United States v. Goldman

• Decision Date: 27 February 1913
• Docket Number: 3,593.
• Citation: 207 F. 1002
• Parties: UNITED STATES v. GOLDMAN.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Ohio

207 F. 1002

UNITED STATES v. GOLDMAN.

No. 3,593.

United States District Court, N.D. Ohio, Eastern Division.

February 27, 1913

Francis J. Wing, of Cleveland, Ohio, for defendant.

DAY District Judge.

The defendant was indicted for violation of section 215 of the federal Penal Code of 1910. Act March 4, 1909. This section is founded on Rev. Stats. U.S. Sec. 5480, and the act of March 2, 1889 (25 Stat. 873, c. 393 (U.S. Comp. St. 1901, p 3696)). To the indictment there have been filed a motion to quash and a demurrer.

Omitting provisions which are not necessary to the disposition of the pending case, section 215 of the Penal Code provides:

'Whoever having devised or intending to devise any scheme or artifice to defraud, or for obtaining money or property by means of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises, * * * shall, for the purpose of executing such scheme or artifice or attempting so to do, place, or cause to be placed, any letter, postal card, package, writing circular, pamphlet, or advertisement, whether addressed to any person residing within or outside the United States, in any post office, or station thereof, or street or other letter box of the United States, or authorized depository for mail matter, to be sent or delivered by the post office establishment of the United States, or shall take or receive any such therefrom, whether mailed within or without the United States, or shall knowingly cause to be delivered by mail according to the direction thereon, or at the place at which it is directed to be delivered by the person to whom it is addressed, any such letter, postal card, package, writing, circular, pamphlet, or advertisement,' etc.

Section 5480 of the Rev. Stats., in so far as it is necessary to quote it, provides:

'If any person having devised or intending to devise any scheme or artifice to defraud, * * * to be effected by either opening or intending to open correspondence or communication with any person, whether resident within or outside the United States, by means of the post office establishment of the United States, or by inciting such other person or any person to open communication with the person so devising or intending, shall, in and for executing such scheme or artifice or attempting so to do, place or cause to be placed, any letter, package, * * * circular, * * * or advertisement in any post office, branch post office, or street or hotel letter box of the United States, to be sent or delivered by the said post office establishment, or shall take or receive any such therefrom, such person so misusing the post office establishment shall, upon conviction, be punishable,' etc.

It has been held that under section 5480 it is essential, to work a conviction, that the government must charge in the indictment, and establish in the proof, first, that the person charged devised a scheme or artifice to defraud; second, that he had intended to effect this scheme by opening or intending to open correspondence with some person through the post office establishment, or by inciting such other persons or person to open communication with him; third, that in carrying out such scheme the accused has either deposited a letter or package in the post office, or taken or received one therefrom. Stokes v. United States, 157 U.S. 187, 15 Sup.Ct. 617, 39 L.Ed. 667; Horman v. United States, 116 F. 350, 53 C.C.A. 570; Foster v. United States, 178 F. 165, 101 C.C.A. 485.

The indictment in this case charges in substance: That Goldman had devised a certain scheme or artifice to defraud men of reputed high financial and social standing in the city of Cleveland, the names of whom were unknown to the grand jury. That this scheme was to be effected by Goldman inciting, encouraging, and causing certain persons to enter into communication and correspondence with him, by means of the post office establishment of the United States, and this misuse of the mails and use of the mails was part of the scheme and artifice to defraud. That the scheme and artifice devised by Goldman was that Goldman planned and intended that he would rent a post office box in the city of Cleveland, that this box would be kept by him for the reception of mail, and that, having rented the box, he would thereafter advertise in a newspaper in the city of Cleveland, inserting the following advertisement:

'Desire the assistance and co-operation of a well-educated and well-groomed lady on a big financial proposition. Must be good looking, chic, and have the ability to interest men of means. If you can measure up with this standard, write me for personal interview. Box 14, Station D.'

That Goldman planned, having inserted this advertisement, that he would encourage various women to answer the same by placing a letter in the United States mails, addressed to this Box 14, Station D, and that upon receipt of these letters he would arrange for personal interviews with the writers of certain of the letters, and from these writers he would select a woman whom he thought suitable for his purpose and plans. That he would then arrange with such woman, so selected, for the further carrying out of his scheme, which he had theretofore devised. That having selected the person answering to this advertisement, he would arrange with her that she should devise means, through pretended business engagements, to meet and become acquainted with prominent and influential men of Cleveland. That Goldman further planned that he would arrange with this woman that, through the acquaintance she would make with these men, she would induce these men from time to time to come to her place of residence on the pretense that she was inviting them there for a social or business purpose. That these meetings with these men should take place at some appropriate hotel or apartment house, and would take place in a suite of rooms connected one with the other in such a manner that two photographic views could be taken of the persons in these rooms, and that, when this woman succeeded in getting one of these prominent men in a compromising position, photographs would be taken by Goldman, and then at a proper time one of them would be offered to the man whose picture was taken for a sum of money of from $50,000 to $75,000. That, if this man should refuse to pay this sum of money for this photograph, it was planned that Goldman would threaten to expose and make public the photograph in such a manner as to humiliate the man whose photograph had been taken in this compromising position. That if one of these men should pay for the photograph, and at a later time should make any objections, or threaten to cause any trouble, the second photograph taken at the same time would be produced and offered for sale, or threatened to be published by Goldman.

The indictment further alleged...