OPINION OF THE COURT
SEITZ, Chief Judge:
Harry P. Jannotti and George X. Schwartz appeal sentences imposed after [217]*217their convictions for conspiring to violate the Hobbs Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1951(a) (1976), and, in the case of defendant Schwartz, the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO Act”), 18 U.S.C. § 1962(d) (1976). This court has jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291.
I. PROCEDURAL HISTORY
Defendants are former members of the Philadelphia City Council. They were tried together on charges of conspiring to interfere with interstate commerce, in violation of the Hobbs Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1951(a), and conspiring to conduct an enterprise through racketeering activities, in violation of the RICO Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1962(d). The indictment charged that the conspiracies existed for approximately three weeks, from about January 11, 1980, to about February 2, 1980. The jury found that Schwartz was guilty on both counts, and that Jannotti was guilty on the Hobbs Act count and innocent on the RICO count.
The district court, however, granted defendants’ motions to set aside the guilty verdicts in their entirety, dismissed the Hobbs Act counts for lack of jurisdiction, and entered judgments of acquittal. 501 F.Supp. 1182. The government appealed these orders and judgments, and this court, sitting in banc, reversed and ordered reinstatement of the jury’s verdicts. 673 F.2d 578 (3rd Cir.) cert. denied, 457 U.S. 1106, 102 S.Ct. 2906, 73 L.Ed.2d 1315 (1982). The district court reinstated the verdicts and imposed sentences.
II. FACTUAL BACKGROUND
A brief statement of the facts of this case will assist in understanding the issues presented in this appeal. A more complete statement of the facts is found in this court’s in banc decision. See 673 F.2d 578, cert. denied, 457 U.S. 1106, 102 S.Ct. 2906, 73 L.Ed.2d 1315 (1982). Schwartz’s and Jannotti’s indictments resulted from the FBI’s so-called “ABSCAM” investigation of political corruption. The central device in this “sting” investigation was the creation of an elaborate scheme in which FBI undercover agents pretended to represent the interests of a fictitious Arab sheik seeking to immigrate to this country and to construct a large hotel in Philadelphia.
Undercover FBI agents, posing as representatives of the sheik, came to Philadelphia in January 1980 to seek out city officials who would promise political favors in exchange for cash. Specifically, the agents sought help from some members of the Philadelphia City Council on such matters as zoning and building permits. The agents had previously met with Howard Criden, a Philadelphia lawyer, and through Criden they met in January with Schwartz, Jannotti, and Louis Johanson, all members of the City Council.1 At these meetings the defendants and Johanson accepted cash payments and made promises of political assistance to the sheik on matters before the city council. All of these meetings took place at the Barclay Hotel in Philadelphia, where the agents had set up audio and video tape equipment to record the conversations surreptitiously. Telephone conversations were also recorded. These audio and video tapes played a crucial role in the prosecutions of Schwartz and Jannotti.
III. JURISDICTION UNDER THE HOBBS ACT
Defendants raise numerous objections to their convictions. They first argue that this court, in its earlier decision in banc, announced the standard for jurisdiction under the Hobbs Act but ignored a secondary contention, that the evidence failed to meet that standard. Defendants therefore renew in this appeal their argument that the evidence was insufficient. We disagree that the issue of the sufficiency of the evidence was not considered in the earlier [218]*218opinion. After a thorough examination of the record, this court held as follows:
In this ease the jury found that the defendants conspired to violate the Hobbs Act by their acceptance of payments in return for their promises to expedite completion of an elaborate hotel project which, had it been constructed, would have entailed at least a $30 million expenditure. Had the project actually been planned as represented, defendants’ actions would have violated the Hobbs Act even if unforeseen difficulties, such as the overthrow of the “sheik”, prevented any further action on the project. The federal interest in protecting interstate commerce is no less under the factual situation presented in this case. The threat posed by defendants’ actions is just as great. Since Congress has exercised the full scope of its commerce power in the Hobbs Act, we conclude that there was Hobbs Act jurisdiction.
673 F.2d at 594. It is clear from this passage that the court in its earlier opinion not only articulated a standard for jurisdiction under the Hobbs Act but also held that jurisdiction existed on the basis of evidence presented by the government.
