Full opinion text
OAKES, Circuit Judge: This appeal is from convictions of ten defendants for conspiracy to commit narcotics offenses (Count I, 21 U.S.C. §§ 846, 963), from convictions of several for the commission of substantive narcotics offenses (Counts II-X, XII-XIII, 21 U.S.C. §§ 841, 960), and from a conviction of one defendant, Jose Esteban Cambindo Valencia (Cam-bindo), for conducting a “continuing criminal enterprise” (Count XI, 21 U.S.C. § 848). Trial to a jury took place in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, Jacob Mishler, Chief Judge. The court ruled as a matter of law that there was involved only a single conspiracy. Consequently it did not submit to the jury the question whether there were multiple conspiracies, but merely the question whether there was a conspiracy and whether each defendant was a member of it. Because we do not agree that the issue of single/multiple conspiracy could be determined as a matter of law in this case, and because the evidence permitted the finding of several conspiracies (and in the case of some defendants demanded such a finding), we must assume that multiple conspiracies were proved. In so doing, we must decide which of the appellants may have been prejudiced by the variance between the conspiracy charged and the conspiracies proved. We find that only one narrower conspiracy was sufficiently proved by the evidence to outweigh any possible prejudice from the spillover of proof as to other conspiracies. We therefore affirm the convictions only of those appellants who were clearly linked by the evidence with that conspiracy. We also reverse the convictions of others who might be linked with that conspiracy and remand their cases for a new trial. Finally, we reverse the convictions of those appellants whose connections with the conspiracy proved were so remote that they cannot under any circumstances be held to have participated in that conspiracy. On the substantive charges, we reverse the convictions of all but one defendant and remand for new trials. However, we affirm all the substantive convictions of appellant Cam-bindo, finding that any prejudice was, in his case, harmless. STATEMENT OF THE CASE I. Indictment and Convictions The superseding indictment (78 CR 106(S)) charged twenty-seven defendants in one conspiracy and charged assorted defendants in twelve substantive counts, one of which accused defendant Cambindo of engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise (Count XI; 21 U.S.C. § 848). The conspiracy count (Count I) charged a conspiracy, occurring between approximately January, 1972, and October, 1976, violating 21 U.S.C. §§ 846 and 963, (1) to import and (2) to distribute and possess with intent to distribute substantial quantities of cocaine, as well as (3) to conceal the existence of the conspiracy. Four named eoconspirators, Thomas Esposito, Lucho Plata, Louis Guillermo Moreno Serna (Moreno Serna) and Augustin Lemos, pleaded guilty (apparently to substantive counts) and do not appear. The case against another named conspirator (Juan Bautista Torres) was dismissed at the close of the Government’s case. Four named coconspirators were “John Does,” never arrested, and five more named were fugitives at the time of trial. One more (Zohie Perez) was convicted, but is a fugitive. The remaining twelve, all of whom appeal, were each convicted of the conspiracy count; these include Cambindo, Rafael Flores Valencia (Flores), Carmen Vivas (Vivas), Freddie Williams, Jesus Losada, and Rosalinda Losada, each of whom was also convicted of substantive counts, and Federico Gonzalez (Gonzalez), Jose Manuel Esco-bar Orjuella (Escobar), Alfonso Velasco (Velasco), Mario Caicedo (Caicedo), Edgar Enrique Moreno Ortiz (Moreno Ortiz), and Julio Francisco Bermudez Prado (Bermudez Prado), none of whom was charged with a substantive count. Each defendant named in a substantive count whose case went to the jury was also convicted on each such count: Cambin-do, named in Counts II, V, VI, X, and XI; Flores (Count IX); Vivas (Count X); Williams (Counts VII and VIII); Jesus Losada (Counts XII and XIII); and Rosalinda Losa-da (Counts XII and XIII). All except Vivas, Williams, and Rosalinda Losada are in custody serving their sentences, set out in the margin. Thus, there was a verdict of guilty as to every defendant on every count in which he or she was charged. II. The Government’s Proof A. In General The Government contended at trial that the alleged conspiracy involved persons who knew one another and in some cases had grown up together in Buenaventura, a Colombian port city. The Government presented evidence that the defendants utilized vessels of the Grancolombiana line (especially the Ciudad de Bogata and the Ciu-dad de Buenaventura) to import the cocaine to New York (although some of the transactions put in evidence relate to shipments to Miami, Baltimore, Los Angeles, and San Francisco), where the ships usually docked at Pier 3 below Brooklyn Heights or at the Bush Terminal in Brooklyn. These defendants, according to the Government, principally used the same general methods to remove the cocaine from the ships — viz., couriers carrying it on their bodies off the ship or seamen lowering the cocaine overboard to waiting “swimmers” who would enter the East River at the base of the Brooklyn Bridge (or other points), swim downstream to the vessel, get the shipment, and then swim further to an arranged point and waiting “pick-up man.” They would exchange the illegal drugs among themselves or with others, principally at the Tunnel Bar, an establishment near the Brooklyn Bridge, although there were also transactions at Red Hook Park, the La Gran Casa store, a house in Queens, another house on Amity Street in the Cobble Hill section of Brooklyn, and elsewhere in greater New York City. The Tunnel Bar, owned by appellant Gonzalez and evidently the “on-the-drug-scene” successor to the Buena-ventura Social Club on Hamilton Avenue in Brooklyn, exhibited sufficient prominence in the forty-eight or so transactions described during the trial to lead the Government to refer to the alleged conspiracy on occasion as the “Tunnel Bar Conspiracy.” At other times, however, it has been referred to as the Buenaventura or the Grancolombi-ana Conspiracy. To clarify the myriad of individual transactions that must be recounted in detail in order to analyze the contentions of the parties, a brief listing in the nature of a cast or principal characters may be helpful. The Suppliers/Senders from Colombia include one Mauro, appellant Flores, defendant Alfonso Villafana (Villafana), Silvio, Juan Cambindo Rodriguez, and Ricardo Cambin-do Rodriguez. Seamen include a “John Doe” and defendants Lemos, Jose Argoti, and Figueroa. Traffickers/Dealers include appellants Gonzalez, Escobar, Velasco, Mario Caicedo, Bermudez Prado, Cambindo, Moreno Ortiz, Rosalinda Losada, Jesus Lo-sada, and defendant Ulpiano Vega. The Body Carriers include two longshoremen, defendant German Largacha and appellant Freddie Williams, as well as Jaime Ortiz, “Pepo” (Carlos Riascos), “Kilometer,” and Alvaro Caicedo. The Swimmers include Government witness Pacifico Caicedo Rodriguez, Daniel Riascos, Conrado Ortiz, and defendant “El Wallo.” Pick-up Men or Couriers include Government witness Moreno Serna, defendant “El Bolla,” and Gillian Vargas. Government witness Emilio Rivas is a Purchaser, and Local Dealers include defendants Zohie Perez and “Lucho Plata,” as well as appellant Vivas. It must be understood, however, that at various times, different characters appear in different roles: the Government witness Pacifico Cai-cedo Rodriguez, for example, swims, traffics, picks up, and deals; there is evidence that appellant Flores in addition to supplying also deals. B. Specific Proof We have found no way to classify effectively the forty-eight or so specific transactions adduced at trial. The Government kindly furnished us postargument with flow charts purporting to show connections among the various participants, but we did not find them particularly helpful. We therefore recount, chronologically and in depth, the transactions about which the Government offered proof, taking the proof in the light most favorable to the Government. 