United States v. Webster ( 1995 )


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    May 1, 1995 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
    FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT
    ____________________

    No. 94-1720
    No. 94-1721
    No. 94-1722

    UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

    Appellee,
    v.

    ANTHONY F. WEBSTER,
    Defendant, Appellant.

    ____________________
    No. 94-1778

    UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
    Appellee,

    v.
    ROBERT A. BOUTHOT,
    a/k/a ROBERT H. BOUTHOT,

    Defendant, Appellant.
    ____________________

    No. 94-1846
    UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

    Appellee,
    v.

    MANUEL D. RAVELO,
    Defendant, Appellant.

    ____________________
    No. 94-1862

    UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
    Appellee,

    v.
    WARREN R. HUNTINGTON,

    Defendant, Appellant.
    ____________________




















    ERRATA SHEET
    The opinion of this Court, issued on April 27, 1995, is amended

    as follows:
    On page 3, line 18, replace "Walker's" with "Webster's".

    On page 14, line 5 of second full paragraph, insert a comma after
    "because".


























































    UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
    FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT

    ____________________
    No. 94-1720
    No. 94-1721
    No. 94-1722


    UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
    Appellee,

    v.
    ANTHONY F. WEBSTER,

    Defendant, Appellant.
    ____________________

    No. 94-1778
    UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

    Appellee,
    v.

    ROBERT A. BOUTHOT,
    a/k/a ROBERT H. BOUTHOT,
    Defendant, Appellant.

    ____________________
    No. 94-1846

    UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
    Appellee,

    v.
    MANUEL D. RAVELO,

    Defendant, Appellant.
    ____________________

    No. 94-1862
    UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

    Appellee,
    v.

    WARREN R. HUNTINGTON,
    Defendant, Appellant.

    ____________________


















































































    APPEALS FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
    FOR THE DISTRICT OF MAINE

    [Hon. Gene Carter, U.S. District Judge] ___________________
    ____________________

    Before
    Boudin, Circuit Judge, _____________

    Campbell, Senior Circuit Judge, ____________________
    and John R. Gibson,* Senior Circuit Judge. ____________________

    ____________________

    Thomas F. Hallett, by Appointment of the Court, for appellant __________________
    Anthony F. Webster.
    F. Mark Terison, Assistant United States Attorney, with whom ________________
    Jay P. McCloskey, United States Attorney, was on brief for the United _________________ ______________________
    States.
    Thomas A. Dyhrberg, by Appointment of the Court, with whom ____________________
    Thomas A. Dyhrberg, P.A. was on brief for appellant Robert A. Bouthot. ________________________
    Margaret D. McGaughey, Assistant United States Attorney, with ______________________
    whom Jay P. McCloskey, United States Attorney, and George T. Dilworth, ________________ __________________
    Assistant United States Attorney, were on brief for the United States.
    James R. Bushell, by Appointment of the Court, with whom Law _________________ ___
    Office of James R. Bushell was on brief for appellant Manuel D. _____________________________
    Ravelo.
    F. Mark Terison, Assistant United States Attorney, with whom ________________
    Jay P. McCloskey, United States Attorney, and George T. Dilworth, _________________ ___________________
    Assistant United States Attorney, were on brief for the United States.

    Jeffrey M. Smith, by Appointment of the Court, with whom Peters, ________________ ______
    Smith & Moscardelli was on brief for appellant Warren R. Huntington. ___________________
    Michael M. DuBose, Assistant United States Attorney, with whom __________________
    Jay P. McCloskey, United States Attorney, and Raymond Hurley, _________________ _______________
    Assistant United States Attorney, were on brief for the United States.

    ____________________

    April 27, 1995
    ____________________



    ____________________

    *Of the Eighth Circuit, sitting by designation.

