IV. HEARSAY EVIDENCE
Both defendants argue that the district court improperly admitted various pieces of important hearsay evidence. Unless otherwise noted, defendants entered timely objections to the admission of this evidence at trial.
All of the evidence at issue was admitted under the “coconspirator exception” to the rule against hearsay, Fed.R.Evid. 801(d)(2)(E). Under that exception, the out-of-court statements of the defendants’ coconspirators will not be excluded as hearsay. The rule is a source of considerable confusion, but its requirements, as construed in this circuit, may be summarized as follows. There must be “independent evidence” of the conspiracy, i.e., evidence independent of the proffered hearsay itself. This evidence must establish by a “clear preponderance” that the conspiracy existed and that both the defendants and the declarant were members of the conspiracy. The “preponderance” test “simply requires the prosecution to present sufficient proof leading the trial judge to find ‘that the existence of the contested fact is more probable than its nonexistence.’ ” United States v. Ammar, 714 F.2d 238, 250 (3d Cir.), cert. denied, — U.S.-, 104 S.Ct. 344, 78 L.Ed.2d 311 (1983). Finally, the out-of-court statement must have been made during the course of, and in furtherance of, the conspiracy. Id. at 245. Where the district court has admitted such statements under Rule 801(d)(2)(E), our review is limited to the question whether, viewing the evidence in a light most favorable to the proponent (in this case the government), the district court had “reasonable grounds” to support its ruling. Id. at 249.
A. Proof of the Schwartz-Jannotti Conspiracy
In order to assess the defendants’ objections to the admission of certain out-of-court statements, it is necessary to review first their challenge to the district court’s finding that there was a preponderance of independent evidence establishing a conspiracy to which the defendants belonged. If we conclude that the district court had reasonable grounds for its finding, we must then inquire whether the out-of-court statements challenged by the defendants satisfied the other requirements of Rule 801(d)(2)(E).
We have no doubt whatsoever that the district court had reasonable grounds for finding that a preponderance of the independent evidence established a conspiracy in which Schwartz, Jannotti, and Criden were members. The goal of this conspiracy was illegally to assist the fictitious sheik in matters before the Philadelphia City Council relating to the hotel project, in exchange for cash. In the videotape of a meeting between Schwartz, Criden, and the undercover agents on January 23, 1980, Schwartz told the agents that “we got uh five or six now [new?] members [of the City Council] that came in. Uh, you tell me [219]*219your birth date. I’ll give them to you for your birthday. (Laughter).” (App. 696a) This statement was independently admissible as an admission under Rule 801(d)(2)(A). Schwartz also made statements that evidenced Criden’s complicity in the conspiracy. For example, Schwartz told the agents that “[t]here are certain protocol that should be worked out in advance and that’s where the law firm, Howard [Criden], will become involved. To put it together so that it doesn’t boomerang.” (App. 756a) At the conclusion of the meeting, Schwartz examined and accepted an envelope containing $80,000 in cash.
In the videotape of the meeting between Criden, Jannotti and the agents, also admissible under Rule 801(d)(2)(A), Jannotti stated the following:
JANNOTTI: We’ll go in there [the City Council] and battle, we’ll go in and battle.
AGENT: You’re with us?
JANNOTTI: Certainly, we’ll go in and battle.
(App. 867a) Jannotti also explained to the agents that Schwartz had told him about the proposed scheme:
AGENT: Okay, ah, are you aware of my position and ah, ah.
JANNOTTI: George [Schwartz] has told me.
(App. 848a) At the conclusion of this meeting, the agents gave Jannotti an envelope containing $10,000 in cash.
Because we are convinced that the district court had reasonable grounds for finding that a conspiracy was established by a preponderance of the evidence, we must now consider the defendants’ challenges to the admission of particular out-of-court statements under the coconspirator rule.
