United States v. Gorman

208 F. Supp. 747
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Michigan
DecidedJuly 9, 1962
DocketCr. A. 39166
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 208 F. Supp. 747 (United States v. Gorman) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Michigan primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Gorman, 208 F. Supp. 747 (E.D. Mich. 1962).

Opinion

MACHROWICZ, District Judge.

On December 14th, 1961, the Honorable Wade H. McCree, Jr., District Judge of this District, issued a warrant for the search of premises known as 23334 Lakewood Street, Clinton Township, Michigan. The said property is owned by the defendant, Charles W. Gorman, but is not occupied by him as his residence. The warrant was executed on the same day, and certain gambling paraphernalia were seized in the presence of the defendant, who was on the premises at the time of the search.

A warrant was issued for the arrest of the defendant Gorman on the same day, and he was placed under arrest. On the 9th day of January, 1962, an indictment was returned against him charging *748 him in several counts with violation of the Federal Gambling laws.

On January 8, 1962, an order was issued on motion of defendant Charles W. Gorman, ordering the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, to show cause why an order should not be entered quashing the search warrant, dismissing the complaint and warrant and ordering the suppression and return of the property seized pursuant to the execution of the search warrant.

In view of the fact that an indictment was returned before the order to show cause was heard, the motion for the dismissal of the complaint and warrant is a moot one. With reference to the part of the motion seeking the suppression and return of the property, the Court took testimony on January 19th, 1962, and further testimony on March 12th, 1962, heard oral arguments and was presented briefs by both parties. The motion of the defendant is based on the claim that the search of the premises was illegal because of the insufficiency of the affidavit upon which the search warrant was based and because the execution of the warrant was allegedly improper and illegal.

The affidavit of Special Agent John T. Zawadzki in support of the search warrant sets forth:

1. That he has reason to believe the premises were owned and under the control of the defendant, Charles W. Gorman and “that there is now being concealed certain property, namely, book-making records, wagering paraphernalia consisting of bet slips, run-down sheets, account sheets, recap sheets, telephones, money used in or derived from bookmaking operations and other means and instruments used in violation of Sections 4412, 7203 and 7262 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 [26 U.S.C.A. §§ 4412, 7203, 7262]”.
2. That he was assigned to investigate alleged book-making activity of this defendant from these premises.
3. That he checked the records of the District Director, Internal Revenue Service, in Detroit, and found that the defendant was advised in June, 1953, of the Federal wagering tax laws.
4. That the defendant’s criminal record discloses that he is a convicted book-maker.
5. That on November 13, 1961, he obtained information from the Michigan Bell Telephone Company concerning two (2) telephone numbers on the premises, disclosing that between July 16th, 1961 and November 4th, 1961, there were at least one hundred sixty-one (161) long distance calls charged to one of these numbers to and from points in Michigan and Houston, Texas. More than fifty percent (50%) of these originated from a telephone in Houston, Texas, subscribed to by a known convicted hand-book operator.
6. That “confidential information considered reliable” discloses that defendant received lay-off bets from Houston, Texas.
7. That during the period from November 13th, 1961 through December 13, 1961, he and law enforcement officers under his direction observed the defendant regularly enter the premises between approximately, 9:15 A.M. and 11:38 A.M., and depart shortly before 6:30 P.M., these being the normal hours of book-making offices in the Detroit area.
8. That during the same period, several others, regarding whom he had “confidential information considered reliable” that they were engaged in hand-book activities, were seen entering the premises either alone or in the company of this defendant.
9. That this defendant and Lyle Clune, another defendant in these proceedings, regularly departed from these premises at about 6:30 P.M. and drove to this defendant’s resi *749 dence, where they were seen at a table doing paper work.
10. That no wagering tax stamp was issued to this defendant by the District Director of Internal Revenue in Detroit, there was no record of his registration of issuance of a wagering occupational stamp, there is no record that any excise tax returns were filed by him, also that the premises were not registered as the business or residence address of a wagering stamp holder.

This Court is aware of and fully subscribes to the opinion of the Honorable Wade H. MeCree, Jr., Judge of this District, in the case of the United States of America v. Edward Betz, D.C., 205 F.Supp. 927, in which the Court granted an order similar to the one requested here. The search and seizure of other premises in the Betz case was one in a series conducted on the same day as the one in this instance and was based on an affidavit of the same affiant as in the present case, which contained many allegations similar in substance to those in the present case.

This Court notes, however, that there are certain allegations in the present affidavit not present in the affidavit in support of the warrant for the search and seizure of the premises in the Betz case. These are:

1. The defendant’s prior criminal record.
2. The presence of the two telephones and of at least one hundred sixty-one (161) long distance calls to or from a known convicted handbook operator in Houston, Texas.
3. The regular entry and departure to and from the premises by the defendant and others, regarding whom confidential reliable information was received that they are engaged in hand-book activities, at normal book-making activity hours. The United States Court of Appeals for

the Sixth Circuit has very recently issued opinions in two cases which this Court feels are very pertinent to the issues presented by this motion.

In the ease of United States of America v. Woodson et al., 6 Cir., 303 F.2d 49, the Court ruled that the allegations contained in the affidavit were sufficient to establish probable cause to justify issuance of the search warrant. The allegations therein, in addition to information from “reliable confidential sources” consisted of the following: the presence of eleven (11) different automobiles at the premises, belonging to persons holding Federal Gaming stamps, or persons who had been arrested for lottery violations, or who had the same residential address as people who either held Federal Gaming stamps or had been arrested on lottery charges, or who had the reputation of “numbers” writers, or who had been observed on apparent “numbers” routes.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

People v. Humphrey
389 N.W.2d 494 (Michigan Court of Appeals, 1986)
Sandland v. State
636 P.2d 1196 (Court of Appeals of Alaska, 1981)
State v. Piller
628 P.2d 976 (Court of Appeals of Arizona, 1981)
Davis v. State
525 P.2d 541 (Alaska Supreme Court, 1974)
William Spinelli v. United States
382 F.2d 871 (Eighth Circuit, 1967)
United States v. Cruz
265 F. Supp. 15 (W.D. Texas, 1967)
Commonwealth v. Bykowski
225 A.2d 252 (Superior Court of Pennsylvania, 1966)
People v. Fino
199 N.E.2d 151 (New York Court of Appeals, 1964)
United States v. Barrow
212 F. Supp. 837 (E.D. Pennsylvania, 1962)
United States v. Bosch
209 F. Supp. 15 (E.D. Michigan, 1962)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
208 F. Supp. 747, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-gorman-mied-1962.