United States v. Amrep Corp.

• Decision Date: 15 January 1976
• Docket Number: No. 75 Cr. 1023 (CMM).,75 Cr. 1023 (CMM).
• Citation: 405 F. Supp. 1053
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, v. AMREP CORPORATION et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Southern District of New York

405 F. Supp. 1053

UNITED STATES of America, v. AMREP CORPORATION et al., Defendants.

No. 75 Cr. 1023 (CMM).

United States District Court, S. D. New York.

January 15, 1976.

Thomas J. Cahill, U. S. Atty., S. D. N. Y., New York City, for the United States; Naomi Reice Buchwald, Asst. U. S. Atty., New York City, of counsel.

Proskauer, Rose, Goetz & Mendelsohn, New York City, for defendant Amrep Corp.; Morton M. Maneker, New York City, of counsel.

METZNER, District Judge.

Amrep Corporation (Amrep), a defendant in this criminal proceeding, moves for a stay of all proceedings presently pending against it before the Federal Trade Commission (the Commission).

The indictment names seven individual and three corporate defendants and charges, in essence, a conspiracy to defraud purchasers of lots in Rio Rancho Estates in an amount exceeding $200,000,000. It consists of 42 pages alleging 70 violations of the mail fraud statute (18 U.S.C. § 1341), and ten counts of violation of the Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act (15 U.S.C. § 1703).

Amrep is also the subject of a complaint filed by the Commission based on the same and similar acts. The Commission commenced its investigation in April 1973. In March 1975 it issued a complaint against Amrep seeking extensive relief in the form of a detailed cease and desist order and contemplating massive restitution to allegedly defrauded purchasers.

In March 1974 the United States Attorney instituted a grand jury investigation and the instant indictment was filed on October 28, 1975, to which all the defendants pleaded not guilty on November 10, 1975.

Between the issuance of the Commission's complaint and the filing of the indictment, the Commission had been proceeding with discovery of Amrep. On October 30, two days after the filing of the indictment, a conference was held with the administrative law judge for the purpose of setting a trial schedule of the Commission's complaint. Although the administrative law judge was informed of the filing of the indictment, he proceeded to schedule, by order dated October 31, the following pretrial and trial proceedings: (1) By November 28, Amrep was to have supplied the Commission with additional document production in order to fully comply with a government subpoena duces tecum. (2) The Commission's case-in-chief was to begin February 17, 1976. (It was adduced at the hearing of October 30 that the Commission's case would last at least some thirteen weeks, taking place in seven different cities.) (3) Amrep's defense was to commence six weeks after the close of the case-in-chief.

On November 18, 1975, eight days after the defendants had pleaded to the indictment, this court held a pretrial conference. It was not advised at the time of the pendency of the Commission's proceedings. The court announced that it was ready to proceed with the trial of this case as soon as it finished a six-weeks SEC criminal fraud case in the middle of March of this year. At the conference the conclusion was reached, both from the remarks of counsel for the government and the six counsel representing various defendants, that the pretrial motions could not be finally submitted to the court until March 15. A great deal of discovery was going to be involved since many thousands of documents had been brought before the grand jury which had considered the matter for 18 months. It also became apparent that the case would take three to four months to try. Allowing sufficient time for the disposition of the motions, which the government opined would be complicated, and whatever discovery would be permitted, it was obvious that the trial could not commence much before the middle of May. Such a schedule would require the court to inform prospective jurors that they could not expect a vacation during the summer of 1976 since they would be engaged in this trial during the months of July and August. The time necessary to empanel twelve jurors and six alternates would have been inordinately long under the circumstances. As a result, the court set the case down for trial on October 5, 1976. At the same time, it fixed January 23 as the date for filing all motions by the defendants and acceded to the government's request that it have until March 15 to answer the motions.

Amrep had been represented by its general counsel in the Commission proceedings. However, when he was named as a defendant in the indictment, Amrep retained new counsel in those proceedings, which was the same firm of attorneys which it had chosen to represent it against the charges in the indictment. Counsel then requested a one-month extension of the schedule previously set for the Commission proceedings.

By order of December 2, 1975, the administrative law judge amended the order of October 31 by ruling, inter alia, that the additional production required of Amrep now would commence on January 9, 1976, that 864 requests to Amrep for admissions served on November 12, 1975 would be answered by January 16, 1976, and that the government's case-in-chief would commence on March 29, 1976. The order also provided that Amrep could move to stay all Commission proceedings by December 19, 1975, in view of its representations of conflict between those proceedings and the trial schedule in the criminal action.

Amrep made the motion for a stay on December 19, claiming that its principal officers through whom it would appear in the Commission's proceedings would be tied up in...