United States v. Ralph 'Whitey' Tropiano, Lawrence R. Pellegrino and William Grasso,defendants-Appellants

BARTELS, District Judge:

On March 27,1968, the appellants were indicted in New Haven, Connecticut, in a four-count indictment, charging them with wilfully and knowingly attempting to and actually obstructing, delaying and affecting interstate commerce and the movement of supplies from outside Connecticut by extorting and attempting to extort property from certain refuse removal dealers by the wrongful use of threatened force, violence and fear, in violation of the Hobbs Act, 18 U.S.C.A. § 1951. 1 Counts 1, 2 and 3 of the indiet ment charged substantive violations of the Hobbs Act, while Count…