United States v. Iezzi
| Decision Date | 22 December 1976 |
| Docket Number | Crim. No. 76-124. |
| Citation | 451 F. Supp. 1027 |
| Parties | UNITED STATES of America v. Joseph Anthony IEZZI, Sr., Albert David Milani, D.C., James D. Potter, M.D., Jack H. Pincus, M.D., Kenneth Joseph Ferris, Elias Ivan Yurick, D.O., Paul Nicholas Scolieri, Louis D. Adams, Robert Louis Plusquellec, Bernard L. Shapiro, D.D.S., Louis Anthony DeSantis, Anthony Crivelli, Sr., Louis Charles Boscia. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Pennsylvania |
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David M. Curry, First Asst. U.S. Atty., Pittsburgh, Pa., for plaintiff.
Stanley M. Stein, Pittsburgh, Pa., for James D. Potter, M.D.
John L. Doherty, Pittsburgh, Pa., for Paul Nicholas Scolieri.
Irving M. Green, New Kensington, Pa., for Louis D. Adams.
William A. Goyette, Pittsburgh, Pa., for Robert Louis Plusquellec.
Leonard A. Costa, Jr., Pittsburgh, Pa., for Louis Anthony DeSantis.
Richard H. Martin, Pittsburgh, Pa., for Anthony Crivelli, Sr.
John J. Dean, Pittsburgh, Pa., for Louis Charles Boscia.
Leonard L. Martino, Pittsburgh, Pa., for Joseph Anthony Iezzi, Sr.
The defendants, Joseph A. Iezzi, Albert D. Milani, D.C., James D. Potter, M.D., Elias Yurick, D.O., Paul N. Scolieri, Louis D. Adams, Robert L. Plusquellec, Bernard L. Shapiro, D.D.S., Louis A. DeSantis, Anthony Crivelli, Sr., and Louis C. Boscia, were tried on a charge of conspiracy to defraud an insurance company by use of the mails, 18 U.S.C. § 371, and eighteen substantive counts of mail fraud, 18 U.S.C. § 1341. Five substantive counts were dismissed by the court. Elias Yurick was acquitted. The remaining defendants were all convicted of conspiracy and each was found guilty of mail fraud, ranging from the conviction of Crivelli on one count to the conviction of Boscia on all thirteen counts.
Seven defendants, Dr. Potter, Scolieri, Adams, Plusquellec, DeSantis, Crivelli and Boscia,1 filed motions for arrest of judgment, judgment of acquittal, or for a new trial; one defendant, Iezzi, filed only a motion for a new trial. All filed briefs except Boscia.
It does not appear in the motions or briefs that the indictment does not charge an offense, or that the court was without jurisdiction, hence the motion in arrest of judgment will be denied.
Taking the view of the evidence most favorable to the prosecution, as required, we think the verdicts of guilty against ten of the defendants who stood trial were supported by evidence beyond a reasonable doubt. Glasser v. United States, 315 U.S. 60, 80, 62 S.Ct. 457, 86 L.Ed. 680 (1942); United States v. Dukow, 465 F.2d 688, 689, 692 (3rd Cir. 1972). We are not convinced that there were errors requiring that a new trial be granted to any defendant.
Briefly, the prosecution proved by overwhelming evidence that defendants Boscia, Scolieri, DeSantis, Plusquellec, along with Kenneth Ferris, who pleaded guilty, and Thomas Cherubin, an unindicted conspirator who was granted immunity, conspired to stage a fake motor vehicle accident with the intent to defraud the St. Paul Mercury Insurance Company, one of the St. Paul Insurance Companies (St. Paul).
Boscia had influenced Cherubin to take out an automobile insurance policy with St. Paul. Boscia paid the premium on the policy and gave Cherubin $1,000 prior to the staged accident. After the staged accident Boscia gave Cherubin another $1,000 and $50 for airplane tickets to return to Erie.
In the early morning of November 25, 1973, after previous abortive attempts, Boscia intentionally drove Cherubin's Chevrolet Blazer into the rear of Scolieri's car while the latter was stopped at an intersection in West Homestead, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Before the collision, Scolieri and his passengers, Ferris and Plusquellec, had vacated the Scolieri car and Cherubin and DeSantis had vacated the Cherubin vehicle. Afterwards, Cherubin went to a nearby police station to report the accident. Joseph Iezzi pretended he had been a passenger in Cherubin's car and pretended he had been injured in the collision.
By the time the police arrived, DeSantis had reentered the Cherubin vehicle and the others were standing around. DeSantis, Ferris, Plusquellec and Scolieri pretended they had been injured in the fake collision and the police took them to the Homestead Hospital where all except DeSantis left the same day. DeSantis, who had suffered a prior heart attack, stayed in the hospital for treatment of his heart until December 6, 1973. Boscia and Cherubin left the scene, taking the Cherubin vehicle to Iezzi's Body Shop where it was to be repaired. From there they went in Boscia's car to Cherubin's apartment where Boscia gave Cherubin instructions with respect to reporting the accident to the insurance company. Cherubin then took a plane for Erie where he was then working.
