United States v. Renzi

Defendant, Former Arizona Congressman Richard Renzi, appealed his conviction and sentence for conspiracy, honest-services fraud, extortion, money laundering, making false statements to insurance regulators, and racketeering. Co-defendant, James Sandlin, also appealed his conviction and sentence. The court concluded that the evidence was sufficient to convict Renzi of extortion and honest-services fraud and rejected Renzi's claim that the parties engaged in an equal value exchange; neither the pattern jury instruction nor any controlling precedent requires the district court to identify the thing of value, especially where variance from the indictment is not at issue; and, in this case, there was no error in the uncontested jury instructions. The court held that, if a member of Congress offers evidence of his own legislative acts at trial, the government is entitled to introduce rebuttal evidence narrowly confined to the same legislative acts, and such rebuttal evidence does not constitute questioning the member of Congress in violation of the Speech and Debate Clause; because Renzi was not impermissibly questioned in violation of the Clause, there was no Clause violation; Renzi's right to present a defense cannot override the Speech and Debate privilege of another Congressman; and the court carefully reviewed the classified materials filed with this case and concluded that the district court did not abuse its discretion by excluding them, pursuant to the Classified Information Procedures Act (CIPA), 18 U.S.C. App.3, section 6(a). The court rejected Renzi's claim under Napue v. Illinois where there is no "reasonable likelihood" that the statements at issue affected the jury's judgment; the court rejected Renzi's contentions regarding his insurance-fraud conviction and his Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), 18 U.S.C. 1961, conviction; the court upheld the district court's calculation under U.S.S.G. 2C1.1(b)(2) of the value of a payment Renzi received in exchange for influence exerted to the sale of property; and the court concluded that there was sufficient evidence to support Sandlin's convictions for conspiracy to engage in wire fraud, Hobbs Act extortion, and engaging in monetary transactions with criminally derived funds. Accordingly, the court affirmed the judgment of the district court. View "United States v. Renzi" on Justia Law