United States v. Heidecke

683 F. Supp. 1215, 1988 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13954, 1988 WL 35019
District Court, N.D. Illinois·Decided April 18, 1988·No. No. 87 CR 950·Published·Cited by 3 cases

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

ALESIA, District Judge.

On March 29, 1988, defendant Richard A. Heidecke, Jr. (“Heidecke”) filed various jurisdictional motions. On April 6, 1988, the Government filed a consolidated response to these motions. On April 8, 1988, Heidecke filed his reply. This case has had a long-standing trial date scheduled on April 18, 1988. For the reasons stated in this opinion, we deny the defendant’s jurisdictional motions.

Motion to Dismiss — Absence of Federal Jurisdiction

Pursuant to Fed.R.Crim.P. 12(b), Heidecke has moved to dismiss the indictment based on an absence of federal jurisdiction. In this motion, Heidecke argues that the indictment does not allege any nexus between the alleged attempted extortion of the defendant and commerce. Specifically, Heidecke argues that the indictment does not allege a direct or indirect effect on commerce. In response, the Government correctly states that courts expansively construe the commerce element of the Hobbs Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1951. See Stirone v. United States, 361 U.S. 212, 80 S.Ct. 270, 4 L.Ed.2d 252 (1960); United States v. Anderson, 809 F.2d 1281, 1286 (7th Cir.1987). At a bare minimum, the Hobbs Act reaches conduct for which there is a realistic probability of an effect on commerce. See Anderson, 809 F.2d at 1286.

In' Anderson, the Seventh Circuit rejected an argument strikingly similar to Hei-decke’s argument in this case. In Anderson, the Government indicted the office manager for Lake County court in Crown Point, Indiana. The indictment charged the defendant with violation of the Hobbs Act in connection with bribes he received to fix tickets. The defendant received the bribes from three truck drivers who had transported articles across state lines in the past and would do so in the future. The Seventh Circuit specifically held that “[t]he fact that a truck driver is able to pay a bribe to obtain a favorable disposition on a ticket for driving under the influence of alcohol increases the probability that he will be able to drive in the future. Thus, the bribery was likely to have a direct effect on interstate commerce.” Id., 809 F.2d at 1286 (emphasis added).

The facts of this case are virtually identical with the facts in Anderson. In this case, the Government alleges that Ronald Seick paid a bribe to Heidecke so that Hei-decke would recommend that a temporary driver’s license be issued to Seick. The Government alleges that when Seick bribed Heidecke, Seick was employed as a travel-ling sales agent for Loeb, Inc. In his capacity as a sales agent, Seick travelled to various states in the Midwest to meet with customers and suppliers. Loeb, Inc. records approximately $3 million in sales per year, some of which were surely earned because of Seick’s sales efforts. The fact that Seick allegedly paid a bribe to obtain a temporary driver’s license increased the probability that he would make future sales calls in various states in the Midwest. Such bribery was likely to have a direct effect on interstate commerce.

The Hobbs Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1951, requires only the slightest connection with commerce. The facts previously recited clearly demonstrate that the connection with commerce in this case exceeds this minimum. Accordingly, Heidecke’s motion to dismiss based on absence of federal jurisdiction is denied.

Motion to Dismiss Based on the Statute of Limitation

Pursuant to Fed.R.Crim.P. 12(b), Hei-decke moves to dismiss the indictment because it is barred by the applicable statute of limitation. Specifically, the indictment which was returned on December 4, 1987 alleges that Heidecke committed attempted extortion from “on or about November 15, 1982 continuing until on or about Novem[1218] ber 29, 1982.” Heidecke argues that the applicable statute of limitation for this offense is five years. See 18 U.S.C. § 3282.

On November 23, 1987, Heidecke signed a form entitled “Waiver of Statute of Limitations”.1 He now argues that his waiver was invalid because the statute of limitation creates a jurisdictional bar to prosecution. The vast majority of courts, including the Seventh Circuit, have rejected this notion. See United States v. Meeker, 701 F.2d 685, 687 (7th Cir.1983), cert. denied 464 U.S. 826, 104 S.Ct. 96, 78 L.Ed.2d 102 (1983) (citations omitted).

In the alternative, Heidecke argues that his waiver was invalid because it was not a knowing and voluntary waiver. The unequivocal language of the waiver refutes this argument. The waiver states that Heidecke is “a target of a Grand Jury investigation ... [and that such] investigation relates to [Heidecke’s] actions with Ronald Seick and Thomas Benda on November 29, 1982 and the weeks preceeding [sic] it.... I waive any defense founded upon the Statute of Limitations ... provided an indictment is returned on or prior to December 11,1987.... No promises, representations or inducements of any kind other than those contained herein have been made to me or my counsel in connection with this waiver.” Heidecke, who is an attorney, was represented by counsel and had the benefit of his own knowledge of the law and the advice of counsel before he signed the waiver.

The document which Heidecke signed clearly states the consequences of his waiver. The language of the waiver he signed is similar to the language of the waiver which the Seventh Circuit reviewed in Meeker. The waiver’s clear language coupled with the advise of counsel and Hei-decke’s own legal training and knowledge abundantly supports this Court’s finding that the waiver was knowing and voluntary. See Meeker, 701 F.2d at 686-88.2

Accordingly, we deny Heidecke’s motion to dismiss based on the statute of limitation. We also deny Heidecke’s motion for production of documents relevant to his motion to dismiss based on the statute of limitation as moot.

Motion to Dismiss Based on Former Prosecution

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United States v. Heidecke, 683 F. Supp. 1215, 1988 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13954, 1988 WL 35019 (N.D. Ill. 1988).

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