    BOUDIN, Circuit Judge. Anthony Webster, Robert Bouthot _____________

    and Manuel Ravelo were convicted of various drug offenses

    stemming from their involvement with a cocaine distribution

    ring centered in Portland, Maine; Warren Huntington was

    convicted of three offenses arising from an unrelated bank

    fraud scheme. The four were sentenced to prison terms

    ranging from 30 to 188 months, and each now challenges his

    sentence.

    I. Webster

    On December 3, 1993, Webster pled guilty to eight

    separate offenses, including the use of a firearm during a

    drug trafficking crime. The guideline sentencing range for

    all offenses but the firearm offense was calculated to be 63

    to 78 months. By statute the firearm offense carried a

    mandatory minimum sentence of 60 months to run consecutively

    to any other sentence imposed. See 18 U.S.C. 924(c). ___

    Before sentencing the government moved for a downward

    departure from the guideline sentencing range in recognition

    of Webster's cooperation and testimony in prosecuting the

    other members of the drug conspiracy. The government's

    motion for departure invoked U.S.S.G. 5K1.1 and thus,

    according to the government, sought a downward departure for

    the guideline offenses only. See U.S.S.G. 5K1.1 (allowing ___

    departure from guidelines on government's motion). The

    government did not request a downward departure under 18



    -3- -3-













    U.S.C. 3553(e) from the statutory mandatory minimum for the

    firearm offense.

    At sentencing, Webster did not request the court to

    depart below the 60-month sentence for the firearm offense,

    believing that the court lacked the authority to do so

    because the government had not moved under section 3553(e).

    Instead, Webster pressed the court to award a proportionate

    reduction of his total sentence--subject to a 60-month floor-

    -and not just the portion of his sentence governed by the

    guidelines. Webster then argued for an overall sentence of

    72 to 78 months.

    The district court responded that this "defeats the

    whole purpose of the statutory mandatory minimum" and that it

    had to "set that aside" for purposes of determining a

    downward departure of the guideline sentence. The district

    court then sentenced Webster to a total of 90 months: 60

    months for the firearm offense and 30 months for the other

    offenses, to run consecutively. The 30-month sentence

    represented more than a 50 percent reduction in the guideline

    minimum of 63 months for those offenses.

    On appeal, as in the district court, Webster challenges

    only the district court's refusal to consider his entire

    sentence when deciding how far to depart on the guideline _________

    offenses. Consequently, we need not decide whether the

    government's motion under U.S.S.G. 5K1.1 would have



    -4- -4-













    triggered the court's authority under 18 U.S.C. 3553(e) to

    depart below the statutory minimum, an issue that has divided

    the circuits. Compare United States v. Wills, 35 F.3d 1192 _______ _____________ _____

    (7th Cir. 1994), with United States v. Sanchez, 32 F.3d 1330 ____ _____________ _______

    (8th Cir. 1994), cert. denied, 115 S. Ct. 1119 (1995). See ____________ ___

    also Wade v. United States, 112 S. Ct. 1840, 1843 (1992) ____ ____ _____________

    (noting circuit split). The government has moved to

    dismiss Webster's appeal on the ground that we lack

    jurisdiction to review the extent of a district court's

    departure from the guideline sentencing range. We do

    normally lack jurisdiction over such a challenge, because the

    extent of any permitted departure is left to the district

    court's discretion. United States v. Pighetti, 898 F.2d 3, 4 _____________ ________

    (1st Cir. 1990). But where the departure may have been

    affected by a mistake of law, as Webster alleges here,

    appellate jurisdiction exists. See United States v. Mariano, ___ _____________ _______

    983 F.2d 1150, 1153 (1st Cir. 1993).

    To decide this case without adopting a position on the

    issue that divides the circuits is somewhat artificial. For

    if the Seventh Circuit view were followed, the district court

    would have power to depart even as to the mandatory minimum.

    But we do not want to take sides here on the larger issue

    which has neither been briefed nor argued. Thus, solely for

    purposes of this case, we assume arguendo (as the district ________

    court did without that qualification) that the government's



    -5- -5-













    failure to ask for a departure from the statutory minimum did

    prevent the district court from departing to a point below

    that figure.

