Opinion
2077
October 31, 2002.
Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Leslie Crocker Snyder, J.), rendered April 30, 1999, convicting defendant, after a jury trial, of two counts of criminal sale of a controlled substance in the first degree, and sentencing him to concurrent terms of 15 years to life, unanimously affirmed.
ELI R. KOPPEL, for respondent.
ROBERT E. CARRIGAN, for defendant-appellant.
Before: Williams, P.J., Rosenberger, Rubin, Friedman, Gonzalez, JJ.
Since there was prima facie proof of defendant's participation in an uncharged conspiracy to sell drugs, the court properly admitted evidence of the acts and statements of co-conspirators (see People v. Berkowitz, 50 N.Y.2d 333, 341; People v. Luciano, 277 N.Y. 348, 358,cert denied 305 U.S. 620). The record supports the conclusion that there was a single conspiracy rather than multiple, separate conspiracies as contended by defendant. Testimony that defendant committed an uncharged crime was properly admitted to complete the narrative of events and to refute defendant's claim that he did not speak or understand English well enough to have participated to the extent alleged. The probative value of the various items of evidence challenged by defendant clearly outweighed any prejudicial effect, which was minimized by the court's careful limiting instructions. We have considered and rejected defendant's remaining arguments.
THIS CONSTITUTES THE DECISION AND ORDER OF THE SUPREME COURT, APPELLATE DIVISION, FIRST DEPARTMENT.