Commonwealth v. Edwards

582 A.2d 1078, 399 Pa. Super. 545, 1990 Pa. Super. LEXIS 3340
CourtSupreme Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedNovember 13, 1990
Docket3637
StatusPublished
Cited by19 cases

This text of 582 A.2d 1078 (Commonwealth v. Edwards) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Commonwealth v. Edwards, 582 A.2d 1078, 399 Pa. Super. 545, 1990 Pa. Super. LEXIS 3340 (Pa. 1990).

Opinions

CAVANAUGH, Judge:

Appellant, Ernest Edwards, Jr., was convicted by a jury on eight criminal informations arising out of his activity in the Osage Avenue Redevelopment Project in the City of Philadelphia.1 Following the denial of post-trial motions, appellant was sentenced to an aggregate of six to twelve years imprisonment and ordered to pay restitution of $137,-000.00.

The factual history of the case is summarized in the trial court’s opinion as follows:

On May 13, 1985, in an effort to remove the radical group known as MOVE from 6221 Osage Avenue, the house was fire bombed, causing a holocaust, killing eleven people and completely destroying sixty-one homes. Immediately thereafter, the City Administrators promised reparations: to rebuild the homes and to return the displaced residents to their homes by the end of the year. To this end, the City, which was to provide the necessary construction monies, enlisted the City of Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority (hereinafter “RDA”) to acquire the title to the site, prepare a prototype home and select a developer and the Urban Local Development Corporation (hereinafter “ULDC”) to disburse the 6.7 million dollars the City had allotted for the Restoration. In late June, [553]*553the RDA awarded the construction contract to the developer, Edwards and Harper, Inc. (hereinafter “E & H”), a close corporation in which defendant was one of two principals and which had been specifically incorporated to develop the Osage Project, obligating it to procure a completion bond, hire a general contractor and complete the project in accordance with prototypes prepared by the RDA. E & H would be reimbursed on a percentage-of-work-completed basis on a predetermined line item cost breakdown. Soon after the award, defendant Edwards proceeded on his undertaking. He enlisted the cooperation of Ebony Construction Company, Inc., (hereinafter “Ebony”), a New Jersey corporation, of which defendant Harris was the principal proprietor and defendant Edwards was director, as general contractor. Defendant Edwards requested and received start-up money for the Osage Project and commenced work on July 1, 1985, before obtaining the completion bond. When Ebony proved unbondable, defendant formed Premier Construction Company Incorporated (hereinafter “Premier”) to serve as general contractor. Unsuccessful in having Premier bonded, on September 9, Premier relinquished its position as general contractor to G & V General Contractors (hereinafter “G & V”), which was able to procure bonding, relegating Premier to subcontractor status. On February 10, 1986, both of defendant’s companies (E & H and Premier) were defaulted, leaving G & V, the general contractor, to complete the job, encumbered with over one million dollars of unpaid costs.

Trial Court Opinion 7/10/89 at pages 2-4.

The initial discussion will deal with three separate incidents of alleged theft involving appellant. The Commonwealth has attached to each incident three theft-related labels: Theft by Deception (18 Pa.C.S. § 3922), Theft by Failure to Make Required Disposition (18 Pa.C.S. § 3927) and Misapplication of Entrusted Property (18 Pa.C.S. § 4113). Bills Nos. 3390, 3378 and 3388 allege that, after being advanced $202,400.00 for the mobilization of the [554]*554Project, appellant misappropriated $91,585.41 to his own use. Bills Nos. 3392, 3379 and 3384 allege that appellant double-dipped on transportation expenses in the amount of $4,800.00. Bills Nos. 3391, 3380 and 3383 allege that, after shifting money around from bank account to bank account, appellant mysteriously became $11,300.00 richer. Appellant argues that the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to convict him of these three theft charges and that the verdicts were against the weight of the evidence.

The test for determining the sufficiency of the evidence is whether, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth, and drawing all proper inferences favorable to the Commonwealth, the jury could reasonably have determined all elements of the crime to have been established beyond a reasonable doubt. Commonwealth v. Aulisio, 514 Pa. 84, 522 A.2d 1075 (1987). For a new trial to lie on a challenge that the verdict is against the weight of the evidence, the evidence must be so tenuous, vague and uncertain that the verdict shocks the conscience of the court. Commonwealth v. Reardon, 374 Pa.Super. 212, 542 A.2d 572 (1988). In addition, where the evidence is legally sufficient, it generally meets the test for weightiness. See Commonwealth v. Robinson, 351 Pa.Super. 309, 505 A.2d 997 (1986).2

With these principals in mind we look to the evidence upon which the jury based its conviction of appellant on the various offenses.

[555]*555THEFT BY DECEPTION

[2] Bill No. 3390 charges Edwards with theft by deception of $91,585.41 in connection with the utilization of the mobilization funds paid to E & H by ULDC. 18 Pa.C.S. § 3922 provides:

(a) Offense defined.—A person is guilty of theft if he intentionally obtains or withholds property of another by deception. A person deceives if he intentionally:
(1) creates or reinforces a false impression, including false impressions as to law, value, intention or other state of mind; but deception as to a person’s intention to perform a promise shall not be inferred from the fact alone that he did not subsequently perform the promise;
(2) prevents another from acquiring information which would affect his judgement of a transaction; or
(3) fails to correct a false impression which the deceiver previously created or reinforced, or which the deceiver knows to be influencing another to whom he stands in a fiduciary or confidential relationship.
(b) Exception.—The term “deceive” does not, however, include falsity as to matters having no pecuniary significance, or puffing by statements unlikely to deceive ordinary persons in the group addressed.

After having been selected as the developer on the Osage Project, appellant requested start-up money before the formal signing of the contracts and before the actual construction commenced. ULDC had earmarked one million dollars for the mobilization of the project and Joseph Gaudit, ULDC’s on-site representative, discussed with appellant the items that would be eligible for payment out of that fund. On June 26, 1985, appellant Edwards made his first formal request for $340,000, an amount which was refused because it contained construction costs and construction had not yet begun. A second request for $212,400.00 was also rejected because it contained an improper item for developer’s fees, an expense not allowable at that time. After appellant’s third application for funds, ULDC paid E & H $202,400.00 based on the following line items: project personnel, trailer [556]*556rental, office furniture, equipment and supplies, telephone and utility deposits, layout and survey, insurance, labor, security and fencing, community liaison, equipment rental and legal, architectural and engineering fees.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
582 A.2d 1078, 399 Pa. Super. 545, 1990 Pa. Super. LEXIS 3340, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/commonwealth-v-edwards-pa-1990.