United States v. Knickerbocker Fur Coat Co.
| Decision Date | 17 July 1933 |
| Docket Number | No. 424.,424. |
| Citation | 66 F.2d 388 |
| Parties | UNITED STATES v. KNICKERBOCKER FUR COAT CO., Inc., et al. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Second Circuit |
Archibald Palmer, of New York City (Sydney Basil Levy and Joseph Giller, both of New York City, of counsel), for appellants.
George Z. Medalie, U. S. Atty., of New York City (George R. Pfann, Asst. U. S. Atty., of New York City, of counsel), for the United States.
Before MANTON, SWAN, and CHASE, Circuit Judges.
The appellants were convicted on the first count of the indictment charging the concealment of the assets of the Knickerbocker Fur Coat Company, Inc., in contemplation of bankruptcy with intent to defeat the operation of the Bankruptcy Act, § 29b (6), 11 USCA § 52 (b) (6). They were acquitted of the charges of the other counts of the indictment. Section 29b provides:
"A person shall be punished by imprisonment * * * upon conviction of the offense of having knowingly and fraudulently * * * (6) having been an officer or agent of any person or corporation, and in contemplation of the bankruptcy of such person or corporation, or with intent to defeat the operation of this title, concealed or transferred any of the property of the debtor. * * *"
The Knickerbocker Fur Coat Company, Inc., was a New York corporation, manufacturing and selling ladies' fur coats, with places of business in New York City and Binghamton. It was adjudged a voluntary bankrupt on December 22, 1931. On December 28, 1931, it made an offer of composition to its creditors, and hearings were had and consents thereto were signed by some of the creditors. It was established by the receiver of the concealed merchandise that he saw appellant Zuckerkandel at the latter's home in Brooklyn, was informed that appellant had lost money in business, and was asked if he would be able to store some furs for appellant in Newark, N. J. This appellant was an officer of the corporation, and said he did not wish to have the merchandise on hand in the premises of the corporation until after he had settled with his creditors. It was then arranged to send the fur coats to New Jersey, where they were placed in a workshop and later removed to a warehouse by both Zuckerkandel and Lieberman, appellants. They were carried in boxes to New Jersey by Lieberman and Zuckerkandel. Weekly thereafter other boxes, similar to those containing the furs which were first delivered by Zuckerkandel and Lieberman, came to Newark and were placed in the warehouse. Knowledge of the delivery of these additional boxes and their concealment was fully established. They were locked in a vault at the warehouse, and, after the vault became filled, other boxes were stored in another warehouse in Newark. About thirty-seven boxes were stored in this manner. The concealment was discovered when public accountants for a creditor, accompanied by an agent of the government, located one Federbush in Newark who had the keys for the vaults in the two warehouses. Upon opening these vaults, thirty-seven cartons of furs and silks were found. They were then removed to New York and stored there. The merchandise thus concealed was appraised at the auction value of $12,913.
The Knickerbocker Fur Coat Company, Inc., obtained a suspended sentence and is without a judgment from which an appeal lies. United States v. Levinson, 54 F.(2d) 363 (C. C. A. 2); United States v. Lecato, 29 F.(2d) 694 (C. C. A. 2). The individual appellants contend that the first count does not charge an offense defined by section 29b (6), 11 USCA § 52 (b) (6). The first count charges that the corporation, Zuckerkandel as president and Lieberman as treasurer, while officers of the corporation and in contemplation of bankruptcy and with intent to defeat the operation of the Bankruptcy Act, unlawfully, willfully, and fraudulently concealed merchandise and property of the corporation. It refers to the petition in bankruptcy and the adjudication of the corporation as a bankrupt, and sufficiently refers to the concealment of thirty-seven boxes containing furs and silks.
Prior to the amendment of May 27, 1926, section 29b of the Bankruptcy Act contained subdivisions relating to criminal offenses. In connection with the collection and distribution of assets belonging to the estate in bankruptcy, subdivision 6 of section 29 (b) of the Bankruptcy Act, together with subdivisions 7 and 8, was added by the amendment of 1926, at which time subdivisions 1 and 5 were revised and broadened in the scope of their application. Under subdivision 6 of section 29b as amended there need not be a concealment from an officer of the court charged with the custody and control of the property of the estate in...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Stokley v. State
...18 U.S.C.A. § 550 [now § 2]; Jin Fuey Moy v. United States, 254 U.S. 189, 41 S.Ct. 98, 65 L.Ed. 214; United States v. Knickerbocker Fur Coat Co., Inc., 2 Cir., 66 F.2d 388, certiorari denied, Zuckerandel v. U. S., 290 U.S. 673, 54 S.Ct. 91, 78 L.Ed. 581; Von Patzoll v. United States, 10 Cir......
-
U.S. v. Perry
... 643 F.2d 38 ... 7 Fed. R. Evid. Serv. 1224 ... UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, ... Leroy PERRY, Leroy Butler, Charles ... 1980); United States v. Knickerbocker Fur Coat ... Co., 66 F.2d 388, 390 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 290 U.S ... ...
-
Hackney v. United States
...65 L.Ed. 214 (1920); Nye & Nissen v. United States, 336 U.S. 613, 620, 69 S.Ct. 766, 93 L.Ed. 919 (1949); United States v. Knickerbocker Fur Coat Co., 66 F.2d 388, 390 (2d Cir. 1933); Colbeck v. United States, 10 F.2d 401, 403 (7th Cir. 1926). As we said in Creek v. United States, D.C.App.,......
-
Birnbaum v. United States, 4573.
...the matter was overruled. The Lecato decision was followed by United States v. Levinson, 2 Cir., 54 F.2d 363 and United States v. Knickerbocker Fur Coat Co., 2 Cir., 66 F.2d 388, in which certiorari was denied by the Supreme Court (Levinson v. United States, 284 U.S. 685, 52 S.Ct. 204, 76 L......