    On that assumption, we agree that the district court's

    position has considerable force: any reduction of a

    guideline sentence to offset even in part a consecutive

    statutory minimum tends to undercut Congress' insistence on

    the statutory minimum. At the same time, Congress has given

    the sentencing court almost unreviewable discretion to decide

    the amount of the departure after a 5K1.1 motion. To tell

    the district court that it must ignore any factor that may ___

    seem logically relevant arguably collides with this

    intention.

    We conclude that in departing from a guideline sentence

    the district court is free to exercise its own judgment as to

    the pertinence, if any, of a related mandatory consecutive

    sentence. Should the district court think that the latter

    has some role along with other factors in fixing the extent

    of a guideline departure in a particular case, that is within

    its authority; and should that court decline to consider the

    mandatory minimum in fixing the other sentence, that too is

    within its authority. For this court to decide upon the

    ingredients of a departure one by one would go very far

    toward defeating discretion.





    -6- -6-













    We are confident that this difference in perspective had

    no impact on the sentence in this case. Assuming that the

    statutory minimum sentence fixed a floor, the district court

    was free not to consider the statutory minimum in fixing the

    guideline sentence. We have no reason whatever to think that

    the district court would have altered its position, which

    rests on a rational policy judgment, if it had been told that

    this choice was a matter of its discretion and not of law.

    Still less do we have any reason to think that the

    district court's sentence would have been less if it had

    considered the mandatory minimum sentence. The district

    court said that the large departure it granted was based on

    the scope of Webster's cooperation and the resulting benefit

    to the government. It went on to say that this reduction was

    "as lenient as permissible" given the seriousness of the

    defendant's criminal conduct. Indeed, if the district court

    had wanted to depart further it had ample room to do so.

    This is not a case--as some are--where the district

    court expressed a desire to impose a lower sentence but

    thought itself blocked by a supposed legal barrier. Compare _______

    United States v. Rivera, 994 F.2d 942, 953 (1st Cir. 1993). _____________ ______

    Here, the consecutive sentence was mentioned by the district

    court only after counsel for Webster sought to introduce it

    as a mitigating factor. The district court thought that it





    -7- -7-













    should not be so considered and was free to make this

    judgment. Accordingly we uphold the sentence.

    II. Bouthot

    On February 18, 1994, Bouthot pled guilty to conspiracy

    to possess cocaine with intent to distribute, 21 U.S.C.

    841, 846. On July 1, 1994, after a one-day hearing, Bouthot

    was sentenced to 151 months' imprisonment. The district

    court found that Bouthot was responsible for 3.83 kilograms

    of cocaine, resulting in a base offense level of 30. The

    court also added two levels for Bouthot's supervisory role in

    the drug ring, and declined to make a downward adjustment for

    acceptance of responsibility. U.S.S.G. 3B1.1, 3E1.1.

    With a total offense level of 32 and a criminal history

    category of III, the guideline sentencing range was 151 to

    188 months, and the court chose the minimum.

    The district court based the drug quantity on the

    testimony of Webster at Bouthot's sentencing hearing.

    Webster said that he provided Bouthot with one to three

    ounces of cocaine three times a month for 14 months, and made

    seven trips to New York with Bouthot to buy cocaine, each

    trip yielding six to twelve ounces of cocaine but with one

    trip netting a half kilogram. Using middle-to-low figures

    for the drug amounts, and adjusting for possible double

    counting for drugs from the New York trips subsequently given





    -8- -8-













    to Bouthot, the district court calculated that Bouthot was

    responsible for 3.83 kilograms.

