Rezaq, 134 F.3d 1121, 1134 (D.C.Cir.1998); United States v. Huppert, 917 F.2d 507, 511 (11th Cir.1990); United States v. Scarpa, 913 F.2d 993, 1013 (2d The second line of authority is based not on the separation of powers or on the scope of Fed.R.Crim.P. 7(d), but on the Fifth Ame......
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U.S. v. Murgas, No. 95-CR-384 (HGM).
...not met by merely showing a defendant's chances of Page 711 acquittal would be improved by a separate trial. See United States v. Scarpa, 913 F.2d 993, 1015 (2d Defendant Cesar Todd-Murgas argues that he is only named in two counts of the indictment and would therefore be prejudiced if trie......
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U.S. v. Coffey, No. 04-CR-651(ILG).
...and relevant to the charge, then regardless of how prejudicial the language is, it may not be stricken." United States v. Scarpa, 913 F.2d 993, 1013 (2d Cir.1990) (internal citation and quotation omitted). Given this exacting standard, such motions are rarely granted. See United States v. D......
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Ramos v. Racette, 11-CV-1412 (JG)
...a course intentionally pursued by the government for an improper purpose." (internal quotation marks omitted)); United States v. Scarpa, 913 F.2d 993, 1014 (2d Cir. 1990); United States v. Hoo, 825 F.2d 667, 671 (2d Cir. 1987); United States v. Elsbery, 602 F.2d 1054, 1059 (2d Cir. 1979) ("......
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U.S. v. Pharis, No. 00-2855.
...States v. Rezaq, 134 F.3d 1121, 1134 (D.C.Cir.1998); United States v. Huppert, 917 F.2d 507, 511 (11th Cir.1990); United States v. Scarpa, 913 F.2d 993, 1013 (2d The second line of authority is based not on the separation of powers or on the scope of Fed.R.Crim.P. 7(d), but on the Fifth Ame......