B. The Telephone Calls
The defendants first challenge the admission of audio tapes of three phone conversations on January 11 and January 18, 1980, between Howard Criden and an undercover FBI informant. Defendants argue that the conspiracy discussed above had not yet begun at the time of these conversations, and that the tapes therefore should not have been admitted under Rule 801(d)(2)(E). The indictment charged both defendants with belonging to a conspiracy starting January 11, the date of the earliest of the conversations at issue. The government, however, does not challenge in its brief the defendants’ assertion that no conspiracy existed at the time of these conversations. Instead, the government seems to argue that the tapes were admissible because they were merely “background” and nonprejudicial. The government, however, has cited no authority for a “background” exception to the hearsay rule, and we will therefore assume that these tapes should have been excluded from evidence at trial.
We reject defendants’ contention, however, that admission of the evidence constitutes reversible error. Neither Schwartz nor Jannotti is mentioned in the conversations. The January 18 conversations simply concern the arrangements for the meeting between Criden and the undercover agents and do not hint at illegality. We agree that certain remarks during the January 11 conversation suggest a general atmosphere of corruption. Criden refers to a law partner who is a city councilman, suggesting a deal in the making that might involve political favors. This reference, however, is harmless in view of admissible evidence, considered later, that the partner, Johanson, was indeed a member of the defendants’ conspiracy. There are also remarks in the conversation about arrangements being made with Philadelphia-area congressmen who were later indicted and convicted for involvement in ABSCAM. The possibility that the defendants were prejudiced by this indirect association with the congressmen is insignificant in view of other proof of the defendants’ guilt, including the statements of Schwartz and Jannotti quoted above. We therefore conclude that it is “highly probable” that these tapes “did not contribute to the jury’s judgment of conviction.” Government of Virgin Is[220]*220lands v. Toto, 529 F.2d 278, 284 (3d Cir.1976).2
Defendants also challenge the admission of these particular tapes on the ground that the admission violated their rights under the sixth amendment to confront witnesses. This issue is raised for the first time on appeal, no objection having been entered in the district court. We will assume without deciding that questions of alleged constitutional error under the sixth amendment are generally cognizable under the doctrine of “plain error”, Fed.R.Crim.P. 52(b), and that the admission of this hearsay evidence failed to satisfy the requirements of the confrontation clause. We conclude, however, that the admission of these tapes, if erroneous, was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. Brown v. United States, 411 U.S. 223, 93 S.Ct. 1565, 36 L.Ed.2d 208 (1973); Chapman v. California, 386 U.S. 18, 24, 87 S.Ct. 824, 828, 17 L.Ed.2d 705 (1967).
C. The Meetings on January 18, 1980
The defendants next challenge the admissibility of videotapes of meetings between Criden and the FBI undercover agents, and between Criden, the agents, and Louis Johanson, a partner in Criden’s law firm and a member of the Philadelphia City Council. Defendants challenge this evidence on various grounds. The first meeting, they assert, took place before the conspiracy began. As explained above, we are willing to assume that this is true and that the evidence should have been excluded at trial. We believe, however, that this evidence was merely cumulative. At the meeting, the agents explained the fictitious hotel project in greater detail to Criden. The agents told Criden they needed help with the many problems that would arise during such a project, and the discussion turned to Johanson and Schwartz. Criden agreed to help enlist them, and the agents promised him $10,000 in return. In view of the very persuasive and damning evidence noted elsewhere in this opinion, it is highly probable that the supposedly erroneous admission of this evidence did not influence the jury in any substantial way, despite the fact that defendant Schwartz was mentioned by name on the tape as a potential coconspirator.
Defendants challenge the admission of the tape of the second meeting, between the agents, Criden, and Johanson, on the grounds that there was no independent evidence establishing that Johanson had joined the conspiracy between Schwartz, Jannotti, and Criden. In addition, they argue that even if there were such independent evidence, the tape of the January 18 meeting was inadmissible because the meeting occurred before Schwartz and Jannotti joined the conspiracy, and because, by the time they did join, Johanson had withdrawn. The defendants challenge the admission of the tape of the third meeting, after Johanson had left, on the ground that Criden’s remarks to the undercover agents were not in furtherance of any conspiracy, even the one between Criden and Johanson.
We first consider whether Johanson was a member of the Schwartz-Jannotti conspiracy described above. The independent evidence of Johanson’s involvement is not as strong as the evidence against Schwartz, Jannotti, and Criden, but we nonetheless conclude, without hesitation, that the district court had reasonable grounds for holding that the evidence satisfied the preponderance requirement.
