People v. Di Lorenzo

69 Misc. 2d 645, 330 N.Y.S.2d 720, 1971 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 998
CourtNew York County Courts
DecidedDecember 29, 1971
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 69 Misc. 2d 645 (People v. Di Lorenzo) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New York County Courts primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Di Lorenzo, 69 Misc. 2d 645, 330 N.Y.S.2d 720, 1971 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 998 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1971).

Opinion

John A. Gallucci, J.

The defendant moves for an order (a) vacating two eavesdropping warrants issued by a Justice of the Supreme Court on March 22, 1971 and March 24, 1971, respéetively; (b) vacating two search warrants issued by the same Justice each dated April 12, 1971; (c) suppressing all evidence obtained against the defendant seized as the result of the execution of the search warrants; and (d) in the alternative, granting the defendant a hearing to vacate the eavesdropping warrants and to controvert the search warrants.

The defendant is charged under the above-numbered long form indictments with the commission of various crimes. Indictment No. 71-71 charges the defendant with the crimes of promoting gambling in the first degree, promoting gambling in the second degree and possession of gambling records in the second degree; Indictment No. 71-72 charges the defendant with the crimes of violating section 265.05 (subd. 2) of the Penal Law (as a misdemeanor) under the first count of the indictment, and violating section 265.05 (subd. 3) of the Penal Law, under the second, third, fourth and fifth counts of the indictment; and Indictment No. 71-110 charges the defendant with the crimes of criminal usury (Penal Law, § 190.40) under the first and second counts, and possession of usurious loan records (Penal Law, § 190.45) under the third count of the indictment.

[647]*647On September 22, 1971, the court denied the defendant’s original motion for the relief sought on the ground that the defendant had failed to demonstrate standing to attack the eavesdropping warrants, without prejudice, however, to the defendant to reapply for the relief sought upon submission of the proper papers in support thereof.

The factual background and circumstances in these cases are as follows: The defendant is the president and sole stockholder of 119 Rest Inc., a corporation doing business as the Sportsman Pub. On March 22, 1971, an eavesdropping warrant was issued authorizing the interception and recording of all conversations on telephone number 914-623-9627. On March 24, 1971, a second warrant was issued authorizing the wiretapping of all conversations on telephone number 914-623-9516. Each telephone is located at the premises of the Sportsman Pub. Each warrant provided for an eavesdropping period of 30 days and expressly authorized the District Attorney ‘ ‘ to obtain by wiretapping, conversations and discussions pertinent to the said crimes, and the conspiracy to commit said crimes ’ ’, to wit: the crimes of promoting gambling in the first degi-ee and promoting gambling in the second degree, possession of gambling records in the first degree, possession of gambling records in the second degree, and criminal conspiracy in the third and fourth degrees. Pursuant to said warrants, wiretapping was carried on by the People from March 23, 1971 to April 9, 1971.

On April 12, 1971, the Justice who issued the eavesdropping warrants signed two search warrants which authorized a search of the Sportsman Pub, a search of the person of the defendant and others, and a search of the defendant’s apartment. The affidavits in support of the applications for the search warrants were based, in part, on telephone conversations intercepted and recorded by the State Police. The search warrants were executed on April 15,1971. Property was seized and the defendant has been indicted as herein above set forth.

On November 5, 1971, the court granted an application by the defendant directing the People to disclose whether defendant’s conversations were intercepted and recorded, or to produce the wiretap tapes on November 22, 1971, and replay them to the court and the defendant for the purpose of ascertaining defendant’s standing to challenge the warrants. On November 22, 1971, the People acknowledged possession of the tapes and requested an adjournment to November 24, 1971, to permit a review thereof.

[648]*648On November 24, 1971, the People conceded that conversations of the defendant had been intercepted and recorded, and that the defendant had standing. The People also submitted an order dated November 24, 1971, which amended the eavesdropping warrant of March 24, 1971, to include the conversations of the defendant and the additional crime of criminal usury.

In support of his motion, the defendant alleges: (1) the eavesdropping warrants were issued without probable cause; (2) they failed to properly minimize the interception of communications not otherwise lawfully subject to interception; (3) he has not been given personal notice of the execution of the warrants; (4) he was not named in the warrants as a person whose conversations were to be intercepted and recorded and that the wiretapping of his conversations was illegal; (5) the affidavit used to obtain the amending order of November 24, 1971, was insufficient; and (6) the amending order of November 24, 1971, was not timely obtained.

In opposition, the People contend all of the warrants were lawfully issued and that the defendant’s motion is without merit.

It is fundamental that no eavesdropping warrant can be lawfully issued without a proper showing of probable cause in support thereof (Code Grim. Pro., §§ 816, 817, now CPL 700.15, 700.20). Thus, the first issue to be decided is whether the eavesdropping warrants were issued upon probable cause.

The essential facts relied upon to secure the eavesdropping warrants are set forth in the affidavit of C. L. Purcell, Senior Investigator of the New York State Police. The affiant alleges his belief that a certain Andrew Papaleo and John D’Amico were engaging in illegal gambling activities at the Sportsman Pub. Investigator Purcell specifically sets forth: (1) his personal observations that from February 23, 1971 to March 11, 1971, both named persons made frequent visits to the Sportsman Pub; (2) his personal observations that Andrew Papaleo used the telephone located at the Sportsman Pub; (3) his personal overhearing of the acceptance of sport wagers by Andrew Papaleo at the Sportsman Pub; (4) information from a fellow officer that a customer at the Sportsman Pub stated to the bartender that he was going upstairs to use the telephone to place a bet; and (5) information from a confidential informant of known reliability, who had in the past supplied information leading to the arrest and conviction of known gamblers, that John D’Amico and Papaleo were accepting sport wagers at the Sportsman Pub.

[649]*649The court finds that the eavesdropping warrants were issued based upon probable cause. As stated in People v. Sutton (38 A D 2d 567) “ the affidavit * * * £ spelled out in sufficient detail circumstances from which a ‘ ‘ neutral and detached magistrate ” could independently determine that probable cause existed for the warrant to issue ’ (People v. Montague, 19 N Y 2d 121, 123; see, also, Aguilar v. Texas, 378 U. S. 108; People v. Maddox, 24 N Y 2d 924).” The court also finds that the warrants complied both in content and form to the statutory requirements set forth in section 819 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, now GPL 700.30.

The next issue to be determined is whether the conversations of the defendant, a person not named in the warrants, were lawfully intercepted.

In People v. Szymanski

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Bluebook (online)
69 Misc. 2d 645, 330 N.Y.S.2d 720, 1971 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 998, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-di-lorenzo-nycountyct-1971.