United States v. Sheer

• Decision Date: 10 May 1960
• Docket Number: No. 12826-12828.,12826-12828.
• Citation: 278 F.2d 65
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Robert SHEER, Gordon Foster and Thomas Jackson, Defendants-Appellants.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit

278 F.2d 65 (1960)

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Robert SHEER, Gordon Foster and Thomas Jackson, Defendants-Appellants.

Nos. 12826-12828.

United States Court of Appeals Seventh Circuit.

May 10, 1960.

Morris A. Shenker, Sidney M. Glazer, St. Louis Mo., Thomas O'Donnell, East St. Louis, Ill., for appellant.

C. M. Raemer, U. S. Atty., James B. Moses, Asst. U. S. Atty., East St. Louis, Ill., Sheldon Green, Asst. U. S. Atty., East St. Louis, Ill., for appellee.

Before DUFFY, SCHNACKENBERG and CASTLE, Circuit Judges.

SCHNACKENBERG, Circuit Judge.

Robert Sheer, Gordon Foster and Thomas Jackson, defendants, appeal from judgments of conviction in the district court entered on jury verdicts. Sheer was sentenced to concurrent five year terms of imprisonment under counts I, II, V and IX, to concurrent three year terms under counts IV and VI, and was fined $5,000 and costs under count V. Foster was sentenced to concurrent five year terms of imprisonment under counts VII and IX and was fined $5,000 and costs under count IX. Jackson was sentenced to one year imprisonment and costs under count VIII of the indictment, and under count IX his sentence was suspended and he was placed on probation.

As stated by defendants, the errors relied upon arise out of the overruling of each defendant's motion for judgment of acquittal at the close of the entire case, the improper admission of evidence on behalf of the government, the refusal to limit statements attributed to one defendant to the declarant, the refusal to grant a severance or a mistrial as to Foster and Sheer after admitting into evidence against Jackson a statement attributed to him, the refusal to allow defendants to have certain internal revenue reports for the purpose of cross-examining government's agents, the refusal to allow defendants to have the grand jury testimony of certain witnesses for the purpose of cross-examination, the giving of erroneous instructions, the failure to give certain instructions offered by defendants, the excessive sentences, the failure of the court reporter to transcribe the entire proceedings, the improper selection of the grand jury and the overruling of motions to quash two search warrants and to suppress the evidence seized under those warrants.

The making of false statements in a matter within the jurisdiction of the United States Treasury Department was charged against Sheer in counts I, II, and IV, against Foster in count VII and against Jackson in count VIII. Sheer was therein charged with falsely stating on March 26, 1957, May 6, 1957 and July 3, 1956, that he had no employee or agent accepting wagers on his behalf. Foster was accused of falsely stating on May 6, 1957, to Special Agents conducting a criminal investigation that he never accepted wagers, and that he had no business interest in the Roberts Motel and Bar. Jackson was accused of making a statement on May 6, 1957, that he did not accept wagers. Count V charged that on May 29, 1957, Sheer attempted to evade the payment of wagering excise taxes due for April, 1957, by filing a wagering excise tax return listing the gross wagers accepted by him as $1,851.00 and the tax as $181.50, when he knew the "gross amount of wagers accepted by him" during that month was $2,365.00 and more and the tax due was $236.50 and more. Count VI charged Sheer with subscribing and filing a tax return application for registry-wagering, on July 3, 1956, falsely declaring under the penalties of perjury that it was true, correct and complete when it did not describe his place of business, and stated he did not engage any employee or agents in receiving wagers in his behalf.

Count IX charged that, on or about November 1, 1955, or prior thereto and continuing up to and including the indictment date (July 25, 1957), defendants did unlawfully conspire "to defraud the United States in its administration of the Internal Revenue Laws and to violate Sections 7201, 7203, 7206, 4411, 4412, 4901, 7262" of Title 26 and Section 1001 of Title 18 U.S.C. The indictment then alleged certain matters as a part of the conspiracy. It charged as overt acts each of the other counts of the indictment and three additional overt acts.

As above stated, counts II, VII and VIII charged, respectively that defendants Sheer, Foster and Jackson knowingly made a false and fraudulent statement of a material fact to Special Agents of the Internal Revenue Service on May 6, 1957.

The statute alleged to be violated, 18 U.S.C.A. § 1001, provides:

"Whoever, in any matter within the jurisdiction of any department or agency of the United States knowingly and willfully falsifies, conceals or covers up by any trick, scheme, or device a material fact, or makes any false, fictitious or fraudulent statements or representations, or makes or uses any false writing or document knowing the same to contain any false, fictitious or fraudulent statement or entry, shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than five years, or both."

Upon the trial, all of the principal government witnesses were agents of the government. After the direct examination of each of these witnesses, defendants demanded the right to inspect the reports which the agents had made. Defendants were given statements of the agents which were made contemporaneously with the events reported¹ but, under the court's ruling they were denied other statements. It was the government's position that "we will supply memoranda taken down in questioning defendants at the time of the questioning that took place but we will not show the Internal Revenue reports relating to such things or such interviews with the defendants other than verbatim statements reported". (Emphasis supplied.) The court's view was that the defendants "will be entitled to copies of written statements made contemporaneously with the interviews".

After Agent William Edwards testified as to a raid at the Roberts Motel, defendants made a request for his report of what took place during the raid, which request was denied. Agent Donald Yerly testified in substance that he inspected the building at 929½ Missouri Avenue on May 7, 1957, and that he observed smoke in room 5 as well as ashes in a wastebasket which was warm. Across the street was a car in which he had seen Sheer riding. On the same day, after he returned to the office, Yerly made a memorandum report of what he had seen. A request by defendants for production of this report was denied by the court,...