http://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/651/239/158336/
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651 F.2d 239: United States of America, Appellee, v. John D. Long, Appellant
United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit. - 651 F.2d 239
Argued Jan. 9, 1981.Decided June 12, 1981
John D. Long, a South Carolina State Senator, appeals his conviction for violating and conspiring to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1962(c) and (d). Long assigns the following errors: his Senate seat, described in the indictment as an Office of Senate, was not an "enterprise" as defined by the Act; the activities of his office do not affect interstate commerce; the court improperly admitted tapes of recorded conversation; and the jury should not have been furnished transcripts of the tapes. We affirm.
Long and Billy Dean Roark, a Senate employee, were charged with accepting bribes, in violation of South Carolina law, paid to induce Long to procure state jobs for the persons who gave the bribes. Roark pled guilty and testified against Long.
The evidence disclosed the following undisputed facts. Roark urged an acquaintance to buy a state job from Long. This man told an agent of the Federal Bureau of Investigation about Roark's suggestion and agreed to act as an informant for the FBI. Wearing a tape recorder, the informant met several times with both Roark and Long, and he paid $700 to Long and $800 to Roark in return for Long's promise to get him a state job. The informant then introduced Roark and Long to an FBI agent who said he was looking for state employment. The agent also had several meetings with Long and Roark, all of which were taped by a body recorder. At one of these meetings, the agent paid Long $500 as a down payment for a state job. Although both the informant and the agent obtained interviews with state agencies, including the state Alcohol Beverage Control Commission, neither was given state employment before the grand jury returned the indictments against Roark and Long.
To establish a violation of the RICO statute, the government must show that the enterprise affects interstate commerce.