1 and 2 (similar acts) Rivas and Gonzalez; Rivas and Escobar (and Velasco). Emilio Rivas, a former resident of Buena-ventura, aware that a number of the people at the Buenaventura Social Club on Hamilton Avenue in Brooklyn did business in cocaine, testified that, in 1971, prior to the conspiracy charged, he asked several of them if he too could get in the business. About the time appellant Gonzalez opened the Tunnel Bar, Rivas asked Gonzalez to sell him small amounts of cocaine on consignment and Gonzalez did so. Rivas in turn would sell this cocaine in the Tunnel Bar and elsewhere. In 1972, as Rivas’s clientele grew, Gonzalez began to provide eighth kilograms to him at $2,000 per unit. Rivas would order and receive the cocaine from Gonzalez at the Tunnel Bar. Rivas at this time also found a second supplier at the Tunnel Bar, appellant Escobar, who also began to sell Rivas eighth kilograms of cocaine on consignment at $2,000 per unit; the transactions were often negotiated, and delivery of the cocaine made, in the Tunnel Bar. Deliveries were usually made in the toilet in the back of the 15' X 30' bar. As time went on, in 1972, Rivas began to receive from Escobar half kilograms of cocaine for approximately $9,000 each. Often, at Escobar’s direction, Rivas would pay the appellant Velasco. 3-6 Pacifico Caicedo Rodriguez; here of Mario Caicedo, Escobar and Velasco again, and a theft. In March of 1972, Pacifico Caicedo Rodriguez (Caicedo Rodriguez), another resident of Buenaventura, who in Colombia had been given the telephone number of the Tunnel Bar in Brooklyn, called it when he arrived. He soon talked to appellants Gonzalez, Mario Caicedo, Velasco, Escobar, and others in the bar about the cocaine trade. One day his opportunity came. Mario Cai-cedo told him that a ship was scheduled to leave at seven o’clock that evening and that there were still three pounds of cocaine on board. Mario Caicedo drove him to an apartment that appellants Escobar and Ve-lasco maintained, but did not inhabit, across the street from the Tunnel Bar. Caicedo Rodriguez learned that Escobar and Velasco were the owners of the cocaine and that Mario Caicedo was an eager purchaser. Es-cobar and Velasco explained that the originally assigned “carrier” (who was to have walked off the ship with the cocaine on his body) had been unable to conceal the full load and thus left three pounds of cocaine behind. Velasco took Caicedo Rodriguez to the ship, where a seaman handed a package of cocaine to Velasco, who handed it to Caice-do Rodriguez. Caicedo Rodriguez then walked the package off the ship in his pants. The package was then turned over to Escobar and Velasco in front of the Tunnel Bar. The next day at Escobar’s and Velasco’s apartment, Caicedo Rodriguez was paid $1,500. Also present was appellant Mario Caicedo. At some time thereafter Caicedo Rodriguez, who was taking marijuana off a Grancolombiana ship, was informed by Es-cobar that, on the same ship, he had thirty kilograms of cocaine. Caicedo Rodriguez offered to remove this cocaine, but Escobar Orjuella told him that Pepo was going to do that. Later, Pepo brought the cocaine to Caicedo Rodriguez’s apartment and asked him to guard it for a week. Why Caicedo Rodriguez was entrusted with this much cocaine does not appear. According to his testimony, however, at the end of the week Escobar arrived and took the thirty kilograms of cocaine. Caicedo Rodriguez later met with the appellant Gonzalez, Pepo, Jaime Ortiz, and “Kilometer.” Gonzalez told them that there was a load of approximately three kilograms of cocaine on a Grancolombiana ship. Gonzalez agreed to hire only Pepo and Kilometer to remove the cocaine. Cai-cedo Rodriguez convinced Pepo and Kilometer to steal the cocaine and to tell Gonzalez that the cocaine had been lost. Caicedo Rodriguez thereafter sold the stolen cocaine to Mario Caicedo, the earlier purchaser from Escobar and Velasco, for $16,000 a kilogram. Mario Caicedo, who was originally to receive the cocaine from Federico Gonzalez, now agreed not to tell Gonzalez that Caicedo Rodriguez had sold him the cocaine. 7 Lemos and Mario Caicedo. Augustin Lemos was a resident of Bue-naventura who for some years served aboard the Grancolombiana ships as a steward. At the beginning of 1973, a man in Buenaventura, Libardo Cano, asked Lemos to carry 1.5 kilograms of cocaine to New York which had been smuggled on board ship. Cano told Lemos that appellant Mario Caicedo was to receive the cocaine. Le-mos concealed the cocaine on the ship and, once in New York, met with Caicedo at a Brooklyn store frequented by seamen, La Gran Casa on Atlantic Avenue, where Mario Caicedo introduced him to a man named Alomia. Alomia agreed to board the ship in the early morning hours the next day to body-carry the cocaine off the ship. After the delivery was complete, Lemos met again with Mario Caicedo on Atlantic Avenue and Caicedo took him to an apartment and paid him $1,500. 8 Emilio Rivas and Cambindo. Also in the spring of 1973, Government witness Emilio Rivas, who had done business with Gonzalez and Escobar, was introduced by a Julio Mehia to appellant Cam-bindo, who was apparently living at the house of Zaira Mehia. Rivas negotiated there with Cambindo to buy a half kilogram. Present also was appellant Moreno Ortiz. When Zaira Mehia vouched for Rivas’s trustworthiness, Cambindo sent Moreno Ortiz to obtain a package of cocaine from the next room which he gave to Rivas. Rivas paid Cambindo $3,000 as a down payment for the drugs. Several days later Rivas paid Cambindo and Moreno Ortiz an additional $4,000. On another occasion at Zaira Mehia’s house, Rivas paid $4,000 or $5,000 as a down payment on another half kilogram. Rivas gave the money to Moreno Ortiz, who in turn handed it to Cambindo, and Rivas was given another half kilogram of cocaine. Shortly thereafter, Cambindo alone sold Rivas an eighth kilogram of cocaine, this time at Rivas’s home. While it is out of chronological order, the testimony was that Rivas regularly received cocaine from Cambindo through 1974 except for one period during that year when he did not. Some of this cocaine was resold to Jorge Vivas, husband of appellant Carmen Vivas, and some to appellant Flores. On one occasion Flores met Rivas in the Tunnel Bar and negotiated a deal for an eighth kilogram for $4,000 on consignment, but Flores never paid the money. During this same time, Cambindo became a partner with Rivas and another in a meat market in uptown Manhattan. 