There was independent evidence that undercover FBI agents established a scheme to solicit political help from Philadelphia [221]*221City Council members on matters affecting a hotel project (App. 552a), and that Schwartz and Jannotti agreed to sell political favors to these agents. There was also independent evidence that Johanson was a council member serving on the council committee dealing with zoning matters (App. 177a), that Johanson met with these same agents and Criden less than a week before the agents’ meetings with Schwartz and Jannotti, described above, and that Johanson accepted $25,000 in cash from them (App. 471a). Finally, independent evidence established that Criden was paid $5,000 for “producing” Johanson (App. 524a, 572a, 577a), and that Criden was depositing the money he was receiving from the agents in a safe deposit box which was accessible only to Criden, Johanson, and another member of their law firm (App. 596a-97a). We have no doubt that the district court had reasonable grounds for including Johanson in the conspiracy on the basis of this evidence.
The question remains whether Johanson’s particular statements at the meeting on January 18 were admissible. Defendants argue that even if Johanson were a member of the conspiracy, this particular meeting took place before Schwartz and Jannotti joined. Moreover, Johanson had withdrawn from the conspiracy by the time they became members. The fact that the Johanson meeting occurred before Schwartz and Jannotti joined the conspiracy is without legal significance. The Supreme Court has held that “the declarations and acts of the various members, even though made or done prior to the adherence of some to the conspiracy, become admissible against all as declarations or acts of co-conspirators in aid of the conspiracy.” United States v. United States Gypsum Co., 333 U.S. 364, 393, 68 S.Ct. 525, 541, 92 L.Ed. 746 (1948). See also United States v. Lester, 282 F.2d 750, 753 (3d Cir.1960); Lefco v. United States, 74 F.2d 66, 68 (3d Cir.1934).
We find the defendants’ withdrawal argument unsupported by the evidence. The record indicates that Johanson refused to help Criden enlist Schwartz (App. 607a), and it also suggests that Johanson was unaware that Criden was able to contact Schwartz despite this refusal. There is no evidence at all, however, that Johanson had withdrawn from the conspiracy. Indeed, he had accepted $25,000 from the undercover agents only a few days before his decision not to enlist Schwartz, and there is no reason to believe he did not still intend to provide political favors as promised. As this court has explained, “[t]he defendant must present evidence of some affirmative act of withdrawal on his part, typically either a full confession to the authorities or communication to his co-conspirators that he has abandoned the enterprise and its goals.” United States v. Steele, 685 F.2d 793, 803 (3d Cir.), cert. denied, 459 U.S. 908, 103 S.Ct. 213, 74 L.Ed.2d 170 (1982). Once the defendant has made a prima facie showing of withdrawal, the burden shifts to the government either to impeach the defendant’s proof or to show some act by the defendant in furtherance of the conspiracy and subsequent to the alleged withdrawal. Id. The defendants have not made a prima facie showing of withdrawal. The mere possibility that Johanson may not have known that Criden enlisted Schwartz on his own does not require us to conclude that Johanson had withdrawn or had somehow become a member of a different conspiracy, since “[i]t is well-established that one conspirator need not ... be aware of all the details of the conspiracy in order to be found to have agreed to participate in it.” United States v. Riccobene, 709 F.2d 214, 225 (3d Cir.), cert. denied, — U.S.-, 104 S.Ct. 157, 78 L.Ed.2d 145 (1983).
We also reject defendants’ assertion that Criden’s statements to the agents at the meeting immediately after Johanson’s departure were not in furtherance of the conspiracy. At that meeting, Criden met alone with the undercover agents, discussed the enlistment of Schwartz and Jannotti, and received $5,000 for enlisting Johanson. (App. 499a-500a) It is difficult to [222]*222imagine statements more in furtherance of a conspiracy to sell political favors.
D. The Criden Meetings on January 23 and 24, 1980
Finally, the defendants challenge the admission of videotapes of two meetings between Criden and the undercover agents. The first of these meetings occurred on January 23, 1980, immediately after the meeting between Criden, the agents, and Schwartz. The second occurred on January 24, 1980, immediately after the meeting between Criden, the agents, and Jannotti.
