United States v. Massey

Arthur Massey (defendant), a Florida lawyer, was accused of forming arrangements in which Massey gave two Florida judges money in return for the judges’ appointments of Massey as a special assistant public defender (SAPD). At trial, private investigator Albert Tiseo testified that Massey promised Tiseo that Massey would have Tiseo appointed as an investigator if Tiseo helped Massey secure court appointments. Massey told Tiseo that giving Circuit Judge Alfonso Sepe a few thousand dollars could open doors with Sepe. After Tiseo gave Sepe $2,500 in cash, Sepe began to appoint Massey as an SAPD. Pietro Venezia, the owner of Buccione’s Restaurant (Buccione), testified that (1) Massey paid Sepe’s lunch bills at Buccione from November 1989 to January 1991, and (2) Sepe knew that Massey was paying Sepe’s bills. During that timeframe, Massey paid about $1,700 toward Sepe’s bills at Buccione, and Massey collected about $91,400 in fees from the cases in which Sepe appointed Massey as an SAPD. The government (plaintiff) also presented evidence that Massey formed a similar arrangement with Circuit Judge Roy Gelber and that another private lawyer, Raymond Takiff, cooperated with law enforcement to further implicate Gelber and Sepe in a bribery scheme involving multiple attorneys. Based on this evidence, the jury convicted Massey of bribery, Racketeer Influence and Corrupt Organization Act (RICO) violations, and 20 counts of mail fraud in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. Massey appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. In relevant part, Massey argued that the government presented insufficient evidence to support his bribery conviction because the government did not present direct evidence that Massey agreed to purchase Sepe’s meals in exchange for court appointments.