9 Lemos and Cambindo. In early 1973, Juan Cambindo, the brother of appellant Jose Cambindo, went to steward Lemos’s home in Buenaventura. Cambindo asked Lemos to deliver approximately five kilograms of cocaine to his brother in New York, and Lemos agreed. In New York, the ship docked, as usual, at Pier 3. Lemos met with Jose Cambindo on Atlantic Avenue at La Gran Casa (where he had met Mario Caicedo). Cambindo told Lemos that a man named Luango would swim the cocaine away from the ship. At a prearranged time in the early morning the next day, Lemos threw the cocaine wrapped in plastic down to the swimmer. But the next day Cambindo told Lemos that Luango had disappeared, that he had not received the cocaine and that Lemos would accordingly not be paid. 10 Largacha and appellant Williams, the longshoremen. Also in early 1973, Caicedo Rodriguez (the Government witness and erstwhile swimmer/dealer) traveled home to Colombia and there contracted with a man named Mauro to bring 800 grams of cocaine to New York on the Ciudad de Bogota. When the ship arrived, he contacted a longshoreman, German Largache, who agreed to smuggle the cocaine through customs at Pier 3. At the agreed time, appellant Freddie Williams appeared and removed from his socks packets of cocaine, which he gave to Caicedo Rodriguez. This cocaine was sold on consignment to Lucho Plata. One day later, Plata called Caicedo Rodriguez to say that there was money from the cocaine sales at Plata’s house in Queens. When Caicedo Rodriguez arrived, Plata gave him approximately $5,000 and told him to wait because a customer for the cocaine was about to arrive. Fugitive defendant Zohie Perez walked in, purchased an “eighth” of cocaine from Pla-ta in Caicedo Rodriguez’s presence, and gave Plata $3,500, which Plata gave in turn to Caicedo Rodriguez. 11 Rafael Flores and Caicedo Rodriguez. Later in 1973, Caicedo Rodriguez made a second trip to Buenaventura where he met with appellant Flores. Flores took Caicedo Rodriguez to the nearby town of Cali and introduced him to a source of cocaine. Cai-cedo Rodriguez purchased a pound of the substance, then hired a seaman on a Gran-colombiana ship to transport it to New York and take it to Pepo and Jaime Ortiz. Caicedo Rodriguez later received $5,000 as his share of the transaction. In August of 1973, Caicedo Rodriguez returned to the United States from Colombia and thereafter entered the marijuana business with defendant Lucho Plata. The Government does not suggest that this was part of the “single conspiracy.” 12-13 Moreno Serna and Bermudez Prado. In 1973, Government witness Moreno Serna, as a former resident of Buenaventu-ra, began associating with other Buenaven-turas in New York and became aware that some of them were making money in the drug trade. He asked Caicedo Rodriguez, Pepo, and Batey, another swimmer, and others to get him into the business and was told that Atlantic Avenue was the hiring ground when a Grancolombiana ship was at Pier 3. When he learned that a Grancolom-biana ship was in port, he drove down to Atlantic Avenue and ran into Pepo, who drove him to the piers. In the vicinity of Pier 3, they pulled into a cul-de-sac and Pepo called out. Batey, a man named Mois-és, and two or three others leaped over the customs fence with plastic bags and got into the car. Moreno Serna was then directed to drive to Pepo’s home. There Pepo told Moreno Serna to return the next day to discuss payment. The next day Pepo said that three of the kilograms of cocaine removed from the ship belonged to appellant Bermudez Prado, one to a woman, Efigenia, three to a man, Tunebares, and a final kilogram to him. Pepo explained that Moreno Serna should look to the others for payment since he (Pepo) had given Moreno Serna an entree into the cocaine business. Thereafter, Moreno Serna spoke with Bermudez Prado, who told him that, because his customers had failed to pay him, he was unable to pay. Tunebares also refused to pay Moreno Ser-na, but Efigenia gave him $900. Three or four months later, Moreno Serna was approached by Batey and asked if he wished to wait for him with a car when Batey picked up a kilogram from a Granco-lombiana ship on Pier 3. Moreno Serna agreed and was paid $900 by Efigenia for his assistance in picking up the kilogram of cocaine. Despite these transactions, Efige-nia and Tunebares are nowhere else mentioned in the evidence and presumably are not a part of the “single conspiracy” that the Government claims. 14-15 Morena Serna and Cambindo; the police on the trail. In November of 1973, Cambindo contacted Moreno Serna and told him that a Carlos Palomino, not a named conspirator, was expecting two kilos of cocaine at the pier and that he (Cambindo) was going to receive the cocaine for Palomino. Cambindo took Moreno Serna to Palomino, who agreed to pay him $1,000 per kilogram for being the pickup man. When the Grancolombiana ship arrived at Pier 3, Moreno Serna, Cambindo, Palomino, and Moreno Ortiz met on the Brooklyn Heights promenade overlooking Pier 3 to discuss procedures. At 3:00 a. m., Cambindo and Moreno Ortiz walked toward the pier, while Moreno Serna drove Palomino to the cul-de-sac in the pier area. Cam-bindo and Moreno Ortiz walked up to the car, gave the cocaine to Palomino, and then walked away. As Moreno Serna and Palomino began to drive away, they realized they were being followed by the police. Palomino threw the package from the car before the pursuing police car pulled them over. No arrests were made. Moreno Ser-na drove Palomino back to the area where he had thrown the cocaine but it was nowhere to be found. The next day Palomino, Ortiz, and two others accosted Moreno Serna and ordered him into a car. Palomino accused him of having set up a fake police surveillance to steal the package. Appellant Moreno Ortiz struck Moreno Serna on the head with a gun, but Cambindo arrived, told them to stop and said Moreno Serna was not responsible. Palomino told Moreno Serna that he must pay for the lost cocaine, but Moreno Serna refused. Later Moreno Serna’s car was vandalized and Cambindo told him that Palomino had done this. Cambindo confided to Morena Serna that his lady friend Zaira Mahia had been working with Government agents and that she had been the one who had tipped off the agents about the two kilograms of cocaine. In early December, 1973, Cambindo and Moreno Serna had several conversations about raising money to purchase cocaine. Moreno Serna told Cambindo that he had saved $3,000. Cambindo stated that, with the $500 he could add, they could purchase a half kilo in Colombia. On December 9, 1973, Moreno Serna traveled to Colombia, was met by Cambindo’s brothers, Juan and Ricardo, and gave the money to them. Thereafter, in February of 1974, Cambindo told Moreno Serna that a Grancolombiana ship had arrived with the half kilogram of cocaine contracted for and that the cocaine had been unloaded, but, because it was wet, had diminished in value. A week later, Cambindo told Moreno Serna that he had sold the wet cocaine for $5,000. Moreno Serna asked for $1,200 and told Cambindo to reinvest the rest. Cambindo sent the money to Colombia and, in March or April of 1974, another half kilogram arrived by Grancolombiana ship at Pier 3. Again, however, Cambindo said profits would be poor because the cocaine was of poor quality. This cocaine was sold for $8,000, however, and Moreno Serna received half. Cambindo advised him to hold onto the money for further investment. A month later, Cambindo told Moreno Serna that he had purchased a gypsy cab as a “front,” in case he had to show he was working. Moreno Serna asked Cambindo to let him drive the gypsy cab so that he could make some money and Cambindo agreed. 