United States v. Edwin P. Wilson

732 F.2d 404, 15 Fed. R. Serv. 978, 1984 U.S. App. LEXIS 22806
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
DecidedMay 4, 1984
Docket83-2125
StatusPublished
Cited by47 cases

This text of 732 F.2d 404 (United States v. Edwin P. Wilson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Edwin P. Wilson, 732 F.2d 404, 15 Fed. R. Serv. 978, 1984 U.S. App. LEXIS 22806 (5th Cir. 1984).

Opinion

POLITZ, Circuit Judge:

Convicted by jury of conspiracy, 18 U.S.C. § 371, and of substantive counts arising out of an illegal shipment of plastic explosives, contrary to 18 U.S.C. §§ 2 and 1001, 22 U.S.C. § 2778(c), and 49 U.S.C. § 1809(b), Edwin P. Wilson appeals, assigning multiple errors. Finding no reversible error, we affirm.

Procedural Background

Wilson, Edward Bloom and Donald Thresher were indicted for conspiracy to make an illegal shipment of twenty tons of C-4 plastic explosives from Houston, Texas to Tripoli, Libya in October 1977. Bloom and Thresher were severed. Bloom was separately tried and convicted; Thresher pled guilty to a misdemeanor charge.

The indictment contains four counts. Count one charges the conspiracy, 18 U.S.C. § 371. Count two charges the presentation of a falsified Shipper’s Export Declaration, which listed the explosives as *407 drilling mud, 18 U.S.C. §§ 2 and 1001. Count three charges the export of cyclotrimethylene trinitramine (the active ingredient in the C-4 explosive) without obtaining the required license from the State Department, in violation of 22 U.S.C. § 2778(c), 18 U.S.C. § 2, and Title 22 C.F.R. §§ 121.01 (category V), 121.11, 123.01. Count four charges the illegal transportation of a hazardous material by cargo aircraft, in violation of 49 U.S.C. § 1809(b), 18 U.S.C. § 2, and 49 C.F.R. §§ 172.100, 172.101.

Prior to trial two hearings were conducted. The first involved Wilson’s motion to dismiss the indictment because of the manner in which he was taken into custody and brought before the court. Wilson maintained that the government had acted improperly in luring him back to the United States. The district court denied this motion. The court then conducted a James hearing and made the requisite findings of a conspiracy and Wilson’s involvement in it. After trial, the jury returned verdicts of guilty on all four counts.

Factual Background

In early 1977, Jerome S. Brower, a manufacturer and distributor of explosives from Pomona, California, met with Wilson to discuss the purchase by Wilson of C-4 explosives for shipment to Libya. Brower obtained 40,000 pounds which he sold to Wilson for $13.75 per pound, payable in advance to Brower’s account in a Swiss bank. The payment was made on August 18, 1977. At Wilson’s direction, Brower prepared an invoice reflecting a price of $20 per pound.

After acquiring the C-4 from different sources Brower packaged it in five-gallon cans and covered it with drilling mud. Brower completed the disguise by affixing fictitious drilling mud labels.

The camouflaged explosives were trucked to Houston and loaded on a chartered DC-8 for ostensible shipment to Lisbon, Portugal. The flight did not terminate in Portugal, but continued to Tripoli, Libya where the aircraft was met by Wilson who directed the ultimate delivery of the explosives.

In the shipping process, Wilson’s representative falsified the shipping documents by claiming that the cargo was drilling mud additive and by falsely declaring the destination. No license to export was secured and the cargo carrier was not informed of the hazardous nature of the shipment.

Assignments of Errors

1. “CIA Defense”

Wilson contends that he was denied a fair trial because evidence probative of his intent was excluded, thus denying him an opportunity to present his “CIA defense.” He maintains that he was precluded from introducing evidence that he was either employed by the Central Intelligence Agency or his actions were welcomed and sanctioned by that agency. By showing the government’s approval of his actions and that the apparent criminal acts were a cover for governmental operations, Wilson argues that he could have demonstrated his lack of specific intent to commit the violations charged.

The record belies Wilson’s assertions that he was not accorded an opportunity to develop his “CIA defense.” 1 He was al *408 lowed that opportunity. Wilson claims, however, that the exclusion of the testimony of former Attorney General Ramsey Clark and a portion of the proposed testimony of Victor L. Marchetti, undercut the development of this defense. There is no suggestion that Clark had personal knowledge of Wilson or of his activities. Marchetti denied having such knowledge. There is an indication that in an earlier case Clark testified that the CIA had once claimed non-involvement in an incident. This later proved untrue. The record also reflects that Marchetti formerly worked for the CIA but had left that employment 14 years before the trial and eight years before the C-4 shipment. Thereafter his knowledge about CIA activities and practices was limited to public information and conversations with friends in the agency. We find nothing to support a suggestion that Clark or Marchetti had any expert knowledge about the specific types of activities Wilson purportedly engaged in or about the CIA involvement in such activities.

Since neither Clark nor Marchetti had pertinent personal knowledge of Wilson or of his association or involvement with the CIA, their testimony could only relate to irrelevant issues or to facts involving the internal practices and procedures of the agency. Clark had no such knowledge and Marchetti’s knowledge was dated. If they were ostensible expert witnesses on agency practices and procedures it fell within “the trial judge[’s] broad discretion in the matter of the admission or exclusion of expert testimony, and his action is to be sustained unless manifestly erroneous.” Salem v. United States Lines Co., 370 U.S. 31, 35, 82 S.Ct. 1119, 1122, 8 L.Ed.2d 313 (1962). Considering the attenuated nature of the proffered testimony, we cannot say that the trial court’s exclusion constituted reversible error. See Perkins v. Volkswagen of America, Inc.,

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732 F.2d 404, 15 Fed. R. Serv. 978, 1984 U.S. App. LEXIS 22806, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-edwin-p-wilson-ca5-1984.