United States v. Varelli

Decision Date11 February 1969
Docket NumberNo. 16347-16349,16388-16395,16346.,16347-16349
Citation407 F.2d 735
PartiesUNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. John VARELLI, Roy Nielsen and Emil Crovedi, Defendants-Appellants. UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Max HECKMYER, Defendant-Appellant. UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Morris SALETKO, Defendant-Appellant. UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Kenneth BRATKO and Joseph Rossi, Defendants-Appellants. UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. John Anthony BORSELLINO, Defendant-Appellant. UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Thomas Daniel BAMBULAS and Albert Cardenas, Defendants-Appellants. UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Anthony LEGATO, Frank Gallo, and Ernest Infelice, Defendants-Appellants.
CourtU.S. Court of Appeals — Seventh Circuit

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Thomas A. Foran, U. S. Atty., Chicago, Ill., for appellee; Gerald M. Werksman, John Peter Lulinski, Asst. U. S. Attys., of counsel.

Edward J. Calihan, Anna R. Lavin, JoAnne F. Wolfson, Julius L. Echeles, John Powers Crowley, Frank W. Oliver, Richard H. Devine, James G. Demopoulos, R. Eugene Pincham, Chicago, Ill., Robert S. Bailey, LeFevour & Bailey, Oak Park, Ill., for defendant-appellant, Ernest Infelice.

Before KILEY, CUMMINGS and KERNER, Circuit Judges.

KERNER, Circuit Judge.

Defendants were indicted and tried together for committing various substantive offenses under Title 18 U.S.C. and for conspiring to commit the offenses.1 The jury found all the defendants, except two, guilty on all counts and from these convictions all defendants appeal.2

POLAROID SHIPMENT

On August 23, 1964, Schang, a government witness and co-defendant, was at the Riviera Bowling Alley in Melrose Park, Illinois, with defendant Bambulas and Boscarino (now deceased). While at the bowling alley, Schang was approached by defendant Crovedi, and together they went outside where defendants Rossi and Nielsen and Mendola (now deceased) were sitting in a 1957 Ford. Crovedi told Schang that he had information of a load of Polaroid cameras and equipment presently in a trailer in the Spector freight yard in Hillside, Illinois. Crovedi asked Schang if he had a place to hide the trailer, and if Schang did, he would "make it" the following morning. Schang said he had an available drop. Crovedi told Schang he would bring along defendants Bratko, Rossi and Nielsen and Mendola. Crovedi also indicated that he would bring the Ford as the work car, a radio and a work truck which he would use to stop the trailer and tractor. Schang agreed and said that Bambulas and Boscarino would go with him in a Dodge. They agreed to meet at Flip's Restaurant in Hillside, which was about two or three blocks from Spector's freight yard. Crovedi then entered the Ford and he, Nielsen, Rossi and Mendola drove off.

The following day, Boscarino picked up Schang from his home and they drove to the restaurant where they met Crovedi, Nielsen, Rossi, Bambulas, Bratko and Mendola. Together, they made arrangements for the hijacking.

At approximately 8:50 a. m., the Spector tractor-trailer was hijacked near Mannheim Road. Nielsen removed the driver from the truck and placed him in the Ford. He was released later. Meanwhile, Schang entered the tractor-trailer unit and, followed by the Dodge, drove 20 miles west on the Illinois East-West Tollway where he stopped. Rossi then drove the rest of the trip to Aurora, Illinois, followed by Schang, Bambulas and Boscarino in the Dodge.

The tractor-trailer and the Dodge were driven into the Rapid Truck Repair Garage in Aurora, owned by Frederick, another government witness and co-defendant. The seal of the trailer was broken and the trailer was found to be filled with Polaroid equipment. Some of the equipment was put in the Dodge, while the rest was loaded into trucks. The trucks were driven to another garage owned by Frederick in Aurora, Illinois. Schang then returned to the city in a pick-up truck with Bratko, Rossi, Frederick and Boscarino. Later that evening, Schang, Bambulas, Boscarino, Nielsen, Mendola, Rossi and Bratko met at the Riviera Bowling Alley to discuss disposing of the stolen equipment.

On August 26, 1964, three trucks, all filled with Polaroid equipment, were parked in Frederick's garage. Schang and Boscarino went to the H & H Restaurant in Chicago and met with defendant Saletko. According to Schang: "Angelo Boscarino told Maishe Bear Saletko that we had some Polaroid film, colored film, and we would like to sell it to him if he could handle it. Maishe Bear said that he could probably handle it, give him a day or two to handle it and we should contact him again." He was told that they had several hundred cases and expected around $20,000 for it.

The next day Saletko told them he could handle it. Thereafter, Boscarino left the truck at a public garage near the H & H Restaurant. The next day it was empty. Three or four days later, about the latter part of the first week of September, 1964, Schang and Boscarino went to the basement of the H & H Restaurant where Saletko gave them a package of money, "$17,500 or $15,000, somewhere around there."

In the middle of September, Schang met defendant Legato and told Legato he had some Polaroid cameras and film, the remaining parts of the Polaroid load that they had grabbed three or four weeks before. The next day, Legato took him to the home of defendant Infelice in Melrose Park where arrangements were made for Infelice to buy 400 cases of Polaroid film for $8,000. Infelice said that he knew a bunch of Arabs who ran a camera shop in New York City. They made arrangements to meet on the Indiana Toll Road on October 1, 1964, where, at the first restaurant on the Indiana Toll Road, Schang saw defendants Legato, Infelice, Gallo and Ziak.3 He gave Ziak the keys to the truck which he opened and found about 400 cases of the film and cameras. Ziak, accompanied by Gallo, drove the truck in an easterly direction along the Toll Road followed by an automobile driven by Legato in which Infelice was a passenger.

