People v. Cossey

217 P.2d 133, 97 Cal. App. 2d 101, 1950 Cal. App. LEXIS 1493
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedApril 21, 1950
DocketCrim. 679
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 217 P.2d 133 (People v. Cossey) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Cossey, 217 P.2d 133, 97 Cal. App. 2d 101, 1950 Cal. App. LEXIS 1493 (Cal. Ct. App. 1950).

Opinion

MUSSELL, J.

Defendants Ralph Douglas Cossey and Gerald F. Burke, after a lengthy trial by jury, were convicted of 10 conspiracies to commit the crime of theft in violation of section 182, subdivision 1, of the Penal Code. These offenses were contained in the first 10 counts of an indictment and were all alleged to have been committed during the period commencing January 2, 1946, and ending on or about August 25, 1948. Defendant John H. Harris was convicted of the conspiracy charged in count three and acquitted as to the remaining charges. All three defendants applied for proba *103 tion, which was denied as to defendant Cossey and granted as to defendants Burke and Harris, with a condition, in the case of Burke, that he serve a period of one year in the Riverside Industrial Road Camp, and in the case of Harris, that he serve a period of five months in the same road camp. In addition, a fine of $500 was imposed upon defendant Burke and $250 upon defendant Harris. The defendant Cossey was sentenced to the state prison on each of the 10 counts and judgments against him were ordered to run concurrently on counts one, two, three and four and on count five to run consecutively to the judgment pronounced on the first four counts. The judgment pronounced on counts six, seven, eight and nine were ordered to run concurrently with that pronounced on count five, and the judgment pronounced on count ten was ordered to run consecutively to the judgment pronounced on counts one to nine, inclusive.

Defendant Cossey appeals from the judgment and the order denying his motion for new trial, and defendants Burke and Harris appeal from the orders denying their motions for new trial.

The principal contention of the defendants on this appeal is, in effect, that the verdicts were contrary to the law and evidence and that the evidence was insufficient to justify a conviction of 10 separate and distinct conspiracies.

Bach count in the indictment contained a general charge of conspiracy to commit theft and contained an allegation of one or more overt acts, all alleged to have occurred within the period set forth in each of the general charges. In support of count one, two overt acts were alleged. The first count charged the defendants with a conspiracy to commit the crime of theft in violation of section 182 of the Penal Code in that during the period in question they conspired to violate section 484 of the Penal Code, and did unlawfully take the property of designated persons. Count one involved property taken from Jones and Fisher, a copartnership, in the amount of $9.76 on October 21, 1947, and $58.01 on October 27, 1947.

Counts two to ten, inclusive, involved the unlawful taking of property of various persons and firms in varying amounts, all under $200, except that in count five, the sum alleged to have been taken was $295.

Three other offenses were charged in counts eleven, twelve and thirteen of the indictment but the charges contained in these counts are not material to the decision herein as there were no convictions obtained under them.

*104 The essential facts applicable to all counts of the indictment and showing a conspiracy to commit the crime of theft, as set forth in the various counts of the indictment, are as follows: the defendant Ralph Douglas Cossey was the owner and operator of a collection agency in the city of Riverside. On March 10, 1941, he obtained a certificate to do business in the county of Riverside under the fictitious name of the Southern California Collection Company. He also owned an organization known as the National Credit Company. On July 15, 1947, the Medical Dental Associates, Inc., was incorporated to do business as a collection agency in Riverside County. Defendant Cossey was the president of the corporation and defendant Gerald F. Burke was the secretary-treasurer and the managing director. This corporation was inoperative but it did file lawsuits and had a bank account of $2,500. The National Credit Company was formed by Cossey to render credit service.

Defendants Cossey and Burke formed a copartnership in January of 1947 to operate a collection agency in the city of Los Angeles. Defendant Burke was the partner actively engaged in the business and obtained the license for the agency. In October, 1947, defendant Cossey incorporated the partnership, which was known as the Southern California Collection Co., Inc. (of Los Angeles), which was a separate and distinct entity from the Riverside organization.

On September 13, 1947, defendants Cossey and Burke executed a bill of sale to Medical Dental Associates, Inc., of all merchandise, credits, legal actions pending settlement, desks, equipment, office supplies and good will of the corporation.

The Southern California Collection Company, hereinafter designated as the “Agency,” had a trust account with the Citizens National Trust and Savings Bank of Riverside. The defendant Cossey and his wife were the only ones authorized to draw on that account. The Medical Dental Associates, Inc., had an account with the same bank and the defendant Burke was the only person authorized to draw on that account. The National Credit Company also had an account in the same bank and defendant Burke was the only one authorized to draw cheeks on it.

Defendant Burke from time to time signed the salary checks for employees of the agency and for rent of the agency’s office, which checks were drawn on the National Credit Company. Defendant Burke assisted 'in the preparation of checks to clients of the agency, drawn on the trust account of the agency and signed by defendant Cossey.

*105 Defendant Burke went to work for the agency in Riverside in January of 1946 and was there employed at the time of the indictment.

There was testimony that defendant Cossey only made periodical visits to the office of the agency, sometimes once a week or once in 10 days, and in his absence, defendant Burke was looked upon as the manager of the agency. In this connection, Burke made numerous postings in the agency’s ledgers and wrote letters with reference to various accounts.

There was testimony by employees of the agency that virtually every day clients would come into the office and state that they had learned that their debtors had paid the agency and complained that they had not received their shares of collections which were long overdue. When this occurred, all employees had been instructed by defendants Cossey and Burke not to handle the matter themselves, but to refer these clients to defendants Cossey and Burke. The excuses used by the defendants were that “the bookkeeper was on vacation”; “that there must be a mistake”; “that the check will be sent out the tenth of the month”; that “we overlooked the matter. ’ ’

Defendant Burke posted the entries in the breakdown pads of various accounts for over a year and from the daily receipts of the agency, he broke the figures down to determine how much went to the clients and how much to the agency.

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Bluebook (online)
217 P.2d 133, 97 Cal. App. 2d 101, 1950 Cal. App. LEXIS 1493, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-cossey-calctapp-1950.