United States v. Lucido

373 F. Supp. 1142, 1974 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9385
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Michigan
DecidedMarch 22, 1974
DocketCrim. 49234
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 373 F. Supp. 1142 (United States v. Lucido) 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. Lucido, 373 F. Supp. 1142, 1974 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9385 (E.D. Mich. 1974).

Opinion

OPINION

FREEMAN, District Judge.

The nine defendants in this case were charged in a two-count indictment filed June 14, 1973 with violating 18 U.S.C. § 1955 and conspiracy to violate that section, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371. 18 U.S.C. § 1955 provides that “(w)hoever conducts, finances, manages, supervises, directs, or owns all or part of an illegal gambling business shall be fined not more than $20,000 or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.” The three motions now before the court seek to suppress a wiretap order dated May 8, 1972 and an extension order of June 5, 1972 and the evidence obtained thereby. Various grounds in support of these motions have been advanced. Defendants North and Jablonski have joined in the motions of the other defendants, as well as having filed their own motions.

I

The motions of defendants Bakatselos, Tsakiris, McNeil, Pavleas (deceased) and Lucido contend that the five-day progress reports required by the wiretap orders were not filed. Attached to the Government’s • response are copies of these progress reports and an affidavit stating that since the presentment of the originals of these reports to Judge Damon Keith, they have been kept under the custody and control of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Detroit Strike Force. The court is satisfied that the reports were filed as required and that there is no merit to the contentions concerning these reports.

II

The same defendants also contend that their motions should be granted because *1144 the Government failed to serve them with an inventory of the wiretaps and pen registers within the requisite time limit as provided for in 18 U.S.C. § 2518 (8) (d). This section provides in pertinent part as follows:

Within a reasonable time but not later than ninety days after the * * * termination of the period of an order or extensions thereof, the issuing * * * judge shall cause to be served, on the persons named in the order or the application, and such other parties to intercepted communications as the judge may determine in his discretion that is in the interest of justice, an inventory * * * On an ex parte showing of good cause to a judge of competent jurisdiction the serving of the inventory required by this subsection may be postponed.

By order dated June 5, 1972, the original wiretap order of May 8, 1972 was extended to June 15, 1972. Under the terms of § 2518(8) (d), the inventory would have had to be served no later than September 13, 1972, unless postponed by a judge. On September 15, 1972, the Government obtained a sixty-day postponement from Judge Keith and according to the affidavit of Geoffrey Anderson (Exhibit AA), Judge Keith was informed that the inventory was overdue due to an oversight. By the terms of the order of postponement, the inventory was to be served on November 15, 1972. According to Exhibit AA, on December 11, 1972, the Government became aware that due to oversight and inadvertence, the inventory had not been served. On that day, the Government applied for and received an order to serve the inventory from Judge Keith. The inventories were finally served on December 12, 1972.

In United States v. LaGorga, 336 F. Supp. 190 (W.D.Pa.1971) the court was faced with a similar contention. The pertinent facts of that case are as follows:

On August 24, 1970 Judge Gourley allowed an extension of 90 days within which to file the inventory with respect to the interceptions under the Order of May 19, 1970. On November 24, 1970 another period of 90 days was granted because the investigation was continuing and disclosure of the wiretaps would have been damaging. On December 23, 1970 an Order was entered requiring that a copy of the inventory be served upon certain named individuals and the record shows that this was accomplished by certified mail on December 24, 1970, and within the time allowed.
With respect to the interception of March 8, 1970 (which order authorized the wiretap for a maximum of 15 days), a 90 day extension was granted on June 18, 1970; a second one on September 15, 1970; and an Order of December 23, 1970 required that the inventory be served. This was done by registered mail on December 24, 1970, some nine days after the date required by the extension of September 15, 1970.

With regard to the Order of May 19, 1970, simple arithmetic demonstrates that the second postponement was received two days after the inventory should have been served pursuant to the August 24th 90-day extension. As the court noted with regard to the Order of March 8, 1970, the inventory was served nine days late. Thus, the LaGorga, case concerned both of the types of tardiness presented in the case at bar: (1) Receiving a postponement after the date the inventories were required to be served; and (2) serving the inventories after the last due date.

The LaGorga court denied the defendants’ motion to suppress and made the following remarks:

It is apparent that there was some confusion regarding the due date of the various inventories. There is no suggestion that an Order requesting a further delay to December 23, 1970 with respect to the March 8 interception would have been denied. No prejudice has been shown by any of *1145 the parties to the delay of a few days in issuing the notice to those concerned. This is not a situation as in United States v. Eastman, 326 F.Supp. 1038 (M.D.Pa.1971) where a suppression order was entered because there was a complete and deliberate failure to file any inventory.
The purpose of the notice is obviously to prevent Government abuse and continuing secrecy on the use of wiretaps. In this ease, the Court approved the extensions requested upon valid grounds and in due course the inventories were served. The purpose of the requirement, therefore, has been met and to suppress the evidence on the basis of a clerical oversight having no prejudicial effect would be to unnecessarily undermine and subvert the legislation.

The LaGorga ease is quite similar to the case at bar and this court believes that here, as in LaGorga, suppression is not called for. See also, United States v. Wolk, 466 F.2d 1143 (8th Cir. 1972); United States v. Smith, 463 F.2d 710 (10th Cir. 1972); United States v. Cafero, 473 F.2d 489 (3rd Cir. 1973); and United States v. Iannelli, 477 F.2d 999 (3rd Cir. 1973).

III

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373 F. Supp. 1142, 1974 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9385, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-lucido-mied-1974.