    Bouthot claims that Webster's testimony was an

    unreliable basis for establishing drug quantity. It is true

    that under U.S.S.G. 6A1.3(a) information used for

    sentencing must have sufficient indicia of reliability to

    support its probable accuracy. See United States v. Tavano, ___ _____________ ______

    12 F.3d 301 (1st Cir. 1993). Bouthot cites to a number of

    inconsistencies with Webster's previous accounts and points

    out that Webster was an admitted perjurer, a drug user, and a

    turncoat who received a substantially reduced sentence for

    implicating others.

    Credibility assessments at sentencing are the province

    of the district court and are respected on appeal unless

    clearly erroneous. United States v. Olivier-Diaz, 13 F.3d 1, _____________ ____________

    4 (1st Cir. 1993). True, Webster was a witness to be

    approached with caution; indeed, he had twice perjured

    himself in earlier proceedings before the district court.

    But these lies occurred before Webster had agreed to

    cooperate with the government. The district court was free

    to conclude that, once the game was up, Webster had wisely

    chosen to cooperate fully and truthfully with the government

    in the hope of receiving a lightened sentence.

    Bouthot next argues that, even assuming the reliability

    of Webster's testimony, the mean "per transaction" figures



    -9- -9-













    used by the district court as multipliers lacked adequate

    evidentiary support; the court settled on two ounces as the

    per transaction amount for Bouthot's regular supply and eight

    ounces as the per trip amount for six of the seven New York

    trips. Webster had testified unequivocally that he gave

    Bouthot one to three ounces three times a month and that they

    purchased six to twelve ounces on their typical New York

    trip. Bouthot did not object to the district court's

    method of drug computation at the time of sentencing and

    therefore has waived this issue. Uricoechea-Casallas, 946 ___________________

    F.2d at 166. In any event, we review the district court's

    drug quantity determinations for clear error, United States ______________

    v. Morillo, 8 F.3d 864, 871 (1st Cir. 1993), and find no such _______

    error here. Where no drugs have been seized, the guidelines

    instruct the district court to approximate the amounts

    involved, U.S.S.G. 2D1.1 comment. (n.12), and we uphold

    such an approximation as long as it represents a reasoned

    estimate of quantity. Morillo, 8 F.3d at 871. _______

    In this case, the figures chosen by the district court

    were the mean figure for the small buys and on the

    conservative side for the New York trips, and they were drawn

    from ranges with relatively tight margins. This case is

    quite unlike United States v. Sepulveda, 15 F.3d 1161, 1197 ______________ _________

    (1st Cir. 1993), cert. denied, 114 S. Ct. 2714 (1994), where ____________

    we found it error to use the midpoint between four ounces and



    -10- -10-













    one kilogram as the average transaction. All in all, we

    think that the figures chosen by the district court in this

    case represent a defensible estimate of drug quantity based

    on the available evidence, and this is all that is required.

    Morillo, 8 F.3d at 871. See also United States v. _______ ___ ____ ______________

    Innamorati, 996 F.2d 456, 490-91 (1st Cir. 1993), cert. __________ _____

    denied, 114 S. Ct. 409 (1994). ______

    Bouthot also says that the district court erred in

    failing to award him a two-point reduction for acceptance of

    responsibility. Bouthot did plead guilty to the drug charge

    but a plea of guilty is not a guarantee for receiving the

    reduction. United States v. Bradley, 917 F.2d 601, 606 (1st _____________ _______

    Cir. 1990). The district court found that Bouthot had

    understated his criminal involvement. This in turn warranted

    a finding that Bouthot had not fully accepted responsibility.

    See U.S.S.G. 3E1.1 comment. (n.1). ___

    The two-level adjustment for Bouthot's role in the

    offense is also supported. Webster and a DEA agent both

    testified that Bouthot had recruited an individual named

    Conwell to sell small amounts of cocaine for him, paying

    Conwell a fixed commission on every sale and providing him

    with housing from which to operate. This testimony, accepted

    by the district court, is more than enough to qualify Bouthot

    for a two-point adjustment for exercising a leadership or

    supervisory role in the offense. See U.S.S.G. 3B1.1 ___



    -11- -11-













    comment. (n.4). United States v. Fuller, 897 F.2d 1217, ______________ ______

    1219-22 (1st Cir. 1990).

