United States v. Samuel Desist, Frank Dioguardi, Jean Claude Lefranc, Jean Nebbia and Anthony Sutera

FEINBERG, Circuit Judge:

The five appellants were convicted under a one-count indictment charging them with a conspiracy to import narcotic drugs into the United States from France. 21 U.S.C. §§ 173, 174. The case involved what is alleged to be the largest single seizure of pure heroin in the United States, valued at sums as high as $100,000,000, and totalling some 209 pounds. The trial, lasting four weeks, was in the Southern District of New York before Judge Palmieri and a jury. We affirm all five convictions for the reasons stated below. 1

I. The Facts

The following statement of facts is what…