U.S. v. Schweihs

7 Citing cases

  1. U.S. v. Cammisano

    917 F.2d 1057 (8th Cir. 1990)   Cited 38 times
    Holding that although the facts used to support a sentence could be found in the pre-sentence report, they were not sufficiently corroborated to support an upward departure

    Because of the possibility on remand that the government may be able to provide reliable evidence, we address the government's assertion that membership in organized crime is a permissible basis of departure under the Guidelines. The government again relies on Fatico and directs the court's attention to United States v. Schweihs, 733 F. Supp. 1174 (N.D.Ill. 1990), appeal filed, (7th Cir. Feb. 22, 1990). In Schweihs, the government also relied on preguidelines cases in support of its request for upward departure based on a defendant's ties to organized crime.

  2. U.S. v. Patriarca

    807 F. Supp. 165 (D. Mass. 1992)   Cited 7 times
    Sentencing Guidelines are ambiguous regarding the meaning of the phrase "underlying racketeering activity" for the purpose of determining relevant conduct in a RICO case

    In this sense, the RICO Guideline addresses the defendant's Mafia membership. The applicability of the RICO Guideline in this case contrasts with the pre-Guidelines case of United States v. Fatico, 458 F. Supp. 388, 413 (E.D.N.Y. 1978) (defendant convicted of hijacking of trucks in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371), and the Guidelines analysis done in United States v. Schweihs, 733 F. Supp. 1174, 1178-79 (N.D.Ill. 1990) (defendant convicted of extortion, conspiracy to commit extortion, and solicitation of a crime of violence in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951(a); (b)(2); and 373(a)). In both of these cases, the pattern of criminal acts that LCN membership represents was not implicated in the defendants' counts of conviction. Fatico, 458 F. Supp. at 413; Schweihs, 733 F. Supp. at 1178-79.

  3. U.S. v. Marino

    835 F. Supp. 1501 (N.D. Ill. 1993)   Cited 1 times

    The government notes that this court has found and the Seventh Circuit has approved the assessment of an upward departure for use of a defendant's organized crime connections to further his criminal activities. See United States v. Schweihs, 733 F. Supp. 1174 (N.D.Ill. 1990), aff'd in part and rev'd in part, 971 F.2d 1302 (7th Cir. 1992). However, this court's determination in Schweihs that such an upward departure was appropriate does not necessarily mean that such a determination is appropriate in this instance.

  4. U.S. v. Infelise

    835 F. Supp. 1466 (N.D. Ill. 1993)   Cited 6 times

    The government notes that this court has found and the Seventh Circuit has approved the assessment of an upward departure for use of a defendant's organized crime connections to further his criminal activities. See United States v. Schweihs, 733 F. Supp. 1174 (N.D.Ill. 1990), aff'd in part and rev'd in part, 971 F.2d 1302 (7th Cir. 1992). However, this court's determination in Schweihs that such an upward departure was appropriate does not necessarily mean that such a determination is appropriate in this instance.

  5. U.S. v. Schweihs

    971 F.2d 1302 (7th Cir. 1992)   Cited 79 times
    Holding that it was not an abuse of discretion for the court to admit Rule 404(b) evidence to show intent and knowledge when such issues were likely in dispute

    Judge Williams also increased Schweihs' offense level by four levels for being a leader of criminal activity involving five or more participants, as prescribed in U.S.S.G. § 3B1.1(a). U.S. v. Schweihs, 733 F. Supp. 1174, 1179-80 (N.D.Ill. 1990). Judge Williams based this conclusion on evidence from the videotaped conversations.

  6. U.S. v. Jones

    907 F.2d 456 (4th Cir. 1990)   Cited 65 times
    Holding that "[a]s five eyewitnesses testified that a gun was used in the robbery, there was evidence from which rational triers of fact could find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt on the firearms charge."

    As the past tense adjective "expunged" indicates, § 4A1.2(j) prohibits a sentencing court from counting convictions that have been invalidated prior to their use as sentencing factors. See, e.g., United States v. Schweihs, 733 F. Supp. 1174, 1176-77 (N.D. Ill. 1990) ("expunged conviction" in § 4A1.2(j) is "a conviction that has been reversed"). In view of the fact that the Sentencing Commission specifically stated in § 4A1.2(j) of the Guidelines that already-expunged convictions must not be counted in the Criminal History Score, it is impossible to believe that the Commission would relegate to a single sentence in an Application Note the much more extraordinary authority to invalidate state convictions.

  7. State v. Smith

    64 Wn. App. 620 (Wash. Ct. App. 1992)   Cited 6 times
    In State v. Smith, 64 Wn. App. 620, 825 P.2d 741 (1992), the court upheld a 500-month exceptional sentence but did not address the clearly excessive issue.

    We are aware of several federal cases which have indicated that in appropriate circumstances, membership in an organized crime syndicate provides a basis for departing from federal sentencing guidelines. None of these cases discuss the constitutional issues raised by Smith. See United States v. Schweihs, 733 F. Supp. 1174, 1179 (N.D. Ill. 1990) (defendant's sentence was not enhanced because of his membership in organized crime, but, rather, because he "used that association to carry out the crimes of which he has been convicted."); United States v. Sweeting, 933 F.2d 962, 966 (11th Cir. 1991) (defendant shown to be a member of a violent street gang responsible for drive-by shooting; aggravating circumstances included . . . "the criminal purpose in possessing the firearms to carry on the activities of their narcotics trafficking gang . . ."). Affirmed.