United States v. Joseph D. Cusmano

BOYCE F. MARTIN, Jr., Circuit Judge.

Joseph Cusmano was convicted in the Eastern District of Michigan of both conspiracy to violate and a substantive violation of the Hobbs Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1951.1

*715Cusmano was the founder and half owner, along with codefendant James Russo, of the J & J Cartage Company, a trucking firm engaged in the transportation of steel. The other codefendants were Vincent Meli, an employee of the company, and Roby Smith, the business agent for Teamsters Local 299. The indictment charged that Cusmano, Russo, Meli, and Smith conspired to and did in fact obstruct, delay, and…