With extensive cooperation of Louis Adams, the claims manager for St. Paul who handled the claims against Cherubin's policy, all the foregoing, except Cherubin and Boscia, received money from St. Paul for alleged injuries.
Thereafter, with the professional cooperation of Dr. Albert Milani, Dr. James Potter, Dr. Bernard Shapiro, Dr. Jack Pincus, who was not tried, and others who were not indicted, St. Paul paid the participants and their respective doctors and car repairmen in excess of $80,000 for hospitalization, alleged bodily injuries, alleged lost wages, car repairs, et cetera.
Specifically, Dr. Milani joined the conspiracy and provided false medical bills and false medical reports for DeSantis and Iezzi. DeSantis received four drafts totalling $9,100 for which he signed a release. Iezzi received three drafts totalling $4,885 of which one draft of $305 was issued to Iezzi and Dr. Milani and one draft of $105 was issued to Iezzi as reimbursement for Dr. Yurick's bill.
Dr. Potter joined the conspiracy in Henderson, Nevada, and provided Ferris with a false medical bill on a Henderson Clinic form and a false medical report on an insurance form. Ferris, like the other participants, had no injuries and was never examined by Dr. Potter. Nor was Ferris ever treated or even seen by Dr. Charles Ashman, a dentist who had his office near the Henderson Clinic. A false dental bill for Ferris totalling $2,360 was submitted to the insurance company on Dr. Ashman's letterhead and billhead accompanied by a medical report form on which someone other than the doctor has signed Dr. Ashman's name. The evidence shows that Boscia paid $200 to Gail Richmond, an employee of Dr. Ashman, to obtain a blank letterhead and billhead of Dr. Ashman. She also told Boscia some dental nomenclature to be used to complete the false bill and medical report.2
A single St. Paul draft for $8,975 was issued to Ferris. Ferris received the draft from Boscia on January 6, 1974, at the Pittsburgh airport where Ferris endorsed the draft and signed a release and returned both documents to Boscia. Ferris testified that the agreement had been that he and Boscia would split the money evenly, but that he let Boscia keep the entire amount to cover a debt of more than $4,000 which Ferris owed Boscia.
Dr. Shapiro joined the conspiracy and provided Scolieri with a false dental bill in the sum of $3,380. Dr. Pincus provided him with a false medical bill of $485 and a false medical report. Scolieri received three drafts from St. Paul for bodily injuries and fictitious wage loss in the sum of $25,000. In addition, to cover the repairs to his car, he received a draft for $2,025 which he deposited in the bank account of Circus-Circus, the Las Vegas hotel for which he worked as a junket operator. He also received $641.77 to pay a false car rental agreement with Crivelli Chevrolet.
Dr. Pincus provided Plusquellec with a false medical report and a bill for $95 which was paid by St. Paul. Monsour Hospital was paid by a draft for $1,895 and Braddock Hospital was paid by a draft for $74.75, for medical treatment and hospitalization rendered Plusquellec for an injury to his knee which occurred prior to November 25th, 1973. In addition, Plusquellec received three drafts for bodily injuries and fictitious wage loss in the total sum of $25,750, which drafts were endorsed in his name and cashed by Casey Babuscio who gave the money to Boscia. How much he gave Plusquellec is not known.
St. Paul paid for the repair of Cherubin's vehicle by a draft made out to Cherubin, the finance company, and Iezzi Auto Body in the sum of $521.91.
The defendants contend that they are entitled to a new trial because the court abused its discretion in failing to grant their individual and joint motions for severance. Rule 14, Fed.R.Crim.P. They rely on United States v. Sica, 560 F.2d 149 (3rd Cir., decided October 20, 1976).* We think their reliance is misplaced.
To grant a motion for severance a defendant must show something more than the fact that a separate trial might offer him a better chance of acquittal. 8 Moore, Federal Practice ¶ 14.041 at 14-14.2—14-15 (2nd ed. 1976). The test for prejudice is:
Tillman v. United States, 406 F.2d 930, 935 (5th Cir. 1969). See also Peterson v. United States, 344 F.2d 419, 422 (5th Cir. 1965); United States v. Kahn, 381 F.2d 824, 839 (7th Cir. 1967); United States v. Stitt, 380 F.Supp. 1172, 1176 (W.D.Pa.1974), aff'd 510 F.2d 971 (3rd Cir. 1975).
The defendants allege prejudice by their inability to call co-defendants to testify on their...
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