United States v. Ward

895 F. Supp. 1000, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11347, 1995 WL 472687
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedAugust 8, 1995
Docket94 CR 483
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 895 F. Supp. 1000 (United States v. Ward) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Ward, 895 F. Supp. 1000, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11347, 1995 WL 472687 (N.D. Ill. 1995).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

MAROVICH, District Judge.

In this opinion, the Court addresses one of the remaining motions filed by Defendants in this case. Defendant Barney Ward has moved to suppress what the Court will label the 1992 Tapes and the 1994 Statements. Ward’s motion is not premised on a violation of the Constitution. Instead, Ward seeks suppression on the novel ground that the Government obtained the 1992 Tapes and the 1994 Statements in violation of Rule 4.2 of the Rules of Professional Conduct for the Northern District of Illinois. Rule 4.2 provides:

During the course of representing a client a lawyer shall not communicate or cause another to communicate on the subject of the representation with a party the lawyer knows to be represented by another lawyer in that matter unless the first lawyer has obtained the prior consent of the lawyer representing such other party or as may otherwise be authorized by law.

Ward’s contention that Assistant United States Attorney Steven Miller violated Rule 4.2 raises issues not yet addressed by the Seventh Circuit or any other court in the Circuit. For the reasons set forth below, the Court will deny the motion to suppress and finds no basis to hold an evidentiary hearing.

BACKGROUND

For purposes of this motion, the Court has considered the various affidavits tendered by the parties concerning the contacts between the Government, Ward and counsel for Ward prior to his indictment. The following represents a summary of the facts contained within those affidavits. Notably, the Government argues that, even assuming the truth of the facts asserted by Ward, the Government has not violated Rule 4.2 and suppression is not warranted.

On March 4, 1992, FBI Special Agent Peter Cullen telephoned Barney Ward at his home in Brewster, New York. According to *1002 Ward, Cullen informed him that the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois was investigating an alleged scheme involving the deliberate killing of horses to defraud insurance companies. Cullen told Ward that an individual named Thomas Burns had been arrested in February 1991 for the lolling of a horse named Streetwise. Cullen asked questions about Burns, also known as Tim Ray in the indictment. Ward answered those questions. Ward states that Cullen told him that he was not a target of the investigation. Cullen also asserts that at this time Ward was not viewed as a suspect or target of the investigation. Agent Cullen asked Ward if he would speak to agents in person. Ward told Cullen that he would get back to him. Ward states that he intended to consult with his attorney before agreeing to an in-person interview.

Ward asserts that he then consulted with his attorney, Victor J. Rocco. Rocco agreed to contact Agent Cullen. Agent Cullen indicates that he received a call on March 4, 1992, from Andrew Heine who indicated that he represented Ward. Beyond this communication, Cullen has no record of Heine ever contacting him again.

On March 9, 1992, Rocco phoned Agent Cullen and informed Cullen that he represented Ward. After describing the nature of the investigation and noting that AUSA Steven Miller was supervising it, Agent Cullen told Rocco that Ward was not a target of the investigation. According to Rocco, Cullen stated that the Government’s interest in interviewing Ward was to obtain corroboration of certain facts about Thomas Burns. Rocco concluded the conversation by indicating that he would talk to Ward and get back to Cullen.

According to Rocco, he contacted Agent Cullen again on March 10, 1992. Agent Cullen does not indicate in his affidavit any phone call from Rocco on March 10, 1992. As asserted by Rocco, he told Cullen that Ward had apparently already answered the pertinent questions. He also told Agent Cullen that he was unwilling to allow Ward to be interviewed directly by other government agents. Rocco suggested that the government would need a subpoena to speak with Ward. Rocco further states that he told Agent Cullen that the Government was not to communicate with Ward and that any communications regarding the investigation should be handled through him.

According to Agent Cullen, he never informed AUSA Miller about his contact with Rocco or Heine. Further, Cullen states that he first received information indicating Ward’s alleged involvement in the crimes under investigation in June 1992. 1 At this time, Paul Valliere, a target of the investigation, revealed in an interview that Ward had arranged for him to hire Burns to kill his horse. In addition to Valliere and Agent Cullen, AUSA Miller and Anton Valukas, counsel for Valliere, were also present at this interview. By the time of Valliere’s revelation, Agent Cullen indicates that he had forgotten about his contact with Victor Rocco due to the massive nature of the investigation. Prior to Valliere’s statements implicating Ward, the Government contends that its investigation did not focus on Ward because their principal cooperating witness, Burns, had steadfastly denied that Ward had any involvement in the matters under investigation.

The 1992 Tapes

As part of Valliere’s agreement to cooperate in the investigation, he agreed to surreptitiously record conversations with Ward. On June 8, 1992, Valliere recorded a telephone conversation with Ward. Valliere also recorded two more conversations with Ward *1003 on October 5, 1992, and November 20, 1992. Rocco maintains that he was never contacted by any representative of the Government to seek his permission to communicate with Ward. These three taped conversations are the 1992 Tapes Ward seeks to suppress.

The 199k Statements

On February 16, 1994, AUSA Miller, and Special Agent Cullen, accompanied by four other FBI agents, showed up at a trailer camp in Wellington, Florida, where Ward was staying while competing in a horse show in the area. According to Ward, AUSA Miller informed him that he was a target of the investigation and told him that the Government planned to indict him in the immediate future. Ward asserts that AUSA Miller told him that the Government’s case was overwhelming and that the purpose of the meeting was for him to consider his cooperation options. Ward states that he told AUSA Miller that he was represented by counsel that his counsel had spoken to Agent Cullen on his behalf. Ward asserts that Cullen denied speaking to his attorney.

Cullen states that until Ward mentioned the name, he had forgotten about Victor Rocco. Cullen does not indicate whether he told AUSA Miller about his recollection. Agent Cullen states that after Ward mentioned Roeco’s name, Ward was asked whether he wished to continue to speak with AUSA Miller and Cullen. Ward stated that he would talk to them and the interview continued. On July 26, 1994, the grand jury indicted Barney Ward on charges of conspiracy, wire fraud, mail fraud and obstruction of justice.

DISCUSSION

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Related

State v. Maloney
2005 WI 74 (Wisconsin Supreme Court, 2005)
In re Criminal Investigation of John Doe, Inc.
194 F.R.D. 375 (D. Massachusetts, 2000)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
895 F. Supp. 1000, 1995 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 11347, 1995 WL 472687, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-ward-ilnd-1995.