United States v. Salerno

964 F.2d 172
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Second Circuit
DecidedMay 19, 1992
DocketNos. 195, 246, Dockets 91-1277, 91-1315
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 964 F.2d 172 (United States v. Salerno) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Second 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. Salerno, 964 F.2d 172 (2d Cir. 1992).

Opinion

MAHONEY, Circuit Judge:

Defendants-appellants Carmine Pérsico and Gennaro Langella appeal from an order of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Richard Owen, Judge, entered April 16, 1991 that denied their motion pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2255 (1988) to vacate their convictions affirmed in United States v. Salerno, 868 F.2d 524 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 491 U.S. 907, 109 S.Ct. 3192, 105 L.Ed.2d 700, 493 U.S. 811, 110 S.Ct. 56, 107 L.Ed.2d 24, 25 (1989) (the “Commission case”). Pérsico and Langella seek to vacate these convictions as violative of the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment because of their earlier convictions affirmed in United States v. Persico, 832 F.2d 705 (2d Cir. 1987), cert. denied, 486 U.S. 1022, 108 S.Ct. 1995, 100 L.Ed.2d 227 (1988) (the “Persico case”).

Pérsico and Langella were initially convicted of substantive and conspiracy violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”), 18 U.S.C. § 1962(c) and (d) (1988), and related crimes in the Pérsico case. See Persico, 832 F.2d at 707-09. They then moved to dismiss the pending indictment in the Commission case, which also accused them of substantive and conspiracy RICO violations and related crimes, see Salerno, 868 F.2d at 527-28, on double jeopardy grounds. Their motion was denied, and we affirmed that denial in United States v. Langella, 804 F.2d 185 (2d Cir.1986), cert. denied, 488 U.S. 982, 109 S.Ct. 532, 102 L.Ed.2d 564 (1988). Pérsico and Langella were subsequently convicted in the Commission case, and reiterated their double jeopardy claim on direct appeal from that conviction. Following Langella, we rejected that challenge. See Salerno, 868 F.2d at 538.

On this appeal, Pérsico and Langella assert that the Supreme Court’s subsequent decision in Grady v. Corbin, 495 U.S. 508, 110 S.Ct. 2084, 109 L.Ed.2d 548 (1990), mandates that their convictions in the Commission case be vacated as violative of the Double Jeopardy Clause. We conclude, however, that: (1) Grady establishes a “new rule” which cannot be applied to Pérsico and Langella retroactively in a collateral challenge to their convictions in the Commission case; and in any event, (2) the application of the Grady rule would not call for reversal of their convictions in the Commission case. We accordingly affirm the district court’s denial of their application for § 2255 relief.

Background

The factual background for the convictions giving rise to this appeal has been recounted in numerous prior opinions, see, e.g., Salerno, 868 F.2d at 527-29; Persico, 832 F.2d at 707-09; Langella, 804 F.2d at 186-88, familiarity with which is assumed. We summarize that background here only [174]*174to the extent necessary to frame the issues presented by this appeal.

A. The Two Indictments.

The Pérsico indictment charged Pérsico, Langella, and twelve other defendants with participating and conspiring to participate in the affairs of an enterprise “often known as the Colombo Organized Crime Family of La Cosa Nostra” through a pattern of racketeering activity in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1962(c) and (d) (1988). The alleged pattern, insofar as it involved participation by Pérsico and Langella, consisted of a Hobbs Act conspiracy to extort money from certain New York City construction companies engaged in the concrete-pouring business, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951 (1988) (Pérsico and Langella); extortion of ten named construction companies in violation of § 1951 (Langella); receipt of illegal payoffs from the same ten construction companies in violation of 29 U.S.C. § 186(b)(1) (1988) (Langella); embezzlement of union funds in violation of 29 U.S.C. § 501(c) (1988) (Langella); various acts of bribery of public officials in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 201(b)(1) & (3) and (c)(1)(A) (1988) (Pérsico and Langella); loansharking and loansharking conspiracy in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 891-892 and 894 (1988) (Langella); and conduct of an illegal gambling business in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1955 (1988) and N.Y.Penal Law §§ 225.00 to .20 (McKinney 1989) (Langella). These counts also charged Langella with participation and conspiracy to participate in the affairs of the named enterprise through collection of unlawful debt in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1962(c) and (d) (1988).

In addition, the Pérsico indictment alleged parallel counts of conspiracy to extort and bribery of a public official against both Pérsico and Langella, and of extortion, receipt of illegal payoffs, loansharking and loansharking conspiracy, and conduct of an illegal gambling business against Langella.

The Commission indictment charged Pérsico, Langella, and seven other defendants with conspiring to participate and participating in the affairs of an enterprise “often described as the ‘Commission’ of La Cosa Nostra” through a pattern of racketeering activity, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1962(c) and (d) (1988). Pérsico, Langella, and Ralph Scopo were the only defendants named in both indictments.1 The indictment alleged that the Commission was a council of leaders of various organized crime families, distinct from these families, established to resolve interfamily disputes and “regulat[e] among the several La Cosa Nostra Families regarding the operation, conduct, and control of illegal activities,” and to carry out “joint ventures” between families.

The Commission indictment primarily charged crimes relating to an extortionate conspiracy that “controlled the allocation of contracts to pour concrete on construction jobs where concrete costs exceeded two million dollars.” The contracts were allocated to a group of construction companies engaged in that activity and known as the “Club.” The alleged pattern of racketeering activity, insofar as it involved participation by Pérsico and Langella, consisted of a Hobbs Act conspiracy to extort money from “Club” members in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951 (1988), and fifteen separate extortions and attempted extortions in violation of § 1951.

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964 F.2d 172, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-salerno-ca2-1992.