US v. Stewart, Crim. A. No. 2-88-26.
| Decision Date | 22 June 1989 |
| Docket Number | Crim. A. No. 2-88-26. |
| Parties | UNITED STATES of America, v. Jimmy Don STEWART, Earle Maurice Parks, Carolyn Sue McCune. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Texas |
James P. Laurence, Asst. U.S. Atty., Amarillo, Tex., for plaintiff.
Donald E. Jackson, Culton, Morgan, Britain & White, Amarillo, Tex., for Jimmy Stewart.
Travis D. Shelton, Shelton & Jones, Lubbock, Tex., for Earle Parks.
James L. Jarrell, Smith, Jarrell & Assoc., Amarillo, Tex., for Carolyn McCune.
Pending before the Court are Motions to Quash and Dismiss Indictments filed by all the Defendants in the above-numbered and entitled cause. The Defendants seek to quash or dismiss the indictment on the ground that it does not allege offenses under federal law in that Bell Helicopter is not an "organization ... that receives benefits in excess of $10,000.00 in any one year pursuant to a Federal Program" for purposes of 18 U.S.C. section 666.
The Defendants' motions raise the question of subject matter jurisdiction. See Thor v. United States, 554 F.2d 759, 762 (5th Cir.1977) (); see also 18 U.S.C. § 3231 ().
The question of subject matter jurisdiction may be raised at any time, and it cannot be waived by the Defendant. See Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 12(b)(2) and Pon v. United States, 168 F.2d 373 (1st Cir.1948). If necessary, the Court itself may raise the issue. Save the Bay, Inc. v. United States Army, 639 F.2d 1100, 1102 (5th Cir.1981) ().
In considering its jurisdiction over the alleged offense the Court is mindful of the Supreme Court's admonition that acts conferring criminal jurisdiction on the United States courts should not be given a strained or forced construction. United States v. Bowman, 260 U.S. 94, 102, 43 S.Ct. 39, 42, 67 L.Ed. 149 (1922).
For the reasons set forth below the Court finds that Bell Helicopter is not an "organization ... that receives benefits in excess of $10,000 in any one year pursuant to a Federal Program" for purposes of 18 U.S.C. section 666. Thus, the Motion to dismiss is granted because the indictment does not allege an offense under federal law and consequently this Court lacks subject matter jurisdiction to try the defendants.
On a motion to dismiss an indictment all well-pleaded facts are taken as true. United States v. South Florida Asphalt Co., 329 F.2d 860 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 379 U.S. 880, 85 S.Ct. 149, 13 L.Ed.2d 87 (1964). In the instant case, the alleged facts giving rise to the indictment are simple.
It is alleged that Defendants developed a scheme in which Defendant Stewart would steal tools and helicopter parts from his employer, Bell Helicopter, and sell them to Defendant Parks. Defendant Parks would, from time to time, provide Stewart with a list of tools and parts he wanted. Defendant McCune worked for Defendant Parks and would deliver the list to Stewart. Stewart and Parks also had an agreement whereby Parks would buy anything else Stewart managed to steal from Bell Helicopter.
Defendants are charged with violating federal law under a two count indictment. Count One of the indictment charges all three Defendants with conspiracy under section 371 of title 18 of the United States Code, specifically, defendants are charged with conspiring to violate section 666 of title 18 of the United States Code.
Count Two charges that Defendant Stewart violated section 666 by stealing tools and helicopter parts from Bell Helicopter and that Defendant Parks aided and abetted him in the stealing of the property.
Both counts of the indictment are based upon alleged violations of 18 U.S.C. section 666.
That section provides in pertinent part:
The indictment characterizes Bell Helicopter as a private organization that received benefits in excess of $10,000.00 in a one year period pursuant to a federal program involving contracts for the manufacture and modification of helicopters for the United States.
Defendants dispute this characterization, arguing that Bell Helicopter is a private corporation which acts only as a contractual supplier of various items to the United States Government. They contend that as such it cannot be an "organization ... receiving benefits in excess of $10,000" pursuant to a federal program as required by the statute.
In order to determine if Bell Helicopter, under the circumstances of this case, is an organization within the meaning of section 666, 18 U.S.C., the Court must first look to the actual language of the statute. United States v. Little, 687 F.Supp. 1042 (N.D.Miss.1988).
As set forth, supra, the statute does not provide the Court with a detailed understanding as to what type of organization comes within its scope. `Organization' is defined in the statute but, it cannot be read alone, the entire sentence must be read as a whole. Obviously the statute does not apply to all organizations which have contact with the United States Government. It limits its application to those who `receive benefits in excess of $10,000 ... pursuant to a Federal Program.' The terms "Federal Program" and "benefits" are not defined. The definition of organization does not assist in understanding those terms as they are used in the statute.
Because the statute cannot be interpreted on its face, the Court must look to the legislative history of the statute in interpreting its provisions. See id.
No specific definition of "federal program" is given in the history. It does, however, provide that:
The term "Federal Program involving a grant, a contract, a subsidy, a loan, a guarantee, insurance, or another form of federal assistance" is to be construed broadly, consistent with the purpose of this section to protect the integrity of the vast sums of money distributed through Federal programs from theft, fraud, and undue influence by bribery. However, the concept is not unlimited. The term `Federal Program' means that there must exist a specific statutory scheme authorizing the federal assistance in order to promote or achieve certain policy objectives. Thus, not every Federal contract or disbursement of funds would be covered. For example, if a government agency lawfully purchases more that $10,000.00 of equipment from a supplier, it is not the intent of this section to make a theft of $5000.00 or more from the supplier a Federal crime. It is, however, the intent to reach thefts and bribery in situations of the types involved in the Del Toro, Hinton, and Mosley cases cited herein. S.Rep. No. 225, 98th Cong., 2d Sess. 369, reprinted in 1984 U.S.Code Cong. & Admin.News 3182, 3511.
The legislative history gives specific examples of the type of organizations to which the statute does and does not apply. In particular, the statute was intended to apply to "situations of the types involved in the Del Toro, Hinton, and Mosley cases". While these situations may not encompass all circumstances in which the statute is applicable, they do provide an insight to the type of organization which Congress was trying to reach.
United States v. Del Toro2 involved a program entitled "Model Cities" which was funded through the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development and administered by a city agency. The United States paid 100% of the cost of Model Cities' program and 80% of its salaries. An official of the city agency administering the program accepted a bribe to lease certain office space; the owner of the office space as well as a middleman between the owner and the city official were convicted under section 201 of title 18, U.S.C. which prohibits the bribing of a federal public official or one acting on behalf of the United States. Del Toro appealed, contending that the section did not apply to him because the official was not a federal public official. The Seventh Circuit agreed, finding that the official bribed was a city employee carrying out a task assigned to him by his supervisor, another city employee.
In United States v. Hinton3 the defendants were the Executive Director and the Housing Rehabilitation Coordinator of a community-based, non-profit corporation called United Neighbors, Inc. (UNI). UNI...
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