16 The opium shipment (a similar act); Cai-cedo Rodriguez, Williams and Bermudez Prado. In early 1974, a shipment of opium arrived from Colombia on board the Ciudad de Cucata. Why this new product line was entered into does not appear, but in any event the Government’s evidence was that its witness Caicedo Rodriguez met on Atlantic Avenue with the seaman who brought the opium. German Largacha, the longshoreman who had previously smuggled cocaine, arranged to have appellant Freddie Williams body-carry the opium from the ship. Thereafter, Bermudez Prado drove Caicedo Rodriguez to the Bronx and introduced him to a customer for the opium, but when he took only some of it, Caicedo Rodriguez gave the rest to appellant Gonzalez to sell on consignment. 17 Escobar and the undercover police officer in the Tunnel Bar. On Wednesday, February 13, 1974, Ralph Delgado, a Spanish-speaking police officer of the New York City Police Department assigned to make an undercover purchase in the Tunnel Bar, arrived late in the evening with an informant. Delgado was introduced to appellant Escobar, and thereafter negotiated a purchase of cocaine. Escobar led Delgado to the ladies’ toilet and invited him to sample the stuff. The officer asked to make a purchase. Escobar led Delgado back to the bar and then started to leave. As he did so, he spoke to two men who assumed positions as “spotters” at the Tunnel Bar’s window. Moments later, Escobar came back and told the informant that he would take $550 for an ounce of cocaine. Delgado bargained for $500. Escobar walked up to the officer, handed him an ounce of cocaine in the presence of the others in the bar, and told him to check it in the toilet. Delgado went to the men’s toilet, but observed three men hiding and came back. Escobar directed him to the ladies’ toilet. When Delgado emerged from the toilet, he handed Escobar $500, spoke briefly with him, and told him that he would be back soon. 18 Here of appellant Rosalinda Losada. Also in early 1974, appellant Rosalinda Losada, then working for a City agency, became friendly with a fellow worker, one John Canzoneri. After telling Canzoneri that she had access to quantities of cocaine, Losada asked Canzoneri if he would be able to sell any. He agreed to attempt to do so and visited Rosalinda Losáda at her Amity Street house in Cobble Hill. The eighth kilo was already on the living room table when Canzoneri arrived. Rosalinda Losada and Jesus Losada offered to give him the eighth to sell on consignment for $3,000. Canzoneri later sold it and returned to the Losadas’ house, where they counted the proceeds together. Thereafter, Rosalinda explained the organization of this cocaine trade to Canzon-eri. According to his testimony, she stated that she obtained large amounts of cocaine from merchant seamen who would bring it to New York and that swimmers would then smuggle it ashore. Rosalinda Losada noted that, on occasion, the shipping line employees would carry the cocaine through customs. Canzoneri was also instructed by Jesus Losada, with Rosalinda Losada acting as interpreter, that, since Canzoneri lived in Brooklyn Heights near the promenade, he was to watch for the arrival of the Ciudad de Buenaventura, the ship on which the cocaine was to arrive. One evening, Jesus Losada asked Canzoneri to drive him to the Tunnel Bar, which Rosalinda explained was the meeting place for seamen and cocaine dealers. She also said that she and Jesus used the Tunnel Bar to meet other people in the cocaine business. 19 Caicedo Rodriguez and Batey; Cambindo and Villafana. In late spring or early summer of 1974, Villafana asked Caicedo Rodriquez on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn to swim a load of cocaine off the Ciudad de Buenaventura, and he agreed to do so even after Villafana explained that an unusual amount of surveillance on the piers had made it impossible to walk the cocaine off. The same day, Cambindo, aware that Caicedo Rodriguez was to remove the shipment for Villafana, asked him to smuggle some cocaine from the ship for him also. Caicedo Rodriguez then met with Jose Argoti, the seaman who brought the cocaine, to make arrangements. That night Caicedo Rodriguez and Batey entered the water two blocks away from the ship. Caicedo Rodriguez gave the prearranged signal with a white handkerchief, and Argoti threw the cocaine down to them. The swimmers then emerged from the water at a parking lot near the pier area. Waiting in an automobile were Villafana and appellant Bermudez Prado. Caicedo Rodriguez and Batey were paid approximately $9,000 for swimming the four and a half kilograms of cocaine. 20-21 German Largacha and Freddie Williams, the longshoremen, deal. Also during the spring of 1974, German Largacha approached Caicedo Rodriguez and told him that another seaman, Estupi-nan, had brought in a pound of cocaine on the Ciudad de Santa Marta and offered it for sale. Largacha explained that he had purchased it and that appellant Freddie Williams would carry it off the boat, but that they had no place to store it. Caicedo Rodriguez agreed to hide the stuff. Thereafter Caicedo Rodriguez waited in a car one block from the piers. Largacha and Williams pulled up in a car and gave the cocaine to Caicedo Rodriguez, who took it home and kept it for the other two. In the summer of 1974, Largacha told Caicedo Rodriguez that another seaman had a quarter kilogram of cocaine for sale and that if Caicedo Rodriguez could sell it they could divide the profit three ways with the third share going to Williams for smuggling out the cocaine. Caicedo Rodriguez sold the cocaine for approximately $5,000 but told Largacha that he had made only $4,000. Largacha said he had paid the seaman $1,500 or $1,800. The remaining profit was divided between Caicedo Rodriguez, Larga-cha, and Williams. 22 Williams and Villafana. Shortly thereafter Villafana approached Caicedo Rodriguez as to a shipment on board the Cuidad de Bogota docked in Bush Terminal. When Villafana asked if Caicedo Rodriguez could arrange to have the cocaine smuggled out, the latter contacted Largacha who said he would use Freddie Williams. Caicedo Rodriguez then took Williams to meet with the seaman Arturo Figueroa, and they agreed that Williams would go on the ship to receive the cocaine in the seaman’s cabin. Williams then smuggled out four or five kilograms of cocaine to Caicedo Rodriguez’s car. Caicedo Rodriguez paid Largacha $1,500 for each kilogram, but Largacha told him to tell Williams that he was paying only $1,000 per kilo. When subsequently questioned by Williams, Caicedo Rodriguez gave him the lower figure. 25 Caicedo Rodriguez, Daniel Riascos, and Cambindo. In June of 1974 Daniel Riascos told Caice-do Rodriguez that he hád been hired by Cambindo to swim a shipment from the Ciudad de Bogota; he asked Caicedo Rodriguez to swim with him. Riascos took him to meet with Cambindo and thereafter the three met with the two seamen who had brought the cocaine. Cambindo indicated that Government witness Moreno Serna would be the pick-up man near the pier. That night, Ríaseos and Caicedo Rodriguez swam to the side of the ship and pulled on a nylon cord hanging over the side. One of the seamen threw the cocaine down. They swam under the piers back to Pier 5, where Moreno Serna was waiting in a gypsy cab. The next day, June 19, 1974, Riascos and Caicedo Rodriguez went to Cambindo’s residence and Caicedo Rodriguez was given cash and an eighth kilogram of cocaine in payment for his services. 