Commonwealth v. Iannelli

634 A.2d 1120, 430 Pa. Super. 402, 1993 Pa. Super. LEXIS 3435
CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedOctober 18, 1993
Docket00820, 00832, 00839, 00846 and 00859
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 634 A.2d 1120 (Commonwealth v. Iannelli) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior 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. Iannelli, 634 A.2d 1120, 430 Pa. Super. 402, 1993 Pa. Super. LEXIS 3435 (Pa. Ct. App. 1993).

Opinions

OLSZEWSKI, Judge.

These cases arose out of an investigation of illegal gambling activities in western Pennsylvania conducted by the Pennsylvania State Police and the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office. The lead investigator was Trooper Robert Teagarden. In March of 1989, Trooper Teagarden contacted a confidential informant in Uniontown, Fayette County. The informant agreed to have his conversations with Joseph Georgianna tape recorded. During these conversations, the informant and Georgianna discussed line information (the odds on sporting events) and placed wagers on sporting events. Based upon the information uncovered, Trooper Teagarden applied for a search warrant for the toll records for Georgianna’s phone. He also applied for a pen register to be placed on Georgianna’s phone1 which reveals all outgoing calls made. Eventually, a trap and trace device was also placed on this phone line to trace incoming calls.

The trap and trace device revealed that phone calls from (412) 429-8033 were regularly received from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m., “prime time” betting hours. Telephone records revealed that Pasquale Romano subscribed to this number. In October 1989, a court-authorized pen register was placed on the Romano telephone. Subsequently, a trap and trace device was also authorized for that phone line. The evidence obtained from these devices and physical surveillance led the police to believe that Pasquale Romano and/or Ralph Raymond Romano were involved at a high level in a gambling organization. At times of heavy sports betting (Saturdays, Sundays and Monday nights), the number of calls placed from the Romano number increased dramatically. This pattern was consistent with bookmaking operations where a bettor places- a call to a beeper and the bookmaker then calls the bettor. The monitoring of the Georgianna phone line supported this belief. When calls were placed to a beeper service from the Georgian[409]*409na phone line, a call would be received moments later from the Romano phone. Based upon this information, this Court authorized a wiretap for the Romano phone.

Officer Teagarden monitored this wiretap from November 17, 1989, through December 6, 1989, documenting conversations between Ralph Raymond Romano [“Romano”] and several other people. The Romano wiretap also revealed numerous conversations regarding gambling activity between Robert Iannelli [“Iannelli”] and Romano. These would often occur after Romano called a beeper number and then Iannelli phoned Romano from cellular phones. These patterns were consistent with the earlier patterns between Georgianna and Romano. Accordingly, the police suspected that Romano was a lower level bookmaker reporting to Iannelli, a higher level bookmaker. As a result of this information, a wiretap was obtained for 551-6033 and 551-8197, the two cellular phones.2 In addition to authorizing these wiretaps, the Superior Court also authorized the use of pen registers and trap and trace devices.

The wiretaps revealed that Iannelli was running illegal numbers and lotteries. Romano, Albert Diulus [“Diulus”], and Kathryn Yohe [“Yohe”] all placed bets with Iannelli, acting as lower echelon bookmakers. In addition to the wiretapping, the police also performed physical surveillance and other investigations on appellants. Search warrants were authorized for numerous locations through which physical evidence was also obtained.

Iannelli, Romano and Diulus were charged with one count of criminal conspiracy, 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 903, one count of corrupt organizations, 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 911, twelve counts of pool selling and bookmaking, 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 5514 and twelve counts of lotteries, 18 Pa.C.S.A. § 5512. Yohe was charged with one count of criminal conspiracy, one count of corrupt organizations and five counts of pool selling and bookmaking. The [410]*410four cases were joined for trial. Appellants filed pre-trial motions, arguing, among other things, that the wiretap evidence and other physical evidence should be suppressed. The trial court denied the motions and conducted a non-jury trial. Appellants were convicted on all counts except violating the Corrupt Organizations Act. The trial court imposed sentences on April 27, 1992. For criminal conspiracy, the trial court sentenced Iannelli, Romano and Diulus to 8 to 23 months imprisonment, plus costs and a $10,000 fine. They also received a $5,000 fine, costs, and 5 years of probation for one count of bookmaking and pool selling, to run consecutively to the imprisonment. Sentence on the remaining counts was suspended. Yohe was sentenced to two years probation, plus costs for criminal conspiracy; no other penalty was imposed on the remaining counts. Post-trial motions were filed, argued and denied. These timely appeals followed. These appeals have been consolidated by stipulation of the parties. Iannelli filed a brief with this Court in which the other three appellants join.3

On appeal, six issues are presented for our review. The first issue is common to all appellants, including Rodney. The remaining issues pertain only to Iannelli and Rodney. Appellants allege that the evidence obtained pursuant to wiretaps should have been suppressed because:

[411]*411A. The orders authorizing electronic surveillance, pen registers and trap and trace devices were not issued by a court of competent jurisdiction;
B. The orders authorizing pen registers and the governing statute limited surveillance to outgoing calls, but the pen registers installed measured the date, time and duration of incoming calls;
C. There was no probable cause for the electronic surveillance of the (412) 551-6033 and (412) 551-8197 phone lines.
D. The Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Control Act is unconstitutional.

In addition to the wiretap questions, the Iannellis claim that:

the description of property in the search warrants were unconstitutionally overbroad;
the affidavit for three search warrants did not provide probable cause to believe that evidence subject to seizure would be found at the places to be searched; the search warrant for a garage was tainted by prior illegality of other search warrants;
the evidence was insufficient evidence to convict him of twenty of the twenty-four pool selling and bookmaking and lotteries counts;
the monitors’ logs containing summaries of the intercepted telephone conversations were improperly admitted into trial.

We find no merit to any of these issues and affirm the judgments of sentence.

I. SUPPRESSION OF WIRETAP EVIDENCE

In the first issue, appellants argue that the wiretap evidence should have been suppressed for various reasons. In reviewing the denial of a motion to suppress evidence, we must first determine

whether the factual findings are supported by the record. In making this determination, we must consider only the evidence of the prosecution’s witnesses, and so much evi[412]*412dence of the defense that remains uncontradicted when fairly read in the context of the record as a whole. When the evidence supports the factual findings, we are bound by such findings, we may reverse only if the legal conclusions drawn therefrom are erroneous.

Commonwealth v.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
634 A.2d 1120, 430 Pa. Super. 402, 1993 Pa. Super. LEXIS 3435, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/commonwealth-v-iannelli-pasuperct-1993.