Doyle E. Raftis v. United States of America, Vernon F. Hawkins v. United States of America, Curt Martin v. United States

BLACKMUN, Circuit Judge.

Doyle E. Raftis, Vernon F. Hawkins and Curt Martin have been convicted by a jury of violations of the mail fraud statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1341. They appeal.

The alleged scheme centered in Pae Aid of Missouri, an unincorporated Saint Louis enterprise which was engaged in the sale of coin operated aspirin vending machines and of tins of Bayer’s aspirin dispensed from those machines. Initial customer contacts were made through newspaper ads. Personal solicitation and mail communication followed. A machine with an initial supply of about 20 tins of aspirin sold for $80. Most…