Anderson v. United States (262 F.2d 764, 1959)

VOGEL, Circuit Judge,

William H. Anderson, Harry J. Hagen and Vincent J. Lee were jointly indicted and tried on a three-count indictment, By jury verdict Lee was found not guilty on all three counts; Anderson and Hagen were found not guilty on Counts j and jj but guilty as to Count III; each was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment.

Count j of the indictment charged the defendants with conspiring to obstruct, dd and affect commerce b extortion, Count n charged the obstruetion of com. merce b extortion in attempting to ob- ^ mon b threats of violence.

^ , , . _ , „ , Count III, under which count Anderson and Hagen were convicted, charged that the defendants “ * * * did wil-fully, unlawfully and feloniously attempt to obstruct, delay and affect commerce (as defined in the act hereinafter designated) and the movement of articles and commodities in commerce, to wit, building materials, supplies, machinery, equipment and employees, by extortion (as defined in the Act hereinafter designated), in that the defendants did attempt to obtain from Richard I. Johnson, an agent and representative of the said Richard I. Johnson Plastering Company, Inc., property of the said Richard I. Johnson Plastering Company, Inc., to wit, Twelve Thousand Five Hundred Dollars ($12,-500.00) of lawful monies of the United States of America, for their personal use and profit, by threatening physical violence to the person of the said Richard I. Johnson and upon the properties of the said Richard I. Johnson Plastering Company, Inc., and by using their aforesaid respective union capacities in a wrongful, arbitrary, unreasonable and oppressive manner to create industrial strife and unrest on the aforesaid ‘hospital’ construetion project by refusing to permit union lathers and plasterers to be employed on said ‘hospital’ project, said union workmen being under the union jurisdiction of the said defendants, to begin their work duties, among other things, unless and until the said Richard I. Johnson Plastering Company, Inc., should pay to the defendants the aforesaid money; that the defendants, in the manner and by the means aforesaid, did attempt to obstruct, delay and affect the continuity of the construction of the aforesaid ‘hospital’ and the movement of articles and commodities in commerce, as aforesaid.”

„ , , Evidence introduced at the trial indi- ,, T-, . T. cated that m the year 1950 the Del E. ,, „ , ,. „ , , , ,, Webb Construction Company held the general contract for the construction of a Veterans Administration Hospital at St. Louis, Missouri. On December 13, 1950, the Richard I. Johnson Plastering Company and Del E. Webb Construction Company executed a contract whereby the Johnson Plastering Company was to perform the lathing and plastering work on the hospital. During the latter part of November, 1950, Richard I. Johnson, president of the plastering company, and his general manager, Russell Hanson, arrived in St. Louis to investigate conditions prior to executing the lathing and plastering contract. Johnson stayed at the Chase Hotel. He communicated with John Meroney, who was in charge of the St. Louis office of the Inland Steel Company. Meroney took Johnson to see Karl Kohlmeyer, who called the defendant William H. Anderson, whereby an arrangement was made for Johnson to meet Anderson at the home of the defendant Harry J. Hagen. Anderson was agent and representative of the local plasterers’ union. Hagen was agent and representative of the lathers district council in the City of St. Louis. Pursuant to agreement, Johnson went to the Hagen home where he met Anderson and Hagen, The three of them went into the basement and sat down. Anderson asked Johnson what it would be worth for him to come to St, Louis and not have any union trouble. Johnson replied that it would be worth a couple of Cadillacs, to which Anderson responded that they were not interested in Cadillacs but were interested in money. He asked Johnson for $18,000. Johnson replied that it would be impossible to pay that amount and offered to pay $12,500 at $1,000 per month. Anderson said he couldn’t give an answer as to that amount as there was another party who would have to give approval. Arrangements were made to meet the following morning at breakfast. Anderson told Johnson not to mention the conversation to anyone or he wouldn’t live long enough to regret it. During the conversation in the basement e tj, TJ , of the Hagen home, Hagen was present , , . ... but did not say anything.

Johnson and Anderson met the following morning at nine o’clock at the Chase Hotel, where they had breakfast. Anderson told Johnson he had talked to the third party and that it was okay to go ahead and he would let him know when an^ where and how the money was to be Paid.

Johnson testified that he next met Anderson as a result of a telephone call in September, 1951, in front of the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles, California. Anderson had called Johnson, advising him that he wanted to see him. Johnson invited Anderson, his wife and a nephew, Leonard Boedeker and his wife out to dinner. Johnson had his wife and a Mr. and Mrs. Harry Kissel. During the early morning hours when Johnson and Anderson were alone, Anderson asked Johnson for $2,000. Johnson told him that he didn’t carry that much money around with him but he would do the best he could. Anderson replied, “You better get it.”

On February 20, 1951, Johnson subcontracted the lathing portion of the work to one Charles W. Fawcett. Percy McAllister, a St. Louis plasterer, became interested in doing the plastering work, In November, 1951, McAllister had a conversation with Anderson, telling Anderson that he was thinking of contacting Johnson about obtaining the plastering contract for the hospital. Anderson told him that before he did he had better take the matter up with him because there had been some commitments made.

Subsequently, in the latter part of January or the early part of February, 1952, Johnson was in St. Louis, at which time he received a call at his hotel to go to St. John’s Hospital in St. Louis where Anderson was a patient, that Anderson wanted to talk to him. Johnson went to the hospital that evening but before doing so, because he was frightened, he asked the cab driver to wait for him and to come to the hospital room in approximately 15 minutes and advise him that he had an urgent call. When Johnson arrived at the hospital room, there were :several people present who left the room, Mr. Johnson was alone with Mr. Ander.son. Anderson then asked Johnson for some money, to which Johnson replied that he didn’t have any. Again Anderson said that he had better get it. Anderson then told Johnson about a man in San Luis Obispo who, in turning on the starter of his automobile, had his car blow up and that unless Johnson got some money the same thing could happen to him. Johnson replied that Anderson couldn’t threaten him in his own home town. Immediately following this conversation, the cab driver came up and Johnson left with him.

On January 31, 1952, Johnson entered into a contract with McAllister to do the plastering work on the hospital. McAllister started the plastering work in June, 1952. He had a conversation with Anderson, at which time Anderson asked him if Johnson had contacted him and sent anything for him. McAllister replied that he didn’t know what he was talking about and hadn’t gotten anything ^rom Johnson,

The next time they met Anderson asked McAllister to go with him to where his car was parked at Grand and Delmar in St. Louis. Anderson told McAllister that Hagen and defendant Lee, who was agent and representative of the Operating Plasterers Association, were there in his car and that McAllister should tell them the same thing he had told Anderson. McAllister went to the car and told Hagen and Lee that he didn’t know what Anderson was talking about in wanting kn°w if something was sent to him by Johnson. Defendant Hagen told McAllister to sa/ n°tblng about ^ls cof and *ot anythmg to Charley Fa^cett; McAl ister replied that heT wo»ld saf. fytbinf J? Faw‘ ^ Lee told McAllister that if some, thing ™bA,ff “ pi'ett^s°°n be would hold McAllister for it McAllister repllfd he dl(klt know what Lee was speak“g ab°ut and * Jobns