The defendants challenge the admission of these videotapes on the ground that the statements at the meetings were not in furtherance of the conspiracy to buy influence among members of the city council. The improper admission of these videotapes, they argue, was prejudicial and constitutes reversible error.
We find that, with the exceptions discussed below, the statements at the two meetings between Criden and the undercover agents were in furtherance of the conspiracy to buy influence. At the first meeting, Criden collected $5,000 for introducing Schwartz to the agents. Criden assured the agents that Schwartz was corrupt and would fulfill his end of the illegal bargain. (App. 760a) The conversation then turned to the proposed meeting with Jannotti. The agents asked Criden whether the meeting had been arranged, and Criden responded that he had had some difficulties (App. 762a-64a) and was not sure Jannotti could or should be included (App. 771a). Eventually Criden agreed to try to arrange the meeting, and there was a discussion of the price required to purchase Jannotti’s assistance. Criden and the agents decided to begin with an offer of $10,000.
At the second meeting, the agents asked Criden whether Jannotti understood the arrangement and could be relied on to perform. Criden responded that Jannotti understood the offer and was reliable. (App. 895a, 897a, 905a)
In each of these two meetings, the agents and Criden discussed the probable success of the scheme and the amounts required to buy the influence of the coconspirators. Although not as central to the conspiracy as the agents’ meetings with Jannotti, Schwartz, and Johanson, these meetings nonetheless clearly and materially advanced the conspiracy toward its goal of using illegally acquired political influence to eliminate obstacles to the construction of the hotel. We therefore hold that these portions of the videotapes were properly admitted under Rule 801(d)(2)(E).
We agree with defendants, however, that certain portions of these videotapes in which the parties discussed certain United States Congressmen were inadmissible because the discussions were not in furtherance of the conspiracies charged. Defendants challenge the admission of tapes of both the January 23 and the January 24 meetings on this ground. The government responds that the defendants at trial withdrew their objection to the January 23 meeting. (App. 195a-96a, 792a-94a, 798a) Although the trial transcript is not very clear, we believe that the withdrawn objection was a relevancy objection entered after the jury had viewed the videotape, not the Rule 801(d)(2)(E) objection entered prior to the viewing. (App. 684a) We will therefore review both the January 23 and the January 24 meetings.
In the meeting on the 23rd, the agents and Criden discussed two Pennsylvania congressmen and referred to deals with them that were apparently different from the hotel project. (App. 766a-67a, 774-77a, 781a-82a) In the meeting on the 24th, the agents and Criden discussed an upcoming meeting with a member of Congress from the Philadelphia area. Later during the meeting, the congressman called and talked to one of the agents. (App. 894a, 906a-07a)
The presence of these discussions on the tapes is not surprising, of course, since ABSCAM was a large and diverse undertaking, with many overlapping instances of [223]*223graft and corruption. The government, however, has not argued before this court that these other schemes were part of the conspiracy with which we are concerned, and apparently the government made no such argument at trial. This court is aware that in some instances it may be very difficult to delete inadmissible portions of a videotape without rendering the evidence unintelligible. Such is not the case here, however. We have no doubt that the objectionable portions of these videotapes could have been deleted without seriously affecting the impact of the tapes as a whole, and we therefore conclude that these portions of the tapes should not have been admitted.
Despite this conclusion, however, we find such error was not prejudicial to the defendants in any significant way. Any blemishes to the defendants’ characters resulting from the admission of this evidence were utterly insignificant in view of the admissible evidence against the defendants.
E. Conclusion
We conclude that, with the exception of the statement made about the congressman, discussed above, and the earlier tapes of Criden’s meetings with the agents, which we assume to be inadmissible but harmless, all of the hearsay evidence offered by the government under Rule 801(d)(2)(E) was properly admitted.
Y. THE ENTRAPMENT CHARGE
Defendants next argue that the district court improperly charged the jury on the issue of entrapment by bifurcating the burden of proof and requiring the defendants to satisfy a threshold burden before they could be entitled to jury consideration of the defense. Our review of this issue is plenary.
