United States v. Adinolfi

Court of Appeals for the First Circuit·Decided December 30, 1993·No. 93-1029·Published

Opinion

USCA1 Opinion


December 30, 1993 [NOT FOR PUBLICATION]

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT

____________________

No. 93-1029

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff, Appellee,

v.

DANIEL A. ATILIO-ADINOLFI,

Defendant, Appellant.

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APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF PUERTO RICO

[Hon. Hector M. Laffitte, U.S. District Judge]
___________________

____________________

Before

Cyr, Boudin and Stahl,
Circuit Judges.
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____________________

Benicio Sanchez Rivera, Federal Public Defender, and Miguel A.A.
_______________________ ___________
Nogueras-Castro, Assistant Federal Public Defender, on brief for
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appellant.
Charles E. Fitzwilliam, United States Attorney, Carlos A. P rez,
_______________________ _______________
Assistant United States Attorney, and Jos A. Quiles-Espinosa, Senior
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Litigation Counsel, on brief for appellee.

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____________________

Per Curiam. Defendant-appellant Daniel Atilio
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Adinolfi pleaded guilty on September 10, 1992 to several

counts of an indictment charging him with conspiracy to

possess with intent to distribute narcotics, distribution of

narcotics, and possession with intent to distribute

narcotics. From October 22 to 29, 1992, one of Atilio's

alleged co-conspirators, Jairo Giraldo Parra, was tried under

the same indictment. On December 16, 1992, following receipt

of the presentence investigation report ("the PSI report"),

the district court sentenced Atilio to concurrent terms of

ninety-two months' imprisonment on each count, a supervised

release term of five years, and a special monetary assessment

of $ 350. In arriving at this sentence under the sentencing

guidelines, the district court made a two-level upward

adjustment in Atilio's offense level pursuant to U.S.S.G.

3B1.1(c) on the ground that Atilio was a "manager" or

"supervisor" in the narcotics distribution conspiracy.

Atilio appeals from this upward adjustment. We affirm.

In explaining its ruling that Atilio was a

"manager" or "supervisor" in this criminal organization, the

district court stated,

The Court has heard argument of counsel
and has heard the defendant and is now
ready to rule on the issue of the two
points on the issue of supervisor --
supervisory role. The -- this Court is
in a position to rule on this issue
particularly because I presided over the
trial of Jairo Giraldo Parra, and

-3-

certainly the facts in that case
establish that -- those facts establish -
- establishes that the defendant
Adinolfi, Atilio Adinolfi, certainly held
a position of trust and confidence with -
- within Giraldo Parra's drug trafficking
organization and he certainly played a
supervisory role, a very important role.

He was present at most of the
transactions. He also drove with one of
the agents who was acting as a[n]
undercover agent. He also participated
in the transactions, and certainly he was
there in charge of the business, too,
sometimes in the counter, and he was a
very important cog in the trafficking
machinery constantly oiled by Parra.
Therefore, I shall deny you[r] counsel's
motion to eliminate the two-points
enhancement under Section 3B1.1B [sic] of
the sentencing guidelines.

Atilio objects on appeal, as he did in the district

court, that it was impermissible for the district court to

rely on evidence introduced at the trial of Jairo Giraldo

Parra. Since Atilio, having pleaded guilty, was not a party

to that trial, Atilio argues that he had no opportunity to

cross-examine the witnesses who provided the evidence the

district court used against him. Once that trial evidence is

excluded, Atilio contends, there was insufficient evidence

before the district court to justify the upward adjustment.

We have stated that "[i]t is well settled that

during the sentencing proceedings, a district court has broad

discretion in determining the information that may be

received and considered regarding a defendant." United
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States v. Pellerito, 918 F.2d 999, 1002 (1st Cir. 1990). As
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long as the district court complies with the requirements of

Fed. R. Crim. P. 32 by making a finding as to each factual

matter controverted by the defendant, the district court "has

a right to use the evidence presented at trial in determining

the sentence to be imposed." Id. Accordingly, we have
__

upheld the sentencing judge's reliance on trial evidence when

the trial had resulted in a mistrial and the defendant had

subsequently pleaded guilty, United States v. Hanono-Surujun,
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914 F.2d 15, 19 (1st Cir. 1990), and -- as in the instant

case -- when the defendant had pleaded guilty and did not

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