People v. Stievater

77 Misc. 2d 761, 356 N.Y.S.2d 915, 1972 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1191
New York County Courts·Decided November 29, 1972·Published·Cited by 1 cases

Opinion

Frank R. Bayger, J.

In January, 1971, an Erie County Grand Jury began an investigation into matters related to the county’s proposed construction of a domed sports stadium. A similar inquiry had been previously commenced by Federal authorities. The county investigation resulted in the return of this indictment charging these defendants with the crimes of conspiracy and bribery. The defendants are members of Buffalo, New York and Houston, Texas, architectural firms which were retained by the county in connection with the proposed construction. [762]*762This indictment alleges that they conspired with each other and with a certain J. Lloyd Walker, a member of the Buffalo firm who is named as a coconspirator but not as a defendant, to bribe certain members of the Erie County Legislature so as to influence their vote on stadium legislation. A second count alleges that they did in fact solicit and aid Walker’s payment of money to unnamed legislators for that purpose.

During the course of these simultaneous but independently conducted investigations each of these defendants was subpoenaed to appear before both the Federal and State Grand Juries. In each they indicated an intention to refuse to testify or otherwise co-operate with the authorities on the grounds of their constitutional privileges against self incrimination. They were thereupon excused by the State authorities and did not appear before the County Grand Jury. The Federal authorities elected to compel their testimony, however, and each defendant was granted immunity from prosecution pursuant to section 2514 of title 18 of the United States Code. Upon being thus immunized from prosecution and compelled to testify by order of the local United States District 'Court, each of these defendants freely informed the Federal Grand Jury as to their knowledge of and joint participation in the bribery of certain members of the County Legislature.

The Federal investigation resulted in the indictment, trial and conviction of two 'County Legislators for violations of Federal statutes relating to conspiracy and interstate activity violative of State laws relating to bribery. (U. S. Code, tit. 18, §§ 371, 1952.) The defendants Lloyd, Jones and Morris were not called by the United States Attorney to testify upon the Legislator’s trial on the grounds that their testimony would be cumulative and unnecessary to the Government’s case.

The defendants have now moved to ■ dismiss this indictment on the grounds that it refers to matters identical to those about which they were compelled to testify in the Federal investigation and as to which they (were thereupon immunized from prosecution under section 2514. It is their contention that they thereby acquired a ‘ ‘ transactional ’ ’ immunity which is binding upon both State and Federal courts and which totally precludes this indictment or any other prosecution by either State or Federal authorities for any crimes to which their Federally compelled testimony referred.

The defendants are joined and supported in this argument by the United States Department of Justice which has appeared upon this motion as amicus curiae and strenuously urged a dis[763]*763missal of the indictment upon the same grounds as urged .by the defendants. In oral argument, the Assistant United States Attorney who formerly headed the local Organized Crime Task Force Unit and who personally directed this stadium investigation, argued, with the specific approval of the United States Attorney General, that he had deliberately used section 2514’s transactional immunity pursuant to his department’s advice in an effort to obtain the fullest possible co-operation of these defendants and that he had in fact assured them that that immunity applied to all courts, State and Federal.

With respect to the defendant Stievater and Anderson, the People do not deny that the present indictment refers to the same matters and transactions concerning which those individuals were compelled to testify during the Federal proceedings. That this indictment concerns the identical matters about which the defendants Morris, Jones and Lloyd were also compelled to testify during the Federal investigation has been confirmed by this court’s review of their Federal Grand Jury testimony.

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People v. Stievater, 77 Misc. 2d 761, 356 N.Y.S.2d 915, 1972 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 1191 (N.Y. Super. Ct. 1972).

77 Misc. 2d 761 (People v. Stievater) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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