The district court’s charge to the jury on the issue of entrapment was a long one, and what follows are only the passages most relevant to the defendants’ argument.
Before an issue of entrapment arises and before you have to consider entrapment the evidence must lead you to believe that the Government induced the defendant to commit the crime charged____ The issue really is: Is this a crime which would have been committed without the Government’s participation or is this something where the idea for committing this particular crime originated with the Government and that it was the Government’s idea that this particular crime be committed? (App. 1351a)
If the government is responsible for inducement — that is, if the idea for committing the crime originated with the Government, if this specific crime would not have been committed but for the Government’s idea and action — then in order to obtain a conviction the Government must go further and must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was predisposed to commit crimes of that type. (App. 1352a)
If there was inducement, then the Government cannot obtain a verdict of guilty unless the evidence as a whole proves beyond a reasonable doubt that the particular defendant was predisposed to commit that type of offense. (App. 1362a)
[Y]ou are, first of all, on the one hand, not here to decide generally whether you like what the Government did or not but, rather, the specific question as to whether what they did amounted to inducement and, if so, whether they have shown predisposition. (App. 1366a)
After the charge had been given, a side-bar conference was held to consider objections. Defendants’ lawyers argued that the court had instructed the jury on a bifurcated burden of proof on the issue of entrapment, which was improper in view of certain prior decisions in this circuit. The court apparently rejected this argument but agreed for other reasons to supplement the charge on entrapment. In this supplemental charge, the court stated the following:
If you find from the evidence that there was inducement, that the crime was induced by the Government agents — that is, if you accept as correct the inferences urged upon you by de[224]*224fense counsel to the effect that Criden was being paid money to bring them in and that they were being offered this hotel project only on condition that they accept and so forth, if there was inducement — if you find those facts to be correct, then that , would amount to inducement and you would therefore acquit the defendants unless the evidence as a whole satisfies you beyond a reasonable doubt that they were predisposed.
In short, the burden is upon the Government in a case of this kind to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that there was no entrapment. If the defendants were induced to commit the crime, then they were entrapped and should be acquitted unless the Government satisfies you beyond a reasonable doubt that they were predisposed to commit the crime. (App. 1378a-79a)
To analyze the defendants’ objection to this charge, we turn to an earlier decision of this court, United States v. Watson, 489 F.2d 504 (3d Cir.1973), where we considered how to charge a jury on entrapment. To be entitled to such a charge, the defendant must first show “(1) evidence that the Government initiated the crime, regardless of the amount of pressure applied to the defendant, and (2) any evidence negating the defendant’s propensity to commit the crime.” Id. at 509. The question of whether the defendant is entitled to the entrapment charge is for the court. Id. at 511. See also United States v. Wolffs, 594 F.2d 77, 81 (5th Cir.1979). If the court decides to give the charge, it must follow the “unitary” approach, in which the burden to disprove the entrapment defense as a whole, beyond a reasonable doubt, is placed exclusively on the government. Failure to place this burden exclusively on the government will not be cured by the presence of a general charge that the government has the burden of proving the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Watson, 489 F.2d at 51 n. 10; Government of Virgin Islands v. Cruz, 478 F.2d 712, 717 (3d Cir.1973) (dictum).
The focus of the entrapment defense is on the defendant’s predisposition, as required by the Supreme Court in United States v. Russell, 411 U.S. 423, 93 S.Ct. 1637, 36 L.Ed.2d 366 (1973). Inducement, however, is not irrelevant. As this court explained in Watson,
the stronger the inducement, the more likely that any resulting criminal conduct of the defendant was due to the inducement rather than to the defendant’s own predisposition. Under the unitary approach we require, inducement therefore enters as an element of predisposition which the Government must disprove, rather than as an independent element which the defendant must prove.
489 F.2d at 511.
This approach is to be distinguished from the “bifurcated” approach, in which the burden of proof is divided between the defendant and the government. Under the bifurcated approach, the jury must first consider whether the defendant has met his burden on the issue of inducement. If so, then the jury must consider whether the government has proved predisposition. See United States v. Sherman, 200 F.2d 880, 882-83 (2d Cir.1952). This court rejected the bifurcated approach in Watson, 489 F.2d at 510, 511.
