United States v. James Best

KEARSE, Circuit Judge:

Defendant James Best appeals from a judgment: of conviction entered in the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York following a jury trial before Thomas J. McAvoy, then- Chief Judge, convicting him of aiding and abetting a fraud against the United States, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1031 and 2, and sentencing him principally to three years’ probation. On appeal, Best contends (1) that the trial court improperly admitted in evidence a codefendant’s out-of-court statement that the codefendant intended to ask Best to create a fraudulent document,…