26 Caicedo, Riascos, Cambindo, and Villafa-na; another theft. Thereafter Villafana asked Caicedo Rodriguez to “swim” a shipment of cocaine at Bush Terminal from the Ciudad de Buena-ventura. Villafana had contacted the seaman Lemos in Buenaventura and arranged for him to bring the shipment from Colombia. He introduced Caicedo Rodriguez to Lemos and then told Caicedo Rodriguez that Cambindo also had a shipment of cocaine on the ship, being brought by seaman Argoti, and would require assistance. All agreed that Caicedo Rodriguez would make the “swim” that evening with the assistance of Riascos. That night Riascos and Caicedo Rodriguez swam to the ship and Lemos and Argoti lowered the cocaine wrapped in plastic bags to them. Once on shore, Caicedo Rodriguez told Riascos to look for the pickup man. While Riascos was gone, Caice-do Rodriguez quickly removed about a pound of cocaine for himself. The rest was then of cocaine for himself. The rest was then passed to Moreno Serna who, along with one Hanry Carvajal, was there in the gypsy cab to make the pick-up. Later Riascos gave Caicedo Rodriguez his share of the money that Riascos stated had been given to him by Cambindo. Moreno Serna and Carvajal brought the cocaine to Atlantic Avenue. Cambindo took his three kilos and Villafana therefore suffered the loss caused by Caicedo Rodriguez’s theft. Later Cambindo paid $1,500 to Moreno Serna, who objected that he was to receive $3,000. Cambindo replied that the other $1,500 was going to Carvajal, due to the fact that Villafana had refused to pay Carvajal at all because of the lost cocaine. 27 Jesus and Rosalinda Losada sell to Caice-do Rodriguez. During the summer of 1974 appellant Jesus Losada met with Caicedo Rodriguez and agreed to sell him an eighth kilogram of cocaine. At Losada’s house on Amity Street, with Rosalinda present, Caicedo Rodriguez purchased an eighth kilo for $2,800. 28 Gonzalez. During this same period, Gonzalez stated to Caicedo Rodriguez that a shipment had arrived. When Caicedo Rodriguez asked to buy part of it, Gonzalez said he thought the cocaine was bad. Caicedo Rodriguez tried it and agreed. Gonzalez then told Caicedo Rodriguez that he was going to travel to Colombia to settle accounts. 29-33 Moreno Serna and Cambindo. Meanwhile, still in the summer of 1974, Cambindo told Moreno Serna that three more kilograms had arrived via the Granco-lombiana lines and that he wanted Moreno Serna to use the gypsy cab to pick up the cocaine on a jetty close to the Brooklyn Bridge. Cambindo said that Caicedo Rodriguez and Daniel Riascos would come out of the water at that point, but the two did not appear, and the delivery was made after Moreno Serna left. Cambindo did say the next day that he had received the package. In early July, 1974, Cambindo asked Moreno Serna to take $100,000 to Colombia to buy cocaine and he agreed. Cambindo asked him to exchange the small denomination bills given to him during the sales of cocaine for large denominations. Moreno Serna did this, sometimes receiving $5,000 at one time. Normally he would exchange $500 or $1,000 at a bank at a time and then go to another bank. He had been able to exchange some $20,000 by the time Cambin-do told him that he had other large-denomination bills from his drug transactions and could now send $43,000 or $44,000 to Colombia. Cambindo explained that, if he waited any longer, his brothers would be unable to put the cocaine on the ship before it left. Cambindo gave Moreno Serna the money in envelopes and a suitcase and asked him to give it to Cambindo’s brothers. His brothers were to travel from their home in Bue-naventura to meet with Moreno Serna at the Cali Airport. Moreno Serna received only $1,500 for his courier duties. A month or so later Cambindo brought two seamen to Moreno Serna’s home, identifying them as the seamen who had brought up the cocaine for the previous delivery involving Caicedo Rodriguez and Daniel Ri-ascos. Another delivery was to be made. Thereafter Cambindo, Moreno Serna, the seamen, and Daniel Riascos met in Prospect Park to arrange for this delivery. Daniel Riascos was to take the cocaine away from the ship, and Moreno Serna was to pick it up. That night Moreno Serna repeatedly searched in the pier area for Daniel Riascos. Cambindo and Moreno Serna then went to a bar near the piers to look for a longshoreman to take out the cocaine. There they spoke with an American longshoreman, “Nino,” who told Cambindo that he would charge $4,000 per kilo to smuggle out the cocaine. When Cambindo told him that the price was too high, Nino offered a reduction to $3,500 per kilo, but was not ultimately hired. That night Cambindo called Daniel Rías-eos and offered him a final opportunity to smuggle the cocaine from the ship, but warned that the ship was about to leave. On Cambindo’s instructions, Moreno Serna rented a car for the pickup. Riascos was successful and Moreno Serna made the pickup. At Cambindo’s house the cocaine was weighed — approximately five kilograms— and Moreno Serna was paid $5,000. When Moreno Serna told Cambindo to keep $4,000 and purchase a half kilogram of cocaine for him, Cambindo gave Moreno Serna the other $1,000 in cash. In August of 1974, Cambindo told Moreno Serna that five kilograms of cocaine had arrived on a ship for him, but that authorities had seized it. Cambindo explained that Moreno Serna’s half kilogram was included in the seizure, but if things went well, he (Cambindo) would make up the loss of the money. Shortly thereafter, Cambindo asked Moreno Serna to accompany him on a pick-up of five kilos of cocaine and Moreno Serna, in his car, followed Cambindo to an area near the Brooklyn House of Detention. There, Pepo was waiting for them and, after a short conference with Pepo, Cambindo told Moreno Serna to wait. Later Cambindo returned and told Moreno, Serna that he and the others had gotten the cocaine off the ship. When Moreno Serna asked Cam-bindo for his half kilogram, the latter said that it had not been his cocaine. 34r-35 Freddie Williams is arrested with the Lo-sadas’ cocaine. Lemos testified as to the events that led to seizure in the summer of 1974 from Freddie Williams of ten pounds of cocaine destined for the Losadas. Argoti asked Lemos, in Buenaventura, to assist him in bringing up five kilos of cocaine to New York for appellant Jesus Losada. When the Ciudad de Buenaventura docked in New York, Ar-goti and Lemos met with Jesus Losada near La Gran Casa. Losada told them that a longshoreman, German Largacha, would arrange the removal of the cocaine. Larga-cha arrived at the ship with appellant Freddie Williams. Williams, using Largacha as an interpreter, introduced himself to Lemos and Argoti and told them that he would return at 7:00 the next morning to remove the cocaine. When Williams returned to the ship in the morning, Argoti took him to the bathroom where Williams concealed the cocaine about his legs and waist and then left the ship. Williams was soon arrested with the cocaine. That afternoon, Argoti and Lemos tried to reach Jesus Losada by phone but were told by Rosalinda Losada that he was not available. In August of 1974, Rosalinda Losada asked her friend Canzoneri to assist her in transporting some suitcases so that she could leave for Colombia the next day. Canzoneri went to her home and found her with two seamen. On the dining room table were two plastic bags. Rosalinda Losa-da explained that, shortly before this, a longshoreman, appellant Freddie Williams, had been arrested with five kilograms of cocaine he had been bringing to Jesus Losa-da. She also said that another longshoreman, Williams’s friend German Largacha, had fled to Colombia. Jesus Losada had left for Colombia to discuss the loss with the supplier. Rosalinda was joining him to participate in the negotiations. The kilo and one-half on the table had been taken by the seamen off a ship in Baltimore. Rosalinda asked Canzoneri to sell the cocaine on consignment and he agreed, with the price to be $37,000. Canzoneri indicated that it did not appear to be of good quality. Despite Rosalinda’s chemical tests, the substance proved to be lidocaine, and Canzoneri was unable to sell it. It was a sale of some of this substance to an undercover agent that led to Canzoneri’s arrest. See note 8, supra. 