Our preference for the unitary approach is grounded in several concerns. First, the Supreme Court has clearly held that entrapment is, at bottom, a question of the defendant’s predisposition and not the government’s inducement, although the latter is a relevant consideration. Russell, supra, 411 U.S. at 433-36, 93 S.Ct. at 1643-45. To divide the burden of proof between the defendant and prosecution on the issues of inducement and predisposition encourages the jury to ignore the Supreme Court’s holding. Second, the unitary approach avoids the possibility of jury confusion inherent in a shifting burden of proof. Finally, the unitary approach is more consistent with the government’s ultimate burden of proving the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Under our approach, the defendant need not offer evi[225]*225dence sufficient to support a finding of inducement, as the bifurcated approach would seem to require. Instead, the defendant need only raise a reasonable doubt about predisposition. Notaro v. United States, 363 F.2d 169, 176 (9th Cir.1966).
Turning to the district court’s charge in the present ease, we note that the court clearly stated that “the burden is upon the Government in a case of this kind to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that there was no entrapment.” (App. 1379a) Repeatedly, however, the court indicated that the defendants had a threshold burden of showing inducement. Not only did this incorrectly divide the burden between the defendants and the government, but it also required an independent consideration of the issue of inducement, apart from the central issue of predisposition. We must therefore conclude that the district court’s instruction on entrapment was erroneous.
We are not confronted here with an error affecting the defendants’ constitutional rights. The entrapment defense “is not of a constitutional dimension,” United States v. Russell, 411 U.S. 423, 433, 93 S.Ct. 1637, 1643, 36 L.Ed.2d 366 (1973), and the erroneous instruction affected no other possible constitutional right. We are therefore not required in this appeal to find beyond a reasonable doubt that the error was harmless, Chapman v. California, 386 U.S. 18, 87 S.Ct. 824, 17 L.Ed.2d 705 (1967). Instead, we must use the “highly probable” standard of appellate review discussed above. Government of Virgin Islands v. Toto, 529 F.2d 278, 284 (3d Cir.1976). Applying this standard to the circumstances of this case, we hold that the erroneous instruction is not reversible. Fed.R.Crim.P. 52(a). As noted above, the district court charged the jury that it was obligated to acquit the defendants if the government failed to disprove entrapment beyond a reasonable doubt. This part of the charge was correct. The charge was erroneous insofar as the district court improperly required the defendants to show some evidence of inducement, either by introducing their own proof or by reference to the government’s evidence. This evidence, however, was patent: the government had created an elaborate fiction to convince the defendants that an Arab sheik was prepared to pay bribes to local officials in exchange for favors.
The district court correctly placed on the government the burden of proving predisposition beyond a reasonable doubt. We find that the government’s evidence established overwhelmingly that the defendants enthusiastically accepted bribes. There simply is no credible evidence that the defendants were reluctant to take the money. To the contrary, the evidence shows the defendants, each of them an elected public official, boasting of their power and their corruption. In view of this overwhelming proof, we conclude without hesitation that the defendants were not prejudiced by the district court’s error.
Defendants also argue that the district court’s instruction on entrapment was so confusing as to warrant reversal. We agree that the charge was interspersed with digressions on legal and factual issues unrelated to the question of entrapment. We conclude, however, that the district court’s instruction was not prejudicially confusing.
VI. ENTRAPMENT AND AGENCY
Related to the defendants’ challenge to the entrapment instructions is the argument that they were entitled, as a matter of law, to an instruction that Criden should be considered a government agent in determining whether there was entrapment. This argument, even if meritorious, is unavailing, since there is no evidence that Criden attempted to induce the defendants beyond informing them of the availability of the sheik’s offer. The defendants did not call Criden as a witness, nor did they seek to establish in any other way that Criden was instrumental in persuading the defendants to accept the bribes. We will not guess about such matters. Moreover, we note that the district court instructed the jury on the defendants’ claim [226]*226that Criden was an agent, and we can only assume that the jury gave the theory whatever weight it was due. We will give it no more.
