UNITED STATES v. MASIELLO

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Docket Number

No. 97, Docket 34769.

Attorney(S)

Irving Anolik, New York City (Abraham H. Brodsky, New York City, of counsel), for appellants. Edward M. Shaw, Asst. U.S. Atty. (Whitney North Seymour, Jr., U.S. Atty., S.D.N.Y., and Robert G. Morvillo, Asst. U.S. Atty., of counsel), for appellee.

Judges

Henry Jacob Friendly
John Joseph Smith
Paul Raymond Hays

Acts

Crimes And Criminal Procedure — Conspiracy — Crimes — Conspiracy To Commit Offense Or To Defraud United States
Crimes And Criminal Procedure — Bribery, Graft, And Conflicts Of Interest — Crimes — Bribery Of Public Officials And Witnesses

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Smart Summary

Factual and Procedural Background

Defendant appellants John Anthony Masiello and John A. Masiello, Jr., father and son, were shareholders in A.N.R. Leasing Corporation, which leased trucks and trailers to private corporations and the Post Office Department. They were convicted in the District Court for the Southern District of New York of conspiracy and bribery of public officials, violations of 18 U.S.C. §§ 371 and 201(b), but acquitted on gratuity counts. The case was remanded to the District Court for a hearing on the reasonableness of a search conducted during the investigation. After the hearing and report by Judge Lasker, the court affirmed the convictions.

Legal Issues Presented

Whether the search conducted by government agents was reasonable under the applicable legal standards.
Whether there was sufficient evidence to support a jury inference of corrupt intent in the payments to government officials.
Whether the acquittal on gratuity counts created an inconsistency with the bribery convictions.
Whether the corporation could be found guilty only if one of the Masiellos was guilty, considering possible involvement of another agent, McKeever.

Arguments of the Parties

The opinion does not contain a detailed account of the parties' legal arguments.

Table of Precedents Cited

Precedent	Rule or Principle Cited For	Application by the Court
Chimel v. California, 395 U.S. 752 (1969)	Standards for reasonableness of searches and seizures.	Judge Lasker applied the standards prevailing prior to Chimel to find the search reasonable.
United States v. Irwin, 354 F.2d 192 (2d Cir. 1965)	Gratuity count as a lesser included offense of bribery.	Cited to support the court’s view that there was no inconsistency between acquittal on gratuity counts and conviction on bribery counts.
United States v. Polansky, 418 F.2d 444 (2d Cir. 1969)	Gratuity count as a lesser included offense of bribery.	Reinforced the principle that the gratuity charge is a lesser included offense, affirming no inconsistency in verdicts.

Court's Reasoning and Analysis

The court reviewed the findings of the District Court Judge Lasker regarding the search and seizure. Despite the search covering several offices and a large quantity of material, it was limited to items likely to be admissible evidence related to the crimes charged. The judge credited the government agents’ testimony and inventory over conflicting claims of excessive seizure, emphasizing the judge’s role in assessing credibility. The court found the search reasonable under the then-prevailing legal standards.

Regarding the bribery charges, the court found sufficient evidence for a jury to infer corrupt intent by the appellants to gain special advantages through payments to government officials managing the contracts. The court also clarified that the acquittal on gratuity counts did not conflict with the bribery convictions, as gratuity was considered a lesser included offense. Finally, the court addressed the argument about corporate liability, affirming that the corporation acted through natural persons, here necessarily the Masiellos, and that no harm was shown from the possible involvement of another agent.

Holding and Implications

The judgment of conviction against John Anthony Masiello and John A. Masiello, Jr. is affirmed.

The decision directly upholds the convictions for conspiracy and bribery, confirming the reasonableness of the search and the sufficiency of evidence supporting corrupt intent. No new precedent was established; the ruling reinforces existing legal standards on searches, bribery, and the relationship between gratuity and bribery offenses. The appellants’ challenge regarding corporate liability was rejected without prejudice to their interests.

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UNITED STATES of America, Appellee, v. John Anthony MASIELLO, John A. Masiello, Jr., Appellants.

PER CURIAM:

Defendant appellants, John Anthony Masiello and John A. Masiello, Jr., father and son, are shareholders in A.N.R. Leasing Corporation, an organization which leased trucks and trailers to both private corporations and the Post Office Department. They were convicted in the District Court for the Southern District of New York before Morris Lasker, Judge, and a jury, of conspiracy and bribery of public officials, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371 and 201(b). They were acquitted on "gratuity" counts. We find no error and affirm the convictions.

We remanded this case to the District Court with a request that Judge Lasker conduct a hearing on the reasonableness of the search and report thereon. 434 F.2d 33. The hearing was held and report made.

Judge Lasker made findings as to the extent of the search and found the search reasonable under the standards prevailing prior to Chimel v. California, 395 U.S. 752, 89 S.Ct. 2034, 23 L.Ed.2d 685 (1969). While the area searched involved several office rooms and a large quantity of material was seized, it was confined to a search for and seizure of likely sources of admissible evidence of the crime, consisting of canceled checks and check stubs, a cash receipts and disbursements book for the period in question, truck and vehicle payment records and a purchase order book. Judge Lasker credited the government agents and the detailed inventory given and properly declined to credit conflicting testimony that a great amount of additional material was taken. Credibility was of course a matter for the judge to determine, and his conclusion that the search and seizure were reasonable on the facts found was clearly correct.

We find no merit in the other issues raised on appeal. There was sufficient evidence for the jury to infer a corrupt intent to obtain special advantage from the payments to officials in charge of the government end of the Masiello contracts.

We have considered the "gratuity" count a lesser included offense of the bribery count; there was therefore no inconsistency in the charges. United States v. Irwin, 354 F.2d 192, 196 (2d Cir. 1965); United States v. Polansky, 418 F.2d 444, 446 (2d Cir. 1969).

The charge that the corporation could not be found guilty unless one of the Masiellos was guilty is properly interpreted as reference to the necessity of the corporation acting through a natural person, here on the facts necessarily one of the Masiellos. Even if there was a possible agent in McKeever, no harm to the appellants is shown.

The judgment is affirmed.