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United States v. Ciresi

United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit
697 F.3d 19 (2012)

Written by Sean Carroll, JD

Facts

Robert Ciresi (defendant) represented developers seeking town council approval to build a supermarket. Councilman Paul Caranci overheard discussions of a bribe and became a Federal Bureau of Investigation informant. Caranci recorded Councilman John Zambrano telling him that a developer had agreed to pay $25,000 to secure approval. The recording also implicated Ciresi, indicating that Ciresi had set up the bribe. After the supermarket was approved, Zambrano paid Caranci for his part and told him that the bribe had been easy and that more would be coming. Zambrano also explained how Ciresi had facilitated the bribe. About a year later, Zambrano told Caranci that Ciresi was working on another bribe with a different developer seeking to build apartments on an old mill complex. Subsequently, however, Zambrano told Caranci that Ciresi was “out.” The bribe did occur, and this developer also got approval. Ciresi was charged with bribery, extortion, and conspiracy. At trial, Ciresi claimed that Caranci’s recordings were hearsay. The district court overruled Ciresi’s objections based on Federal Rule of Evidence 801(d)(2)(E). Ciresi was convicted, and he appealed, arguing that the bribes were not part of the same conspiracy, that he withdrew from the mill bribe, and that Zambrano’s statements were not in furtherance of the conspiracy.

Rule of Law

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Holding and Reasoning (Lipez, J.)

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