    III. Ravelo

    Ravelo was convicted by a jury of conspiracy to possess

    cocaine with intent to distribute. On July 21, 1994, the

    district court sentenced him to 188 months' imprisonment.

    The court determined that Ravelo's base offense level was 34,

    based on a drug quantity finding of 198.1 grams of cocaine

    base, also known as crack. No upward or downward adjustments

    were made. With no prior criminal record, Ravelo's total

    offense level yielded a guideline sentencing range of 151 to

    188 months, and the court sentenced him at the top of the

    range.

    As with Bouthot, Webster was the primary witness at

    Ravelo's sentencing hearing. Webster testified that Ravelo

    was his New York source for cocaine and that he purchased on

    average 6 to 8 ounces twice per month from 1990 to 1993.

    Consistent with his testimony at Bouthot's sentencing

    hearing, Webster said that at times the amounts were upwards

    of 11 to 13 ounces and that once he purchased a half kilogram

    from Ravelo. Webster also testified that in the summer of

    1993 he purchased from Ravelo seven ounces of crack made in

    Ravelo's kitchen.

    At sentencing the district court accepted Webster's

    testimony and found that Ravelo had sold Webster seven ounces



    -12- -12-













    (198.1 grams) of crack in the summer of 1993. The crack

    finding alone placed Ravelo at a base offense level of 34.

    See U.S.S.G. 2D1.1(c)(5). Ravelo, like Bouthot, claims ___

    that Webster's testimony was unreliable. But Webster was

    very clear about the crack transaction--how much was

    involved, who was there, and how it was made. This testimony

    was also consistent with what Webster had told law

    enforcement agents during his debriefing. For the reasons

    already set forth with respect to Bouthot, the district court

    was free to conclude that Webster's testimony was credible

    and sufficiently reliable.

    Ravelo next claims that he should have been held

    accountable for no more than 1.26 kilograms of cocaine,

    because this was the amount for which Webster was sentenced,

    and both participated in the same transactions. Webster's

    sentence was based on 1.26 kilograms of cocaine, an amount

    computed by a probation officer and stipulated to by the

    parties at sentencing. The crack transaction is excluded

    from the stipulated amount but the discrepancy is easily

    explained.

    Evidence of the crack transaction apparently first

    surfaced during Webster's debriefing by law enforcement

    agents. But before he spoke, Webster obtained a written

    promise from the government that none of the information he

    provided would be used against him (with exceptions not here



    -13- -13-













    relevant). Under the guidelines, this promise immunized

    Webster from having the crack transaction count towards his

    sentence. See U.S.S.G. 1B1.8(a). ___

    We see no problem with holding Ravelo responsible for

    the greater drug quantity actually proved at his sentencing

    hearing. First and foremost, he did not cooperate with the

    government and thereby receive immunity for the crack

    transaction. Although the guidelines generally seek

    uniformity in sentencing, they also encourage divergent

    treatment for those who cooperate, in order to promote

    greater cooperation with law enforcement. Given Ravelo's

    decision not to cooperate, he has no basis for complaining

    about leniency to someone who did cooperate.

    Ravelo's final challenge to his sentence relates to

    comments made by the district court at the time of sentencing

    pertaining to Ravelo's alien status. Ravelo, a citizen of

    the Dominican Republic, claims that the court's comments

    indicate that he was sentenced more harshly because of his

    alienage and that a constitutional violation resulted.

    Compare United States v. Gomez, 797 F.2d 417, 418-21 (7th _______ ______________ _____

    Cir. 1986) with United States v. Leung, 40 F.3d 577, 585-87 ____ ______________ _____

    (2d Cir. 1994) and United States v. Borrero-Isaza, 887 F.2d ___ _____________ _____________

    1349, 1353-56 (9th Cir. 1989).

