United States v. Rowlette, 16401-16403.

• Decision Date: 17 June 1968
• Docket Number: No. 16401-16403.,16401-16403.
• Citation: 397 F.2d 475
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Sidney B. ROWLETTE and Robert Vecelli, a/k/a Robert Savio, Defendants-Appellants, UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Robert VECELLI, a/k/a Robert Savio, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit

397 F.2d 475 (1968)

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Sidney B. ROWLETTE and Robert Vecelli, a/k/a Robert Savio, Defendants-Appellants, UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Robert VECELLI, a/k/a Robert Savio, Defendant-Appellant.

Nos. 16401-16403.

United States Court of Appeals Seventh Circuit.

June 17, 1968.

William C. Erbecker, Indianapolis, Ind., Dante J. Taddeucci, Chicago, Ill., for defendants-appellants.

Thomas A. Foran, U. S. Atty., Gerald M. Werksman, Asst. U. S. Atty., Edward V. Hanrahan, U. S. Atty., Chicago, Ill., for plaintiff-appellee; John Peter Lulinski, Asst. U. S. Atty., of counsel.

Before CASTLE, Chief Judge, and KILEY and CUMMINGS, Circuit Judges.

CASTLE, Chief Judge.

These consolidated appeals arise from two bench trials on two separate but related indictments. In Nos. 16401 and 16402, the defendants-appellants, Sidney B. Rowlette and Robert Vecelli, prosecute individual appeals from the respective judgment of conviction and sentence entered as to each following trial on a one-count indictment charging them with the unlawful sale, delivery, and disposition of a stimulant drug, a quantity of amphetamine tablets, on April 20, 1966, in violation of 21 U.S.C.A. § 360a(b). Each of the defendants was sentenced to imprisonment for a period of one year.

In No. 16403 defendant appellant, Robert Vecelli, prosecutes an appeal from the judgment of conviction and sentence entered following his separate trial on a two-count indictment charging him with similar sales and deliveries on February 3, 1966, and April 14, 1966, in violation of the statute. Vecelli was found guilty on both counts and sentenced to one year's imprisonment on each count to run concurrently with the other and concurrently with the sentence imposed for the April 20, 1966, offense.

The evidence amply establishes the February 3, and April 14, sales and deliveries of amphetamine tablets by defendant Vecelli to a government agent. On each occasion the sale and delivery was made in a furtive manner after a rendezvous at a tavern. The deliveries were made in the parking lot from the trunk of Vecelli's automobile. The carton handed over to government agent Haddon on each of these occasions contained bottles of tablets represented to be amphetamine. Each of the bottles did contain in part tablets of d1-amphetamine sulfate, a drug within the meaning of the statute.

The April 14, 1966, transaction occurred at approximately 9:00 p.m. Government agent Haddon retained possession of the carton overnight and delivered it to the United States Food and Drug Administration laboratory on the next day. We perceive no merit in Vecelli's contention that this over-night possession by the government agent made it error for the court to overrule Vecelli's objection to the admission of the exhibit. The chain of custody established by the evidence was sufficient to dispel any inference of substitution or change in the content of the exhibit. United States v. Burris, 7 Cir., 393 F.2d 81 (1968). Nor does the incident, as the defendant contends, serve to impair the probative value of the testimony it was stipulated the government chemist would give concerning analysis of the tablets involved with the result that the government's evidence is insufficient to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that Vecelli delivered amphetamine tablets.

The evidence relating to the April 20, 1966, sale and delivery, on which both defendants were convicted, may be summarized as follows.

On April 14, 1966, during the meeting between Vecelli and agent Haddon at McGorey's Tavern in Forest Park, Illinois, Vecelli informed Haddon that he would have 500,000 amphetamine pills on the 19th of April and inquired if Haddon would be interested in purchasing them. Haddon indicated he would be if the price was right. Vecelli then placed a telephone call after which he told Haddon that he had confirmed the order. Pursuant to arrangements made on April 18, Haddon telephoned Vecelli on the morning of the 20th and informed him that he and his customer were in town and ready to deal for the pills. Vecelli said he had the pills but would prefer to deal at night. He asked Haddon to meet him alone at the tavern at 8:00 p.m. Haddon did so, and Vecelli told him that he had the drugs stored at two locations, six cases at one and nine at another. Vecelli stated that he had taken a partner, because he did not have enough money "to put up for this amount of drugs at a time". Haddon and Vecelli drove to a location in Cicero where after entering a building Vecelli returned with a bottle bearing an amphetamine label and containing approximately 1,000 tablets. He gave the bottle to Haddon, who had told Vecelli that he would have to have a sample to show his customer before the latter "would front the $5,500" agreed upon. Vecelli requested that Haddon drop him off at the tavern inasmuch as he did not want to meet any of Haddon's people.

After dropping Vecelli off at the tavern Haddon met with government surveillance agents. He told the agents what Vecelli had said about having a partner. A field test was made on two of the tablets from the bottle Vecelli had furnished as a sample. The results of the test were positive, indicating the possible presence of amphetamine.¹

Haddon then returned to the tavern and informed Vecelli that the merchandise was satisfactory and that he had the purchase money. Vecelli told Haddon that they would each take a car and first go to the place where the six cases were stored. Haddon followed Vecelli to the Cicero location where Vecelli obtained six cartons which were placed in the trunk of Haddon's car. Vecelli stated that his partner had the other nine cartons at a motel, and instructed Haddon to follow him there. When they arrived Vecelli told Haddon to pull up alongside Room 16. By the time Haddon had parked and opened the trunk of his car, Vecelli was coming out of the room with a carton. He walked over to Haddon's car and handed the carton to Haddon. When he started back toward the room Haddon started to accompany him, but Vecelli held Haddon back and said, "Don't come into the room. My partner doesn't want anybody to see him". At that moment defendant Rowlette came to the door of the motel room with one of the cartons in his hands. Vecelli walked over to the door, Rowlette handed the carton to him, and Vecelli brought it over to Haddon who placed it in his car. At that point Haddon called Vecelli aside, away from the doorway, identified himself as a federal agent and placed Vecelli under arrest. The government surveillance agents with whom Haddon had previously met had followed Haddon and Vecelli to the motel. They observed Vecelli emerge from Room 16 and hand a carton to Haddon. They then observed Vecelli standing in the doorway where he turned around and then turned back again and handed a carton to Haddon. The agents knew...