36 Caicedo Rodriguez and Villafana: Miami. In September, 1974, Villafana told Caice-do Rodriguez that he had cocaine on the Ciudad de Bogota, but that he had been unable to remove it because of increased customs surveillance. Caicedo Rodriguez told Villafana that he too was expecting 800 grams of cocaine on the ship. They agreed that Caicedo Rodriguez would try to smuggle the cocaine off the ship when it later docked in Miami. Caicedo Rodriguez flew to Miami and met with seaman Arturo Figueroa, who was carrying Villafana’s cocaine, and with seaman Segundo Caicedo, who had Caicedo Rodriguez’s cocaine. Figueroa refused to give Villafana’s cocaine to Caicedo Rodriguez unless Villafana came to Miami, but he agreed to body-carry past customs the cocaine brought by Segundo Caicedo for Caicedo Rodriguez. Caicedo Rodriguez received the 800 grams of cocaine in Miami and brought it to New York, where he “cut” it to make a kilogram. Part of this kilo was sold to Lucho Plata and part to Rafael Flores. 37 Caicedo Rodriguez and Vega, Bermudez Prado and Moreno Ortiz. The same month Ulpiano Vega, a fugitive defendant, stated to Caicedo Rodriguez that he also had a shipment on the Ciudad de Bogota, but that he was going to have his shipment taken off in Baltimore because conditions there made smuggling easier. Caicedo Rodriguez suggested that he might take the shipment off but Vega refused, stating that Moreno Ortiz and Bermudez Prado were his partners in this venture and that they had already contracted with someone else to remove the cocaine. The next month, according to Caicedo Rodriguez, Vega and Moreno Ortiz, while seated together in the Tunnel Bar, told him that they had eight or nine kilos of cocaine on a ship heading to Baltimore and that there was more cocaine on the ship for others. On October 10,1974, Caicedo Rodriguez, Victor Serrano, and two men who Caicedo Rodriguez later learned were undercover agents drove to Baltimore to steal the shipment, but the scheme failed because the shipment had already been seized by Government agents. 39 Cambindo now sends $100,000 to Colombia. In September, 1974, when Cambindo told Moreno Serna that he was thinking of sending $100,000 to Colombia, Moreno Serna proposed that his wife act as the courier. Moreno Serna soon began receiving from Cambindo the usual small-denomination bills and, as before, he exchanged those bills at banks for larger denominations. While Moreno Serna exchanged approximately $40,000 in all, he was still exchanging bills up to the last minute before his wife was scheduled to board the plane, and she missed the flight. The next day, Cambindo sent $100,000 with Moreno Serna’s wife to Colombia. 40 More of Baltimore: Cambindo and Moreno Serna. In October, 1974, Cambindo informed Moreno Serna that a Silvio, who had come from Colombia, had five kilograms for him aboard the Ciudad de Bogota in Baltimore. Cambindo asked Moreno Serna to go to Baltimore to unload the ship. Silvio, Cambindo, Moreno Serna, and others drove to Baltimore in a ear rented by Moreno Serna. When the ship arrived, they were unable to contact the seaman; the shipment had been seized and the joint ven-turers returned to New York. That same day, Caicedo Rodriguez and the undercover agents had traveled to Baltimore to steal cocaine from Vega, Bermudez Prado and Moreno Ortiz (see # 38). 41 Cambindo and Bermudez Prado; another chase. Subsequently, one night when Moreno Serna was in Cambindo’s apartment, he received a call from Daniel Ríaseos who asked for Cambindo and stated that, together with Cambindo and Bermudez Prado, he had been trying to “take out” cocaine that night and that they had been followed. Later that morning Cambindo told Moreno Serna that Bermudez Prado and he had been chased by the police, but that he (Cambindo) had managed to escape. 42 Back to Rosalinda Losada and her “partners”; also Bermudez Prado. In 1974 Jennie Valdes, a Government witness and Amity Street neighbor of Rosalinda and Jesus Losada, was living with Marcelino Fuentes, a drug dealer. One night Rosalinda went to Valdes’s house to ask Fuentes to sell cocaine for her. Jesus and Rosalinda had had a fight and the former had taken all the latter’s customers. When Fuentes agreed, Rosalinda returned with an ounce of cocaine for Fuentes to sell on consignment. The next day Fuentes paid Rosalinda Losada $600. Thereafter, for a period of two months, Rosalinda Losada supplied cocaine to Fuentes weekly. In the course of their dealings, Rosalinda assured Fuentes that her sources of supply were excellent, explaining that she and Jesus were partners with, and had received their cocaine from, Cambindo, Bermudez Prado, Gonzalez, Moreno Ortiz, and Villafana. Rosalinda also explained that the cocaine was obtained from the ships at Pier 3 through the use of swimmers or longshoremen. On one occasion at the end of 1974, Valdes escorted Losada’s son to Losada’s home where, again on the kitchen table in plain view, Valdes saw approximately a kilo of cocaine. The telephone rang and Rosalinda Losada asked the person on the other end when he was going to come over and cut the cocaine. Rosalinda Losada addressed the caller as “Julio” and “Boca Puta,” which was a nickname for appellant Bermudez Prado. 43-44 Cambindo, the Meat Market and another $70,000 to Colombia. Once in late 1974, Moreno Serna met Emilio Rivas at Cambindo’s house. Rivas left and then Cambindo told Moreno Serna that he had just sold one kilo of cocaine to Rivas and had bought a share in a meat market from him. In February of 1975 Moreno Serna told Cambindo that his sister planned to travel to Colombia. Cambindo indicated that he might have a shipment of $100,000 for her to carry to Colombia. Again, Moreno exchanged approximately $40,000 from small bills to large. When his sister left, Cambindo handed her $70,000 to give to his brothers, Juan and Ricardo, in Colombia. 