VIL THE RICO CHARGE
Finally, defendant Schwartz attacks his conviction under the RICO Act. Schwartz was convicted under RICO section 1962(d), 18 U.S.C. § 1962(d), for conspiring to violate section 1962(c). Section 1962(c) states that no person “associated with” an enterprise affecting interstate commerce may “conduct or participate, directly or indirectly, in the conduct of such enterprise’s affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity ____” The “enterprise” in the present case was the law firm of Criden, Johanson, Dolan, Morissey & Cook, in which both Criden and Johanson were partners. Schwartz raises two issues: first, that his conviction was not supported by evidence of a conspiracy to conduct an enterprise through a pattern of racketeering, and second, assuming such a conspiracy did exist, that there was insufficient evidence of Schwartz’s membership in it. We will consider these two contentions together. We examine the evidence in a light most favorable to the government to determine whether a jury could have resolved these issues against Schwartz beyond a reasonable doubt.
We begin by noting the obvious. There is no question that a conspiracy existed to sell political favors to a fictitious Arab sheik, and that Schwartz was a member of that conspiracy. The evidence discussed above amply supports these conclusions. The question now under consideration is whether there was a RICO conspiracy, and whether Schwartz knowingly joined that RICO conspiracy.
The Fifth Circuit has stated, and we agree, that “[t]he mere fact that a defendant works for a legitimate enterprise and commits racketeering acts while on the business premises does not establish that the affairs of the enterprise have been conducted ‘through’ a pattern of racketeering activity.” United States v. Cauble, 706 F.2d 1322, 1332 (5th Cir.1983). Instead, the government must show that a person “is enabled to commit the predicate offenses solely by virtue of his position in the enterprise or involvement in or control over the affairs of the enterprise; or ... the predicate offenses are related to the activities of that enterprise.’ ” United States v. Provenzano, 688 F.2d 194, 200 (3d Cir.), cert. denied, 459 U.S. 1071, 103 S.Ct. 492, 74 L.Ed.2d 634 (1982) (quoting United States v. Scotto, 641 F.2d 47, 54 (2d Cir.1980), cert. denied, 452 U.S. 961, 101 S.Ct. 3109, 69 L.Ed.2d 971 (1981)). In order to establish a conspiracy to violate section 1962(c), “the government must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that ... the individuals knowingly agreed to participate in the ‘enterprise’ through a pattern of racketeering.” United States v. Riccobene, 709 F.2d 214, 220-21 (3d Cir.), cert. denied, — U.S.-, 104 S.Ct. 157, 78 L.Ed.2d 145 (1983).
With these principles in mind, we turn to the record. Evidence presented to the jury would have allowed it to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt (1) that the AB-SCAM “front” involved a fictitious Arab sheik who wished to contact a politically influential Philadelphia law firm as part of an effort to build the hotel; (2) that Schwartz knew this; and (3) that Schwartz agreed not only to perform political favors but also to set up contacts with the Philadelphia firm of Blank, Rome, Comisky & McCauley.3 The jury could also reasonably have concluded that Criden regarded the [227]*227illegal deal he had struck with the sheik as a business matter for his own firm of Criden, Johanson, Dolan, Morissey & Cook, and that Criden regarded the sheik and the undercover agents as the firm’s “clients”.4 Finally, the evidence would have allowed the jury reasonably to conclude that although the Blank, Rome firm was expected to get most of the sheik’s business, Criden expected his firm to continue to benefit, and that Schwartz knew this.5
In view of this evidence, we conclude that a jury could have decided, beyond a reasonable doubt, that legal work was an important part of the proposed transaction, that Criden’s firm was expecting to do some of this legal work, and that Schwartz knew this. The jury could therefore have concluded beyond a reasonable doubt that Criden and Schwartz knowingly agreed to conduct or participate, directly or indirectly, in the conduct of the law firm’s affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity, as proscribed by the RICO Act.
VIII. CONCLUSION
For the above stated reasons, the sentences of defendant Schwartz under the Hobbs Act and the RICO Act, and the conviction of defendant Jannotti under the Hobbs Act, will be affirmed.6