About two days later, Schang went with Bambulas to New York where they met Legato and Infelice. Infelice gave him $6,000. Schang and Bambulas returned to Chicago where they distributed the money amongst Mendola, Boscarino, Bambulas, Rossi, Nielsen, Crovedi and Bratko. Subsequently, when Schang asked Legato for the rest of the money for the cameras sold in New York, Legato told him that Infelice could not collect from the people to whom he had sold them and hence the others would not be paid. Infelice verified this to Schang at a later date.

SILVER SHIPMENT NO. 1

On April 18, 1965, defendant Anthony Borsellino informed Schang of a load of silver on an Interstate Systems truck parked in the Interstate yard in Cicero. At approximately 4:15 a. m. on April 19, 1965, while Schang and Bambulas waited outside the yard in the Dodge, Borsellino and Boscarino drove the Interstate unit out of the yard. They drove the unit to the Roadway Truck Stop operated by Frederick in Shabbona, Illinois.

The next day, Boscarino told Schang that he had sold the silver to Varelli and that they were to deliver the silver to him in two shipments. A few days later Bambulas and Schang drove one truck out to the Hinsdale Oasis and Bambulas left the truck and walked over to the phone booth. Max Heckmyer then got out of the car that was parked there. Schang saw Varelli standing by the phone booth. Heckmyer went over to the truck, entered it and pulled it away. Varelli left the phone booth, entered the parked car and pulled away, following Heckmyer down the road. A similar delivery was made a day or two later at the same place. Varelli made the initial payment of $20,000 and within a week or two he delivered an additional $40,000 to Boscarino and Schang.

SILVER SHIPMENT NO. 2

In the early part of May, 1965, Schang, Bambulas, Boscarino and Borsellino were together at the Riviera Bowling Alley. Borsellino said that he had spotted a load of silver at the Spector yard where he was employed. Schang and Boscarino met Borsellino and Bambulas at Flip's Restaurant on Mannheim Road the same night. While Bambulas went to find Frederick and Schang, Boscarino and Borsellino proceeded to the Spector yard. The tractor-trailer was hijacked that night after it pulled out of Spector's yard and was taken to the Roadway Truck Stop in Shabbona where the silver was transferred into two trucks.

Boscarino told Schang that he had talked to John Varelli and made arrangements to deliver both trucks to the Hinsdale Oasis, following the same procedure that had been used on the earlier two truck loads. Bambulas and Schang again delivered the trucks to the Oasis and saw Heckmyer and Varelli. Varelli paid $60,000 for the total shipment.

SILVER SHIPMENT NO. 3

On October 6, 1965, about 4:30 in the afternoon, Schang received a telephone call from Borsellino, who asked him to come to a restaurant across the street from where he worked. Schang met Borsellino at the restaurant across from the Spector yard. He said that there was a load of silver parked in Spector's yard on a trailer and thought that he would bring it to Schang's attention so they could take a look at it.

Around 5:25 p. m., Schang observed a Spector tractor-trailer coming out of the yard. Schang and Borsellino followed the trailer to the entrance to the Indiana Toll Road where it went through the toll booth. They continued to follow the trailer down the Indiana Toll Road.

At one of the oases on the tollway Borsellino overpowered the driver and put him in the back of the trailer. The car and tractor-trailer then proceeded to Shabbona, Illinois. On the way Schang called Frederick to say he was coming. The tractor-trailer pulled into the Roadway Truck Stop where Frederick was standing at 3:00 a. m. The Spector driver was taken from the trailer, placed in the trunk of Schang's Ford and...

To continue reading

Request your trial
258 cases
  • Com. v. Beneficial Finance Co.
    • United States
    • United States State Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts
    • November 4, 1971
    ...whether the evidence has shown one conspiracy or several is one of fact which is normally a matter for the jury. United States v. Varelli, 407 F.2d 735, 746 (7th Cir.). Household does not seem to contest this, but contends that there was insufficient evidence here of a single conspiracy to ......
  • Com. v. Winter
    • United States
    • Appeals Court of Massachusetts
    • May 29, 1980
    ...444 F.2d 240, 242-245 (5th Cir. 1971). Natarelli v. United States, 516 F.2d 149, 152 (2d Cir. 1975). Contrast United States v. Varelli, 407 F.2d 735, 742-743 (7th Cir. 1969). Compare United States v. Honneus, 508 F.2d at 569-570; United States v. Adcock, 487 F.2d 637, 639-640 (6th Cir. 1973......
  • United States v. Lane Lane v. United States
    • United States
    • United States Supreme Court
    • January 27, 1986
    ...(1981); United States v. Seidel, 620 F.2d 1006 (CA4 1980); United States v. Hatcher, 680 F.2d 438, 442 (CA6 1982); United States v. Varelli, 407 F.2d 735, 747-748 (CA7 1969); United States v. Martin, 567 F.2d 849, 854 (CA9 1977); Baker v. United States, 131 U.S.App.D.C. 7, 21-23, 401 F.2d 9......
  • United States v. DePalma
    • United States
    • United States District Courts. 2nd Circuit. United States District Courts. 2nd Circuit. Southern District of New York
    • August 25, 1978
    ...joined under Rule 8, if they are sufficiently related. United States v. Borelli, 336 F.2d 376, 387 (2 Cir. 1964); United States v. Varelli, 407 F.2d 735, 747 (7 Cir. 1969), cert. denied, 405 U.S. 1040, 92 S.Ct. 1311, 31 L.Ed.2d 581 (1972). Here, although there is no contention that De Loren......
  • Request a trial to view additional results

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT