United States v. Steinmetz

643 F. Supp. 537, 1986 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20408
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedSeptember 15, 1986
DocketCrim. Nos. 86-00079-01 to 86-00079-03
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 643 F. Supp. 537 (United States v. Steinmetz) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Steinmetz, 643 F. Supp. 537, 1986 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20408 (M.D. Pa. 1986).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM

CALDWELL, District Judge.

Introduction

Presently pending are the pre-trial motions of defendants, Dennis E. Steinmetz, Roger B. Nestor and Francis J. Monaghan for (1) a bill of particulars, (2) a severance pursuant to Fed.R.Crim.P. 14, (3) a pretrial evidentiary hearing or the imposition of an order of proof, (4) a pretrial hearing to determine the admissibility of tape recordings and the accuracy of transcripts, and (5) to dismiss the superseding indictment. The government has responded to the motions and they are now ripe for disposition. For the reasons set forth below we will deny all motions.

Background

On June 3, 1986 a superseding indictment 1 was issued charging defendants with a conspiracy to defraud the United States by obstructing the collection of income taxes in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371.2 The indictment alleges that Steinmetz Coins and Currency, Inc. concealed significant amounts of certain client’s income from the Internal Revenue Service for the purpose of avoiding the collection of income taxes. Under the scheme, one-half of the currency to be laundered would be transported to Switzerland for deposit in bank accounts set up by defendants for their clients. The remaining half would be used to purchase rare coins on the client’s behalf which would be stored in a vault maintained by Steinmetz Coins and Currency, Inc. The coins would then be repurchased from the clients by defendants’ partners in Switzerland and the proceeds added to the clients’ Swiss bank accounts. Discussion

A. Motion for a Bill of Particulars

The motion consists of six specific requests for information which the government allegedly has not provided in the indictment or by discovery. Defendants assert generally that the information is necessary to prepare a proper defense and avoid surprise at the trial. The government refuses to supply the requested information and avers that the complaint sufficiently informs defendants of the charges against them.

“The purpose of the bill of particulars is to inform the defendant of the nature of the charges brought against him to adequately prepare his defense, to avoid surprise during the trial and to protect him against a second prosecution for an inadequately described offense.” United States v. Addonizio, 451 F.2d 49, 63-4 (3d Cir.1972) (quoting United States v. Tucker, 262 F.Supp. 305, 308 (S.D.N.Y.1966)). A bill of particulars should be granted only when the indictment is so inadequate that it does not fulfill these purposes. United States v. Bloom, 78 F.R.D. 591 (E.D.Pa.1977); Addonizio, supra. Defendants, however, are not entitled to obtain disclosure of every detail of the government’s case or a wholesale discovery of the government’s file. United States v. Fischbach and Moore, Inc., 576 F.Supp. 1384 (W.D.Pa.1983); United States v. Joseph, 510 F.Supp. 1001 (E.D.Pa.1981).

We have carefully reviewed the indictment and have found no reason to grant defendants’ motion. Contrary to defendants’ contention, the indictment contains a detailed account of a scheme to [540]*540defraud the United States. It describes the means by which the conspiracy was carried out, identifies the participants in the scheme and sets forth the overt acts committed in furtherance of the conspiracy. Furthermore, the government has provided defendants with tapes and transcripts of electronically recorded conversations between the defendants which constitute the government’s evidence-in-chief. Finally, the government has provided defendants with early access to the Jenks material. Thus, defendants have not only been informed of the nature of the charges against them, but have also been furnished with the detail of the government’s proof. Under these circumstances, defendants have been provided with sufficient information to prepare a defense and avoid unfair surprise at trial and their motion for a bill of particulars will be denied.

B. Motion for a Severance

Defendants have moved for a severance pursuant to Fed.R.Crim.P. 14. Defendants maintain that a severance is necessary because (1) the evidence is disproportionate as to each defendant and the jury will not be able to weigh the evidence as it pertains to each defendant, (2) the government intends to introduce into evidence certain out-of-court statements made by defendants, (3) each defendant will be deprived of the opportunity to call his co-defendants as witnesses, and (4) the interests of the defendants are irreconcilably opposed. We will consider each of these arguments separately-

Defendants argue that severance is required primarily because the jury will be unable to compartmentalize the disparate evidence offered against each of the defendants. In United States v. Dickens, 695 F.2d 765 (3d Cir.1982), cert. denied, 460 U.S. 1092, 103 S.Ct. 1792, 76 L.Ed.2d 359 (1983), the Third Circuit stated that:

The court may grant a severance [pursuant to Fed.R.Crim.P. 14] when the defendant can show that the jury could not reasonably be expected to “compartmentalize” the evidence as it relates to him. United States v. DeLarosa, 450 F.2d 1057 (3d Cir.1971), and that the failure to sever clearly and substantially prejudices him to the point of depriving him of a fair trial. United States v. Reicherter [647 F.2d 397 (3rd Cir.1981)], supra. Where the Government charges multiple defendants with a single conspiracy, the interests of judicial economy usually favor a single trial. United States v. Jackson, 649 F.2d 967 (3d Cir.1981). The possibility that evidence will be admissible against some but not all defendants does not require severance. United States v. Kenny, 462 F.2d 1205 (3d Cir.), cert. denied, 409 U.S. 914, 93 S.Ct. 233, 34 L.Ed.2d 176 (1972).

Id. at 779.

Although we do not have the benefit of previewing the evidence the government will offer at trial, we believe that this is the type of case where the jury could reasonably be expected to “compartmentalize” the evidence as it pertains to each defendant. The jurors in this case will not be confronted with a multiple count indictment or a complicated factual scenario. Instead, each defendant is charged with the same offense, and the facts, as alleged in the indictment, appear to be straightforward. Moreover, we are capable of guarding against prejudicial spillover. Here, we see no reason to deviate from the general rule that defendants who are indicted together should be tried together. See United States v. Kozell, 468 F.Supp. 746 (E.D.Pa.1979).

Defendants next argue that a severance is mandated by Bruton v. United States, 391 U.S. 123, 88 S.Ct. 1620, 20 L.Ed.2d 476 (1968) because the government intends to introduce certain hearsay statements made by them. In

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643 F. Supp. 537, 1986 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20408, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-steinmetz-pamd-1986.