United States v. Hipolito Vega

MOORE, Circuit Judge:

The defendant Hipólito Vega appeals from a judgment of conviction, entered after a jury trial, for violation of 47 U.S.C. § 508(a) — unlawfully accepting money for the broadcasting of records over radio station WBNX without disclosing this fact to the station (some- - times referred to as “payola”) — and 18 U.S.C. § 1621 — perjury for falsely denying such receipt.

A somewhat unusual situation arose before verdict during the jury’s deliberations. The appeal primarily is based upon this incident.

The trial was of short duration (three hours).. Two government witnesses…