45 Cambindo in Los Angeles. Soon thereafter, Cambindo asked Moreno Serna to go with him to the West Coast in connection with a cocaine shipment. Cam-bindo and Moreno Serna, their spouses, and Alvaro Caicedo flew to Los Angeles using tickets purchased by Cambindo. Alvaro Caicedo was to body-carry the cocaine off the Grancolombiana ship and Moreno Serna was to be the pick-up man. When the ship arrived, Cambindo instructed Moreno Serna to go on board to look for Lemos and the latter said that he would meet Cambindo on shore in two hours. At the appointed time Cambindo, Lemos, Moreno Serna, and Alvaro Caicedo met in a car in Long Beach and Alvaro Caicedo and Moreno Serna boarded the ship posing as souvenir merchants. Alvaro Cai-cedo and Moreno Serna then left the ship and drove to the hotel at which Cambindo was waiting, whereupon Alvaro Caicedo gave Cambindo some cocaine. Cambindo cleaned the packages, covered with oil, and placed them in his luggage. The following day Moreno Serna and Alvaro Caicedo carried the cocaine to the airport and everyone flew home. The bags were taken to Alvaro Caieedo’s house and then to Cambin-do’s home. Subsequently, Cambindo was to tell Moreno Serna that Alvaro Caicedo was too impatient for his money. Later Cam-bindo told Moreno Serna that he would be given $5,000 for his role in the delivery of the cocaine. Moreno Serna asked that Cambindo credit that amount plus $4,000 toward a kilogram of cocaine and Cambindo gave Moreno Serna $700 and a kilogram of cocaine for $9,000. 46 Cambindo and Moreno Serna — San Francisco. In May of 1975 Cambindo told Moreno Serna that he was expecting a shipment of ten kilos, again to be delivered on the West Coast. Moreno Serna agreed to participate, but wanted to visit with a girlfriend en route. Cambindo called him on the West Coast to tell him that he was sending Alvaro Caicedo, the impatient fellow, and Alfredo Rengifo to California, and that he himself would come as soon as he heard that the ship had arrived. Rengifo and Alvaro Caicedo arrived in California, followed by Cambindo with a woman, Maria. Calls to Grancolombiana revealed that the ship was a week late. Cam-bindo and Rengifo returned to New York. Thereafter, Moreno Serna was told by Grancolombiana that the ship would first dock at San Francisco. Moreno Serna was instructed by Cambindo to stay in Los An-geles, but to send Alvaro Caicedo to San Francisco. When Alvaro Caicedo later reported from San Francisco that the shipment had arrived, Moreno Serna flew there, joining Alvaro Caicedo and a man known as “El Wallo,” a fugitive defendant. The three met in San Francisco with Le-mos, who during a lengthy phone call told Cambindo that, because of the quantity of cocaine involved, he wanted Cambindo’s presence on the scene. Cambindo flew out and was registered as Rudolfo Moreno in the Flamingo Hotel. The next night, one Conrado Ortiz and El Wallo, donning skindiver suits and flippers, went down to the water but returned to tell Cambindo that there were too many people in the area to make the swim. The following day Lemos came to the hotel and asked Cambindo why the swim had not been made. When Cambindo explained, Lemos told him that a number of smugglers had successfully taken out bundles of marijuana that night. Later the same evening, Conrado Ortiz said that he wished to try to make the swim alone since El Wallo was inexperienced. Cambindo instructed Conrado Ortiz that he would park the car near the water and leave the trunk slightly opened. Conrado Ortiz was then to take the cocaine from the water, put it in the trunk, and close it. Cambindo told Moreno Serna and Alvaro Caicedo to bring bags to the pier so that they would appear to be seamen. If they saw the car trunk closed, they were then to drive away in the car. Everything went according to plan, except that after Cam-bindo told Moreno Serna not to bother picking up Conrado Ortiz, the latter, rather angry, came running up the street in a wet suit. Cambindo paid Lemos $20,000 for the drugs, instructed Alvaro Caicedo and El Wallo to bring the cocaine to the airport the next morning, gave them money for airplane tickets and told them not to acknowledge that they knew him in the airport. When Alvaro Caicedo and El Wallo failed to appear, Moreno Serna and Cambindo flew to New York by themselves. Alvaro Caicedo and El Wallo had mistakenly flown on an earlier flight, but the cocaine had arrived safely. Moreno Serna was to get the one kilogram he had previously paid for and $1,000 for each kilogram he had picked up, but finally agreed to take $9,000 minus $2,500 to be paid to Alvaro Caicedo. Cambindo was to sell Moreno Serna’s kilo of cocaine. A week later Cambindo told Moreno Ser-na that he had sold the kilo for $26,000 from which he deducted the $4,000 still owed him for it, $2,000 for Lemos, $2,000 for Conrado Ortiz, and $1,000 for miscellaneous expenses incurred in Colombia. He thus paid Moreno Serna $17,000. A few days later, Cambindo was arrested on a warrant in another drug case in Moreno Serna’s presence. Moreno Serna left New York and had no further contact with Cam-bindo. 47 Cambindo and Rivas — San Francisco revisited. After the arrest Cambindo went to his customer and meat-market partner Emilio Rivas, who said he was still in the drug business. A few days later Cambindo told Rivas to pack a suitcase because they were going to travel. Cambindo, a man known as “El Bolla,” a fugitive, and Rivas met later at Cambindo’s house. They went from there to Boston, where Cambindo picked up a lady friend, and then to San Francisco. They went to the same hotel as before and Cambindo’s friend checked in as “Luz Valencia.” El Bolla was to locate the seaman while Rivas was to rent a car. When Rivas could not find a rental company that would accept cash rather than a credit card, Cambindo told him to buy a used car, which Cambindo paid for. Cam-bindo later told Rivas to act as the pick-up man. Rivas and El Bolla drove the swimmer El Wallo to the pier area and returned one hour later. They found El Wallo in his wet suit with a package of cocaine approximately three feet long and one and one-half feet wide. The three returned to the hotel with the cocaine and gave it to Cambindo. The package was cleaned of grease and packed in El Bolla’s suitcase. Rivas carried the suitcase with the cocaine and, upon arrival in New York, delivered it to Cambindo’s home in Queens. Later Cambindo told Rivas that he was to receive $5,000, but agreed to give him $1,000 cash and one-eighth kilo of cocaine instead. Rivas sold the eighth to appellant Carmen Vivas, the wife of one of Rivas’s long-time customers. Rivas subsequently sold her another eighth that he received from another source. In December, 1975, Cambindo told Rivas that he had begun to get his cocaine off the boats in Texas, and several months later the former moved to Houston. 48 Jesus Losada and “Baby.” As the final act in this scenario, on November 20, 1975, Jesus Losada and Gilliam Vargas, also known as “Baby,” met with a Government informant at a bar in Brooklyn, but not the Tunnel Bar. A second meeting at 1:00 a. m. the next day was held at another bar in Brooklyn. A drug agent and the informant in a Volkswagen then set up a surveillance in a deserted lot not far from the pier, between the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges, in the expectation that Jesus Losada would meet a swimmer there. About 2:30 a. m., Losada and Baby drove slowly by the lot, then pulled into it, parked close to an abandoned pier and remained there for a half hour. At 3:30 a. m., they came back after first driving by slowly a couple of times. They left again, drove by the lot several times, and at 4:30 a. m. parked again. A while later the agents saw something moving across the lot; Losada pulled beside the Volkswagen and stepped from his car. The agents called out their identities and told Losada in English and Spanish to stop. Losada jumped into his car and began accelerating in the direction of one of the agents with his car. The agents began to fire shots, and Losada sped away, careened off a wall, and sped on. Back-up agents pursued the car and, some distance away, forced it to pull