    The district court made clear that it was sentencing

    Ravelo to the high end of the guideline range because of his



    -14- -14-













    continued dishonesty and defiance. Ravelo's alien status was

    raised by Ravelo's counsel who requested a lighter sentence

    because, as an alien, Ravelo would be subject to deportation

    upon his release from prison. The sentencing judge said, in

    substance, that Ravelo was not entitled to leniency simply

    because he faced deportation, for this would undermine the

    deterrent value of Ravelo's sentence. It is thus clear that

    the district court did not punish Ravelo more severely

    because of his alien status.

    IV. Huntington

    Huntington pled guilty to two counts of bank fraud, 18

    U.S.C. 1344, and one count of conspiracy to commit bank

    fraud, 18 U.S.C. 371, 1344. The scheme involved the

    forging and cashing of blank checks stolen from a local

    health center; the checks were stolen by Webster, forged by

    Huntington and cashed by numerous individuals at various

    branches of the Casco Northern Bank on newly opened accounts.

    Apart from Webster's membership in both conspiracies, the

    bank fraud scheme was unrelated to the drug ring. Huntington

    pled guilty to the three fraud charges against him on

    December 6, 1993.

    Some three months later, on the morning of his

    presentence conference, Huntington moved to withdraw his plea

    on the grounds of involuntariness; Huntington claimed that he

    had been threatened by two codefendants--by Webster and by



    -15- -15-













    Huntington's own nephew Stephen Huntington--to plead guilty

    or face physical harm. On April 29, 1994, the court held an

    evidentiary hearing on the plea-withdrawal motion, at which

    Huntington was the sole witness. At the hearing's

    conclusion, the court denied the motion, finding that

    Huntington's story was a blatant, last-minute fabrication.

    The court sentenced Huntington on July 22, 1994.

    Huntington's conduct equated to an offense level of 11, which

    included a two-level increase for more than minimal planning.

    U.S.S.G. 2F1.1(b)(2)(A). The court imposed a two-level

    upward adjustment for Huntington's organizational role in the

    scheme, U.S.S.G. 3B1.1(c), and a further two-level upward

    adjustment for obstruction of justice, based primarily on

    Huntington's perjurious testimony at the plea-withdrawal

    hearing. U.S.S.G. 3C1.1. With a criminal history category

    of III, the resulting guideline sentencing range was 24 to 30

    months, and the court sentenced him to the maximum amount of

    30 months.

    In making an upward adjustment for Huntington's role in

    the offense, the district court found as follows:

    [T]his defendant collaborated with Webster as to
    devise, carry out this scheme, forge and negotiate
    stolen checks, and that he typed false and
    fictitious amounts and information about the payees
    on several stolen checks. The Court further finds
    that he forged the authorized signatures and
    assisted Webster in giving instructions to other
    participants in the scheme, directing their efforts
    in the offense conduct.



    -16- -16-













    Based on the first sentence of these findings, and on certain

    other comments made by the sentencing judge, Huntington

    argues that the district court misunderstood the legal

    standard and thought it enough that Huntington was

    extensively involved in the conspiracy. The guideline

    requires that Huntington must have controlled or organized

    the activities of at least one other participant in the bank

    fraud scheme. U.S.S.G. 3B1.1(c); Fuller, 897 F.2d at 1220; ______

    United States v. Castellone, 985 F.2d 21, 26 (1st Cir. 1993). _____________ __________



    At sentencing the court specifically found that, in

    addition to playing a central role in devising the whole

    scheme, Huntington directed and instructed various

    individuals on how to negotiate the forged checks at the

    banks. While the former conduct provides evidence suggesting

    an enhanced role, see U.S.S.G. 3B1.1 comment. (n.4), the ___

    latter conduct conclusively establishes that Huntington

    controlled or organized at least one other participant.

