United States v. Lyle David Pierce, Iii, A/K/A Sealed 2, A/K/A Joe Martin, A/K/A Joe Boy, and Regina Pierce

SACK, Circuit Judge:

In 1996 Lyle David Pierce, III, and his sister Regina Pierce, residents of the St. Regis Mohawk Indian Reservation, also known as Akwesasne, (the “Reservation”) and five others were named as defendants in a single-count indictment accusing them of conspiracy to launder money in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1956(a)(l)-(2) and (h). In 1999, following a bench trial, the Pierces were convicted in the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York (Thomas J. McAvoy, Chief Judge).

Subsections 1956(a)(l)-(2) and (h) criminalize the conspiracy to use monies derived…