Commonwealth v. Labadie

3 N.E.3d 1093, 467 Mass. 81, 2014 WL 406539, 2014 Mass. LEXIS 20
CourtMassachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
DecidedFebruary 5, 2014
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 3 N.E.3d 1093 (Commonwealth v. Labadie) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Commonwealth v. Labadie, 3 N.E.3d 1093, 467 Mass. 81, 2014 WL 406539, 2014 Mass. LEXIS 20 (Mass. 2014).

Opinion

Gants, J.

The issue presented in this case, before the court on further appellate review, is whether an employee of a credit union “authorized by federal law” may be found guilty under G. L. c. 266, § 52 (§ 52), of embezzlement of the credit union’s funds, and, if not, whether the employee may be found guilty of larceny by embezzlement, in violation of G. L. c. 266, § 30 (§ 30). Because the Commonwealth must prove beyond a reasonable doubt under § 52 that the victim was a “bank, as defined in [G. L. c. 167, § 1],” and because a Federal credit union is not a “bank” within this definition, we conclude that the defendants are entitled to judgments of acquittal as to this charge and vacate the convictions. We also conclude, however, that larceny by embezzlement, in violation of § 30, is a lesser included offense of embezzlement of a bank, in violation of § 52, and that Federal preemption doctrine does not bar' State prosecution of a Federal credit union employee for larceny by embezzlement. Because the jury’s verdicts demonstrate that they found the defendants guilty of all the required elements of larceny by embezzlement, we remand for entry of convictions of this lesser included offense and for resentencing.

Background. On August 27, 2002, defendant Susan Carcieri was employed part time as an assistant manager of the Wyman Gordon Federal Credit Union (credit union) in Worcester and lived with her husband, codefendant George Labadie, in a home across the street. A Superior Court jury concluded that Carcieri, aided and abetted by Labadie, embezzled credit union funds through the ruse of a fake robbery and convicted them of the indictments alleging violation of § 52.2 Because the defendants challenge the sufficiency of the evidence, we summarize the evidence in the Commonwealth’s case-in-chief and view that evidence in the light most favorable to the Commonwealth. See Commonwealth v. Latimore, 378 Mass. 671, 677-678 (1979).

As part of Carcieri’s job as assistant manager, she typically [83]*83would arrive at the credit union between 6:30 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. to prepare to open the credit union at 9 a.m. With the key she was given, she would enter in the morning through the back door; there were no bushes or comparable places for an intruder to hide in the area of the back door. She then would disarm the alarm, for which she had a code.3 When she arrived on August 27, 2002, she knew that on the previous day the credit union had received a delivery of extra cash in anticipation of the expected demand for cash arising from the impending Labor Day weekend, end of the month paychecks, and employee bonuses. As a result, the credit union safe contained over $210,000 in cash that morning.

At approximately 7:49 a.m. on August 27, Carcieri telephoned 911 to report a robbery at the credit union. When Worcester police Sergeant Peter Towler arrived on the scene approximately six minutes later, he went to the back door of the credit union, which was closed. The door was opened by Carcieri, who was sitting in a chair with her feet and left hand tied to the chair and her right hand free to open the door. The cordage that bound her came from the “miniblinds” inside the credit union. Sergeant Towler observed that her left hand was “extremely loosely tied” to the chair. She did not appear to be injured or upset, there was no damage to her clothing, and she was wearing “a lot of jewelry.” Carcieri told Sergeant Towler that a person came up to her from behind, and she could not see who it was. All she could describe of the assailant was that the person wore black boots; she was unable to describe the person’s gender, race, or height. She said the intruder had left the bank approximately one hour before the police arrived, and that she was able to free her right arm from the binding on the chair right after the intruder had left.

Detective Dennis Cullina soon arrived on the scene and saw Carcieri when she was still loosely bound in the chair. He observed that the door to the safe was open, two cash boxes were empty, some cash was on the floor, and some coins and cash were inside the opened safe. Carcieri told him that when she arrived at work and went to open the door, someone took [84]*84her from behind, brought her to where the chair was, put her in the chair, turned her around, and tied her. She did not recall if the intruder wore gloves. She said that the intruder put a paper towel in her mouth, which was found on the floor of the credit union. The detective asked Carcieri if she would come to the police station and give a statement as to what occurred, and she agreed.4 Labadie was seen outside in his front yard using his cellular telephone after the police arrived and before Carcieri went to the police station, but he did not cross the street or approach the credit union to assess the situation or inquire about his wife. While Carcieri was in the police cruiser traveling to the police station, she received a telephone call from Labadie on her cellular telephone during which she spoke loudly and became very upset.

On August 29, the police executed a search warrant on the defendants’ residence, and located over $25,000 in bundled, new one hundred dollar and ten dollar bills concealed in various locations; some of the bills were consecutively numbered. Four bundles of ten dollar bills wrapped in yellow bands were found in a twelve- by eighteen-inch hole that had been cut out of the wooden structure of the home and covered with loose vinyl siding that did not appear to be attached to the house. The packaging of the bills retrieved from the house was consistent with “the way [the credit union] receives money” from the Federal Reserve.

At around the time of the robbery, the defendants had a total combined balance of $7,252 in their personal and business bank accounts. They owed approximately $43,500 to the Lottery Commission, and had a debt of approximately $115,000 associated with a gasoline station they owned and operated. The day after the robbery, with cash stuffed under his shirt and in his pockets, Labadie walked into a check cashing store and purchased with cash nineteen $500 money orders, totaling $9,500. Labadie also purchased another $8,000 in money orders from other sources. Prior to the robbery, Labadie had discussed with a prospective business partner the purchase of new commercial donut-making equipment that cost approximately $50,000, but [85]*85stated that he did not have the funds to make the purchase at that time. However, after the robbery, this equipment was installed in the defendants’ gasoline station and Labadie told the prospective partner that he had purchased the equipment, almost all of which was new.

The defendants appealed from their convictions to the Appeals Court, which reversed the bank embezzlement convictions under G. L. c. 266, § 52, as to both defendants, and remanded the case for retrial on the lesser included offense of larceny by embezzlement under G. L. c. 266, § 30. Commonwealth v. Labadie, 82 Mass. App. Ct. 263 (2012). We granted each of the defendants’ and the Commonwealth’s applications for further appellate review.

Discussion. 1. Convictions under G. L. c. 266, § 52. General Laws c. 266, § 52, provides in part:

“An officer, director, trustee, agent or employee of a bank, as defined in [G. L. c. 167, § 1,] who fraudulently converts, or fraudulently takes and secretes with intent so to do, any . . . money . . .

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Bluebook (online)
3 N.E.3d 1093, 467 Mass. 81, 2014 WL 406539, 2014 Mass. LEXIS 20, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/commonwealth-v-labadie-mass-2014.