United States v. Bloom

78 F.R.D. 591
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedDecember 19, 1977
DocketCrim. No. 77-383
StatusPublished
Cited by31 cases

This text of 78 F.R.D. 591 (United States v. Bloom) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Bloom, 78 F.R.D. 591 (E.D. Pa. 1977).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM ON MOTION TO DISMISS INDICTMENT

NEWCOMER, District Judge.

Defendants Burton Dubbin, Michael Rekoon, Bernard Cronin, Robert Street and Joseph DeLoge have all attacked this indictment on the ground that it is time-barred.1 A number of different arguments have been raised, which will be dealt with below. After consideration of these motions, the Court has decided to deny them.

A motion to dismiss the indictment, under Fed.R.Crim.P. 12(b)(2), attacks the indictment on its face and is not a device for a summary trial of the evidence. “It is directed only to the question of the validity of the indictment on its face, and its sole function is to test the sufficiency of [598]*598the indictment to charge an offense.” United States v. Winer, 323 F.Supp. 604 (E.D.Pa.1971). A motion based on the statute of limitations may often require outside evidence and may involve evidence which is not capable of determination prior to trial. See United States v. Dierker, 164 F.Supp. 304 (W.D.Pa.1958). Furthermore, as a product of the grand jury, the indictment is clothed with the presumption of regularity which attaches to its proceedings. In re Grand Jury Proceedings, 486 F.2d 85, 92 (3d Cir. 1973); Robert Hawthorne, Inc. v. Director of. Internal Revenue, 406 F.Supp. 1098 (E.D.Pa.1976).

Defendants Dubbin and Rekoon claim that all portions of the indictment which charge violation of 15 U.S.C. § 78i must be dismissed. They admit that in most respects, the general five-year criminal statute, 18 U.S.C. § 3282, governs this prosecution. However, they point to § 78i(e) as controlling criminal actions brought under that section. That argument is clearly erroneous. By an examination of the language of subsection (e) and a comparison of it with criminal limitations statutes, it is apparent to the Court that § 78i(e) applies only to civil actions. It states that no person shall be “liable" for actions, rather than the language used in conjunction with criminal statutes, i. e. “No person shall be prosecuted, tried or punished . . .”18 U.S.C. § 3282. (emphasis added). Applying the standard rules of statutory construction, the Court is compelled to find that § 78i does not contain any provision limiting criminal prosecutions. Therefore, § 3282 must govern and the limitation period is thus five years. Other courts acting under § 78i apparently have also looked to § 3282 for the limitations period. See United States v. Stein, 456 F.2d 844 (2d Cir.) cert. den. 408 U.S. 922, 92 S.Ct. 2489, 33 L.Ed.2d 333, reh. den. 409 U.S. 898, 93 S.Ct. 101, 34 L.Ed.2d 157 (1972); United States v. Quinn, 445 F.2d 940 (2d Cir. 1970), cert. den. 404 U.S. 850, 945, 92 S.Ct. 87, 30 L.Ed.2d 90 (1971). Therefore, their motions must be denied.

Defendants Cronin and Street accept the use of the five-year period, but challenge only Counts II and III. Those counts charge substantive violations of §§ 78i(a)(l)(B) and (a)(2). The indictment alleges patterns of behavior “from on or about November 1,1971 up to and including on or about November 30, 1972,” on the part of all defendants. Cronin and Street claim that since the statute bars prosecution for any offenses prior to September 6, 1972, these counts must be dismissed. They suggest that the grand jury may have improperly relied on actions taken prior to that date.

Other courts have refused to dismiss indictments under similar circumstances. In United States v. Andreas, 374 F.Supp. 402 (D.Minn.1974), the activity was alleged to have occurred both before and after the statutory bar. The trial judge held that since the indictment on its face brought the offenses within the limitations period, dismissal prior to trial would be improper. See also United States v. Auto Rental Co., 187 F.Supp. 603 (W.D.Pa.1960). In a Hobbs Act substantive prosecution, the Court of Appeals for this circuit noted that there was a “unit of prosecution” which contained events on both sides of the statutory bar. “No pertinent issue as to limitation of the action is presented for the [alleged extortionate] payments were carried well into the post limitations period.” United States v. Provenzano, 334 F.2d 678 (3d Cir.), cert, den. 379 U.S. 947, 85 S.Ct. 440, 13 L.Ed.2d 544 (1964). The Court finds that this indictment similarly charges a “unit of prosecution.” Since it does so in a timely manner and the grand jury is presumed to have acted properly and to have relied on evidence within the limitations, the motion of Cronin and Street will be denied.

Defendant DeLoge claims that the entire indictment should be dismissed as to him, based on what he alleges is “the government’s own evidence." This can best be determined at trial, when the government puts in its evidence. Even if the facts are as he alleges, the question of DeLoge’s guilt under the conspiracy and mail fraud [599]*599counts would have to be judged by the jury. In order to be acquitted under those counts, under which he is alleged to be a co-conspirator or “co-schemer,”2 he would have to establish the affirmative defense of withdrawal, assuming that he is found to have joined the conspiracy by his alleged contacts with stock. The facts in United States v. Nowak, 448 F.2d 134 (7th Cir. 1971), cert, den. 404 U.S. 1039, 92 S.Ct. 714, 30 L.Ed.2d 731 (1972), illustrate why this whole issue is best left to trial. The case involved a bank fraud prosecution. The appellant was the bank’s attorney and was charged with acquiescing in illegal activity in his capacity. The indictment charged him with no overt act within the limitations period. Prior to the statutory bar, he in fact had resigned as the bank’s attorney. The appellate court found however, that since he had not established withdrawal, he was bound as a member of the conspiracy. This Court believes that since a valid conspiracy and scheme are charged, and the nonconspiracy counts are facially proper as discussed above, DeLoge’s motion must be denied at this time.

This denial is based in part on the fact that withdrawal, as a question of fact, should be left to the jury. Its proof places the burden on the defendant to establish certain necessary facts. The Nowak court said: “[Withdrawal requires some affirmative action tending to defeat or disavow the purpose of the scheme, and the abandonment must be complete and in good faith.” 448 F.2d at 139. In United States v. Mardian, 178 U.S.App.D.C. 207, 546 F.2d 973 (1976), Judge J. Skelly Wright held that termination of active participation in a conspiracy was not sufficient. Quoting United States v. Borelli, 336 F.2d 376 (2d Cir. 1964), cert. den. 379 U.S. 960, 85 S.Ct. 647, 13 L.Ed.2d 555 (1965), he said: “[Withdrawal requires ‘either the making of a clean breast to the authorities, ... or communication of the abandonment in a manner reasonably calculated to reach co-conspirators.’ ” 178 U.S.App.C.C. at 212, 546 F.2d at 978, n. 5.

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Bluebook (online)
78 F.R.D. 591, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-bloom-paed-1977.