United States v. Sklaroff

360 F. Supp. 353, 1973 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13127
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Georgia
DecidedJune 18, 1973
DocketCrim. No. 26335
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 360 F. Supp. 353 (United States v. Sklaroff) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Georgia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Sklaroff, 360 F. Supp. 353, 1973 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13127 (N.D. Ga. 1973).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

EDENFIELD, District Judge.

OPINION

Defendants in the above-styled case were convicted by a jury on September 17, 1971, of violating federal gambling laws and were sentenced by this court on October 21, 1971, to terms of imprisonment. Practically all the evidence used by the Government to convict defendants came from court-approved wiretaps. Defendants appealed their convictions to the Fifth .Circuit and on January 30, 1973, the Fifth Circuit remanded the case to this court for further consideration in light of its en banc opinion in United States v. Robinson, 472 F.2d 973 (5th Cir. 1973). As in United States v. Stanley, 360 F.Supp. 1112 (N.D.Ga.1973) decided by this court, the issue in this case is whether the misidentification in an application for a wiretap order and in the order itself of the person who authorized the application requires suppression of the fruits of the wiretap. For the reasons given in the Stanley ease the court concludes that suppression is required.

This case was the first one in the country in which a challenge was made to the procedures followed by the Department of Justice in applying for a wiretap order under Title III of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, 18 U.S.C. § 2510 et seq. (1970) [“Title III”]. Since this case is inextricably bound with a Florida case involving the Sklaroff defendants, the court believes that a complete narrative of both cases and a description of how the challenge arose and in what manner it was disposed of by this court are in order.

Sometime in the Spring of 1969 William G. Earle, an attorney in the Criminal Division of the United States Department of Justice, Miami, Florida, requested authorization from the Department to apply to a federal judge for a wiretap order to intercept communications among the defendants and others. Thereafter, John N. Mitchell, then the Attorney General of the United States, initialed a memorandum dated June 16, 1969, and directed to Will Wilson, then the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Criminal Division, which is entitled “Interception Order Authorization” and which states in part:

“This is with regard to your recommendation that authorization be given to William G. Earle of the Criminal [355]*355Division to make application for an interception order under 18 United States Code 2518 ... in connection with the investigation into possible violations of 18 United States Code 1084 by Martin Sklaroff and Jesse Sklaroff and others.
“Pursuant to the powers conferred on me by Section 2516 of Title 18, United States Code, you are hereby specially designated to authorize William G. Earle to make the above described application.” (Emphasis added).

Under 18 U.S.C. § 2516 “the Attorney General, or any Assistant Attorney General specially designated by the Attorney General, may authorize an application to a Federal judge” (emphasis added) for a wiretap order.

A letter dated June 16, 1969, bearing the signature “Will Wilson,” was sent to Earle, which states in part:

“This is with regard to your request for authorization to make application . for an order of the court authorizing the Federal Bureau of Investigation to intercept wire communications ....
“I have reviewed your request and the facts and circumstances detailed in the affidavit of Special Agent Edwin J. Sharp and have determined that probable cause exists to believe that Martin Sklaroff, Jesse Sklaroff, and others are engaged in the commission of an offense enumerated in Section 2516 of Title 18, United States Code . . . . I have further determined that there exists probable cause to believe that the above persons will make use of the described facilities in connection with that offense, that wire communications concerning the offenses will be intercepted, and that normal investigative procedures are unlikely to succeed or are too dangerous to be used.
“Accordingly, you are hereby authorized under the power specially delegated to me in relation to the above described offenses by the Attorney General pursuant to the power conferred on the Attorney General by Section 2516, Title 18, United States Code, to make application to a judge of competent jurisdiction for an order pursuant to Section 2518 of Title 18, United States Code, authorizing the Federal Bureau of Investigation to intercept wire communications from the facilities described above.” (Emphasis added).

Relying on this letter, Earle applied to Judge William 0. Mehrtens of the Southern District of Florida for a wiretap order. Under 18 U.S.C. § 2518(1) (a) every application for a wiretap order must include “the identity of . the officer authorizing the application.” Earle’s application states in part:

“The Attorney General of the United States has specially designated in this proceeding, the Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division to exercise the powers conferred upon him by § 2516 of Title 18, and the Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division has, in turn, authorized the affiant [Earle] to make this application for an order authorizing the interception of wire communications. The letter of authorization signed by the Assistant Attorney General is attached to this application as Exhibit A.” (Emphasis added).

The only documents attached to the application submitted to Judge Mehrtens were Exhibit A- — the letter bearing the signature “Will Wilson” — and Exhibit B —the affidavit of the special agent who investigated defendants’ activities. The Mitchell memorandum was not attached to the application or referred to in it.

On June 17, 1969, Judge Mehrtens issued an order authorizing the wiretaps in question. Under 18 U.S.C. § 2518(4) (d) every wiretap order must specify “the identity of the person authorizing the application.” Judge Mehrtens’ order states that it is “based on the facts disclosed by said [Earle’s] application and on the affida[356]*356vit and supporting documents,” and it directs, in part, that:

“The Federal Bureau of Investigation of the United States Department of Justice is authorized pursuant to application authorized by the Assistant Attorney General for the Criminal Division of the Department of Justice, who has been specially designated in this proceeding by the Attorney General of the United States to exercise the powers conferred upon him by Section 2516, Title 18, United States Code, to:
“A. Intercept the wire communications of . . . .” (Emphasis added).

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Price v. Goldman
525 P.2d 598 (Nevada Supreme Court, 1974)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
360 F. Supp. 353, 1973 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 13127, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-sklaroff-gand-1973.