over. Inside were Jesus Losada and Baby, who was carrying a pistol. The swimmer was apparently not found. DISCUSSION I. Multiple Conspiracies A. Introduction Despite the prodigious literature written on the subject of single and multiple conspiracies, it remains shrouded in confusion, as evidenced through the bringing of this prosecution as well as through the rulings of the court below. The trial court, in overruling an objection against hearsay evidence testified to by Lemos, said: The conspiracy [as] outlined in this count and as outlined by the proof in this case is so clear that you can’t even think of multiple conspiracies. It is cocaine coming from Colombia. It is not cocaine coming from any part of the world. Wait now, it is cocaine coming from Gran Colombiana ships. I am not required to charge on multiple conspiracy where the evidence does not show it and I find as a matter of law to this point there is no evidence of any conspiracy except to the one I just referred to. That’s the one point that I am not concerned about. There may be many others that might give the Court of Appeals trouble, but not that one. Again, later in another connection the court said: The important thing is, and the central element in this conspiracy is that this was Buenaventura cocaine, brought in by Gran Colombian ships. Mind you, even if it were another shipping line, I’d still find the same conspiracy, but it’s so definite. Every shipment that was brought to the attention of the jury was a Gran Colombian ship and almost the same ships. I never heard of Ciudad de Buenaventura, Ciudad de Bogota, Ciudad de Barranquilla. I know that city from the airport, you see. There are some cases where it’s shipped by plane, wasn’t even done in this case. This came by [Gran Colombian] ship to these ports. Most of the cocaine comes in to Pier 3. All right, some of it comes into a Bush Terminal. One ship goes to San Francisco and one is diverted to Baltimore. What I am trying to say to you, Mr. Sheinberg, the motion to dismiss on the ground that multiple conspiracies are alleged or proved is denied. The Government on appeal takes a different tack, by emphasizing the Tunnel Bar, where some but by no means all of the transactions took place, or were arranged for, and by emphasizing the Buenaventuran ancestries or connections of many of the participants. Thus, The evidence showed that appellants and their coconspirators were members of a large-scale narcotics operation whose members were principally Colombian from Buenaventura, Colombia, a small port city on the Pacific Ocean. The conspirators relied on the ships of the Gran-colombiana Steamship Line to smuggle the cocaine from Colombia to New York, Baltimore, Miami, San Francisco and Los Angeles. The cocaine was smuggled on-board these ships in Buenaventura, Colombia and concealed there by seamen hired to carry the drugs to the United States. In the early days of the conspiracy these ships would arrive at Pier 3 in Brooklyn Heights or the Bush Terminal in Brooklyn, New York. Brief of Appellee at 4 (footnote omitted). And, after describing similar methods of smuggling cocaine off shipboard and onto shore, methods by no means unique with appellants, the Government asserts: The traffickers used the Tunnel Bar, which was located not far from the Bush Shipping Terminal (and was owned by appellant Federico Gonzalez), Red Hook Park, the La Gran Casa store, and several other locations, as meeting and dealing places. At the Tunnel Bar and the other locations, importers would hire swimmers to meet the seamen, second level dealers would meet with the importers to negotiate deals, and importers would meet with each other to pool their resources for the next shipment. Brief of Appellee at 6. Again, It is especially ironic that some of the appellants would make a multiple conspiracy claim in a case where, unlike many other narcotics conspiracy cases, almost all of the appellants knew one another, came from the same town, met with one another at the Tunnel Bar, and, in some cases, even grew up together. Over and over again, these appellants were shown to have used the same seamen, ships, couriers, swimmers, and customers, in a “concert of action.” The appellants constantly interacted, and aligned and realigned among themselves; and the New York-based geographic focal points of this conspiracy were consistently repeated: the Tunnel Bar, Pier 3, Red Hook Park and La Gran Casa. Brief of Appellee at 59 (footnote omitted). We know of no case, however, where the boundaries of the alleged single conspiracy have been so diffuse as this one. The Government has not been able to point to one in its brief. It did suggest United States v. Moten, 564 F.2d 620, 624-26 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 434 U.S. 942,98 S.Ct. 438, 54 L.Ed.2d 304, 959, 98 S.Ct. 489, 54 L.Ed.2d 318, 974, 98 S.Ct. 531, 54 L.Ed.2d 466 (1977), discussed below, but while that case contains some language favorable to the Government, its facts are quite different and at least the trial court there charged the question of single conspiracy as opposed to multiple conspiracies. Id. at 625. Thus, in order to reach a proper conclusion in this complicated case, we are required to review carefully the law on the subject of multiple conspiracy and then to apply that law to the wide-ranging facts of this case. B. Case Law We commence, of course, with Berger v. United States, 295 U.S. 78, 55 S.Ct. 629, 79 L.Ed. 1314 (1935), and Kotteakos v. United States, 328 U.S. 750, 66 S.Ct. 1239, 90 L.Ed. 1557 (1946). In Berger, the Court held that the proper inquiry when two conspiracies have been shown is not whether there has been a variance in proof, but whether there has been a variance affecting substantial rights, 295 U.S. at 82, 55 S.Ct. 629, thereby establishing the principle that a defendant may not successfully challenge a conviction based upon proof of multiple conspiracies when he has not been substantially prejudiced. In Kotteakos, there was a finding of one general conspiracy, but the Court held that, in fact, eight separate conspiracies were proved, with no connection among them other than the fact that one person, Brown, was involved in all eight. 328 U.S. at 754-55, 66 S.Ct. 1239. The Court said that the convictions would be reversed when there was a real danger that evidence concerning other defendants had resulted in what subsequently came to be called a “spillover” effect, i. e., the evidence was transferred “by psychological effect, in spite of instructions for keeping separate transactions separate.” Id. at 767, 66 S.Ct. at 1249. The trial court in Kotteakos was of the view that one conspiracy had been made out by a showing that each defendant was linked to alleged conspirator Brown in one or more transactions and that there was a similarity of purpose presented in various applications for loans. Id. at 768-69, 66 S.Ct. 1239. But the Supreme Court said that “[t]his view . . . obviously confuses the common purpose of a single enterprise with the several, though similar, purposes of numerous separate adventures of like character.” Id. at 769, 66 S.Ct. at 1250. Thus, to determine whether one or multiple conspiracies are proven, Kotteakos directs the inquiry to whether there was a “single enterprise.” In our court, United States v. Borelli, 336 F.2d 376 (2d Cir. 1964), cert. denied, 379 U.S. 960, 85 S.Ct. 647,13 L.Ed.2d 555 (1965), is perhaps the leading earlier case on this subject. Judge Fr