United States v. Mack

78 F. App'x 171
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Third Circuit
DecidedSeptember 19, 2003
DocketNos. 02-2203, 02-2221, 02-2222, 02-2223, 02-2224
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 78 F. App'x 171 (United States v. Mack) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Mack, 78 F. App'x 171 (3d Cir. 2003).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

SLOVITER, Circuit Judge.

Before us are the consolidated appeals of five appellants who were convicted after a three month trial of conspiracy to distribute cocaine and crack cocaine. Rodney Mack, Ronald Mack and Jesse Opher were sentenced to life imprisonment, Hassan Hawkins to 360 months imprisonment and Maurice Riley to 210 months imprisonment. They raise a great many issues in their respective appeals, some of which are discussed by more than one appellant. Other appellants make a general joinder in issues raised by others. After review of the briefs and consideration of the oral arguments made on behalf of the four counseled appellants,1 we will affirm all of the judgments of conviction and sentence. Because the facts and issues are well known to the parties and we see no issue that is novel, we need not write a precedential opinion or provide a detailed recitation of the facts and all of the legal claims.

This court exercises jurisdiction over appeals of convictions pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291. This Court exercises jurisdiction over appeals of sentences pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3742(a).

I.

FACTS IN BRIEF

The Government charged that the conspiracy, which it has labeled as the “Mack Organization,” included, in addition to the five appellants, other individuals who served auxiliary, but critical, roles as couriers, drivers, and street sellers. They included Yusef Allen, Ben McNeil, George Hardison, Selina Harris, Lateef Taylor, Salaam O’Neal, Sebastian Perry, Eric Mack, and Gary Smith.

All of the above (with the exception of Yusef Allen) were also charged in federal court with various drug crimes, pled guilty, have been sentenced and have not appealed. Many testified at the trial. Yusef Allen was prosecuted and convicted in state court for murder, and the federal charges were not pressed. Following [175]*175presentation of testimony by cooperating witnesses and undercover officers, as well as the introduction of evidence consisting of audio and videotapes, telephone records, credit card bills, wire transfer receipts, and confiscated drugs, firearms, and related paraphernalia, the jury found that the members of the Mack Organization were responsible for agreeing to, and in fact distributing, in excess of five kilograms of cocaine and 50 grams of crack cocaine (cocaine base) from 1994 to 1999.

The Mack Organization was headquartered in Plainfield, New Jersey. Rodney Mack was the leader of the Plainfield operation. According to the Government, the organization also maintained operations in North Carolina under the direction of Ronald Mack. We will discuss the principal issues raised and reference the others.

II.

CONTENTIONS OF THE APPELLANTS

A. The Scope of the Conspiracy

One or more of the appellants argues that the Government mischaracterized the operations as a drug distribution business operating under a single umbrella whereas, in fact, the evidence showed a series of unconnected drug sales and multiple conspiracies that were at variance with the Government’s allegation of a single conspiracy. This is essentially a factual issue which the jury decided adversely to the defendants.

The elements of conspiracy are: “(1) a shared ‘unity of purpose,’ (2) an intent to achieve a common goal, and (3) an agreement to work together toward the goal.” United States v. Perez, 280 F.3d 318, 342 (3d Cir.2002) (internal citation omitted). The Government may meet its burden with circumstantial evidence, so long as a reasonable jury could find that each element was proved beyond a reasonable doubt. Id. This Court does not require the Government to prove that each alleged co-conspirator knew all of the conspiracy’s details, goals or other participants. Id. at 343.

To the extent that defendants contend there was insufficient evidence of a single conspiracy, we accord the jury’s verdict high deference. We must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict. After reviewing the substantial record we conclude that the Government met its evidentiary burden to sustain the guilty verdict and hold that there was sufficient evidence from which the jury could have rejected the claim of those defendants, in particular Ronald Mack and Maurice Riley, that there was insufficient evidence to support the ultimate finding by the jury of their involvement in the Mack Organization.

Those appellants also argue that while the indictment charged a single conspiracy, the evidence at trial actually showed multiple conspiracies (from the satellite operations in North Carolina and Texas), and therefore a variance existed and precluded their guilt in the single conspiracy. It is their burden to demonstrate not only that a variance between the charge and the proofs existed, but also that they were affirmatively prejudiced by the variance. United States v. Quintero, 38 F.3d 1317, 1337 (3d Cir.1994). They have not met their burden, and therefore we reject this claim.

B. Admission of Evidence of Lannie Silver’s Murder

All or most of the appellants vigorously challenge the District Court’s ruling admitting the evidence that a member of the conspiracy, Yusef Allen, murdered Lannie Silver in the course of an incom[176]*176pleted drug transaction. Rodney Mack’s statement of the claim is typical of the position of the other appellants. He contends: “The District Court erred by allowing proof of an impulsive murder that was not charged in the indictment, not shown to have furthered the conspiracy, or alleged to have been committed with the prior knowledge or participation of any of the five defendants on trial.” Br. of Rodney Mack at 5.

There was evidence from which the jury could have found that the murder victim, Silver, a light-skinned black man, was new to the area, had tried to buy drugs in a manner that violated the rules under which the conspiracy operated, in that sales were made only to black buyers (because of concern that white buyers were police agents), and asked a prohibited general question, such as “what you got” whereas the rules required buyers to place a specific order in terms of drug and quantity. In arguing at trial for preclusion of evidence of the homicide, defendants contended that Allen’s act was impulsive and that he was acting on his own volition rather than as directed by the conspiracy. They argued that the evidence of the murder was of minimal probative value at best and prejudicial and was used to show they were nothing more than a murderous gang.

The District Court rejected the claim that the evidence of Lannie Silver’s murder was irrelevant, holding that it did go to proving the nature of the conspiracy. It ruled as follows:

The evidence, as it’s been described to me, does go to proving the nature of the conspiracy; one of violence and dangerousness. The membership in the conspiracy involving McNeil and later Ronald Mack, as I understand Selina Harris testimony.

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Related

Howard v. Horn
56 F. Supp. 3d 709 (E.D. Pennsylvania, 2014)
United States v. Mensah
737 F.3d 789 (First Circuit, 2013)
Riley v. United States
543 U.S. 848 (Supreme Court, 2004)
Mack v. United States
541 U.S. 956 (Supreme Court, 2004)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
78 F. App'x 171, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-mack-ca3-2003.