United States v. Feinberg

371 F. Supp. 1205, 1974 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12030
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedMarch 1, 1974
Docket73 CR 370, 73 CR 646, 73 CR 778, 74 CR 22
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 371 F. Supp. 1205 (United States v. Feinberg) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Feinberg, 371 F. Supp. 1205, 1974 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12030 (N.D. Ill. 1974).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

MARSHALL, District Judge.

Three of these four criminal cases are pending on motions by the Government for reconsideration of orders granting pretrial discovery of statements made by the defendants. The fourth case is pending on defendant’s motion for similar discovery. The challenged orders and the pending motion were entered or made pursuant to the provisions of either Rule 7(f) or 16(a) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. In each case the Government asserts that pretrial discovery of statements made by the defendant to persons other than government agents is not authorized by the Rules and violates the restrictions on pretrial discovery prescribed by the Jencks Act (18 U.S.C. § 3500(a)) and authoritative decisions interpreting the Act (including decisions of the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit). The Government has stated that if the orders are not modified, it will seek interlocutory review by way of mandamus or pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3731. Because of the commonality of the contentions raised by the Government and the importance of those contentions to the administration of criminal justice in the federal courts, I have considered the cases together. Brief descriptions of the cases and the particular discovery grant *1207 ed or sought are germane to the contested issues.

In No. 73 CR 370, defendant Bernard Feinberg is charged with violations of 18 U.S.C. § 1341 by use of the mails in furtherance of a scheme to defraud the citizens of Cook County, Illinois, of taxes on certain real properties located in the county. According to the allegations of the indictment, Feinberg, who is the owner of the subject properties, falsely represented or caused to be represented to county taxing authorities that the properties were vacant when he knew they were improved and occupied by tenants, and submitted to the taxing authorities City of Chicago building permits regarding the properties which he knew had been altered or modified after their issuance, all to the end that he fraudulently obtained substantial reductions in the' assessed valuation of the properties which, in turn, reduced the ad valorem taxes levied against them. The indictment proceeds to allege use of the mails in furtherance of the scheme.

In No. 73 CR 646, the defendant John C. Thompson, former Chicago Director of the Equal Opportunity Division of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, is charged with violating 18 U.S.C. § 201(c)(1) by soliciting and accepting a $3,000 bribe from one Ross in connection with Thompson’s official approval of affirmative action programs submitted with applications for Federal Housing Administration loan insurance for three housing projects.

In No. 73 CR 778, defendant Louis A. Kopple is charged with violations of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) by the distribution of large quantities of amphetamines and barbiturates. Although not alleged in the indictment, it is undisputed that Kopple is a licensed physician of fifty years experience. Furthermore, his counsel has represented to the court that Kopple is . 77 years old and shows marked signs of beginning senility and has difficulty in recalling any of the transactions alleged in the indictment.

In 74 CR 22 (superseding 73 CR 490), defendant Frank J. Kuta is charged in a multi-count indictment with the obstruction of commerce by means of extortion in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951, mail fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1341 and the filing of false income tax returns in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7206(1). Kuta was an alderman of the 23rd Ward of the City of Chicago and as such a member of the Chicago City Council. Stripped of its verbiage the indictment alleges that Kuta extorted payments from three persons named Gaw, Vanchieri and Allen in respect to amendments to the Chicago Zoning Ordinance as it applied to properties which they desired to develop. Although not alleged in the indictment, it is undisputed that Kuta is an attorney licensed to practice law in Illinois.

The cases have a common thread which, in my judgment, supports the discretionary relief I have granted. Unlike criminal eases in which there is a dispute as to either the conduct or the identity of the accused, it is fair to anticipate here that the Government’s proof will readily establish that the defendants performed some or all of the acts with which they are charged: Feinberg sought and obtained tax reductions ; Thompson received a payment from Ross; Kopple possessed and distributed drugs;' and Kuta received payments from Gaw, Vancheri and Allen. The transactions are not, however, unlawful in and of themselves. The gravamen of each charge is the alleged purpose, knowledge or intent of each defendant at the time of his alleged conduct.

In these circumstances, we can assume that the Government will seek to prove the defendants’ alleged unlawful states of mind by resort to statements made by the defendants before, during or after the subject transactions. Furthermore, it is not unlikely that the statements will be attributed to the defendants by persons who participated in those transactions. Of course, the requisite state of mind can, in certain circumstances, be *1208 inferred from the conduct itself. But if statements by the defendants reflecting their states of mind are available to the Government, we know they will be used, and they will constitute a significant part of the Government’s case. 1

It was in light of the foregoing that defendant Feinberg (charged with mail fraud regarding real estate taxes) sought, by way of a motion for bill of particulars pursuant to Rule 7(f) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, the following:

“5. Does the Government rely upon any oral statements of the defendant to support the charge in the several counts of the indictment ?
“6. If the answer to request No. 5 is in the affirmative, state with respect to each such statement, if there was more than one,
“(a) The name and address of the person to whom the statement was made,
“(b) The date on which the statement was made,
******
“(d) The substance of the statement,
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Bluebook (online)
371 F. Supp. 1205, 1974 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 12030, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-feinberg-ilnd-1974.