United States v. Edward J. Barrett

SPRECHER, Circuit Judge.

This appeal seeks review of the conviction of Edward Barrett, the County Clerk of Cook County, Illinois, from 1955 to 1973, for violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1341 (mail fraud),1 18 U.S.C. § 1952 (interstate travel in aid of racketeering enterprises) 2 and 26 U.S.C. § 7201 (attempt to evade income tax). 3

I

The County Clerk of Cook County has the responsibility for purchasing and insuring voting machines. In 1954, the State’s Attorney of Cook County had rendered an opinion that competitive bidding was not required in the purchase of voting machines inasmuch as it was important…