    The record supports this assessment. There was evidence

    that Huntington instructed an individual named Jolin how to

    present the forged checks for acceptance and directed him to

    different branches of Casco Northern Bank for that purpose.

    Steven Huntington, the appellant's nephew, testified at the

    sentencing hearing that the appellant recruited him to take

    part in the scheme and that the appellant "did all the



    -17- -17-













    talking" when distributing the forged checks to him and

    another check casher named Glantz. At the very least,

    Huntington served as Webster's lieutenant, and the guidelines

    do not limit supervision to one person. U.S.S.G. 3B1.1

    comment. (n.4). Huntington says that the role-in-the-

    offense enhancement amounts to impermissible double counting

    in view of the district court's earlier enhancement for more

    than minimal planning. The two-level increase for more than

    minimal planning was based on the fact that the bank fraud

    scheme involved repeated episodes of fraud; the two-level

    increase for role in the offense, as we have just discussed,

    was predicated on Huntington's direction and supervision of

    others. Because the two adjustments were based on separate

    factors, there was no double counting. United States v. _____________

    Balogun, 989 F.2d 20, 23-24 (1st Cir. 1993). _______

    Huntington also contests the upward departure for

    obstruction of justice under U.S.S.G. 3C1.1. In making

    this adjustment, the court relied upon three separate

    instances of alleged perjury, but any one is sufficient.

    United States v. Tracy, 36 F.3d 199, 201 (1st Cir.), cert. ______________ _____ _____

    denied, 115 S. Ct. 609 (1994). We confine ourselves to the ______

    district court's finding that Huntington had testified

    falsely at the plea-withdrawal hearing when he claimed that

    he was "absolutely" innocent of the bank fraud charges.





    -18- -18-













    Under United States v. Dunnigan, 113 S. Ct. 1111, 1116 _____________ ________

    (1993), a witness commits perjury if he or she "gives false

    testimony concerning a material matter with a willful intent

    to provide false testimony, rather than as a result of

    confusion, mistake or faulty memory." In Dunnigan, the ________

    Supreme Court instructed that a sentencing court must make

    independent findings necessary to establish the enhancement,

    preferably addressing each element of the alleged perjury in

    "a separate and clear finding." Id. at 1117. Huntington ___

    argues that the court's findings are legally insufficient to

    support a determination of perjury under the Dunnigan ________

    standard. We disagree. On the first episode of perjury the

    court found as follows:

    The Court bases its findings from the testimony of
    this defendant . . . at the proceedings to
    determine whether he should be permitted to
    withdraw his guilty plea. The Court is satisfied
    that his disclaimer of participation in these
    offenses in this offense conduct at that time, his
    protestation of innocence [was] false, that that _____
    testimony related to a material matter and that it _______________
    was intended to influence the judgment of the Court _____________________
    in making the determination as to whether he should
    be permitted to withdraw his plea of guilty. In
    that respect the Court is satisfied there was an
    obstruction of justice by this defendant.
    (emphasis added).

    These findings encompass all the predicates for perjury and

    thus satisfy the requirements of Dunnigan. ________

    As for the factual bases for those findings, the record

    amply supports the judge's ruling under the clear error

    standard. Tracy, 36 F.3d at 202. At the plea-withdrawal _____


    -19- -19-













    hearing Huntington testified that he was absolutely innocent

    of the bank fraud charges brought against him, claiming that

    he had been duped into signing the checks by Webster. But at

    sentencing four months later Huntington admitted his knowing

    participation in the bank fraud scheme, although not to the

    full extent for which the district court ultimately found him

    responsible. As such, Huntington's protestations of

    "absolute" innocence at the withdrawal hearing were not in

    any way ambiguous and amounted to perjury. See United States ___ _____________

    v. Austin, 948 F.2d 783, 789 (1st Cir. 1991) (perjury ______

    committed at withdrawal hearing requires obstruction of

    justice adjustment).

    For the foregoing reasons the sentences of all four

    appellants are affirmed. ________

























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