Full opinion text
HARLINGTON WOOD, Jr., Circuit Judge. After a joint trial lasting approximately four weeks, defendants Anthony Peters, Lawrence Peters, and Jacek Odoner were each convicted of drug-related offenses. All three defendants appeal and assert numerous grounds of error. We affirm the convictions on all grounds and uphold all three sentences. Anthony Peters was the “kingpin” of an extensive cocaine-dealing business in Milwaukee from 1979 until 1983. Lawrence Peters, Anthony’s brother, acted as the second-in-command of the conspiracy and took care of whatever Anthony Peters did not attend to personally. Jacek Odoner trav-elled to Florida to buy cocaine, stored the cocaine in his father’s house, and was one of Anthony Peters’ numerous “delivery boys.” In April 1983, a grand jury entered a fourteen-count indictment against Anthony Peters, Lawrence Peters, Jacek Odoner, Edward Odoner, John Gingras, John Redford, Walter Daniels, Sal Dacquisto, and Thomas Pogodzinski. The majority of the counts named Anthony Peters, with the others figuring in either one or two counts. In May 1984, Anthony and Larry Peters, Odoner, Dacquisto and Pogodzinski went on trial. Walter Daniels, John Gingras, and John Redford negotiated separate plea agreements. Gingras and Redford testified for the government. Edward Odoner, Jacek Odoner’s brother, disappeared, allegedly with money from the cocaine ring, and was never apprehended. Sal Dacquisto was convicted of conspiracy, was sentenced to eighteen months in prisión, but does not appeal. The jury acquitted Thomas Pogod-zinski. I. ANTHONY PETERS Defendant Anthony Peters was convicted of nine counts of possession and distribution of cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and 18 U.S.C. § 2; one count of use of the telephone to distribute cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 843(b) and 18 U.S.C. § 2; one count of interstate travel to facilitate a business enterprise involving the distribution of cocaine in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2 and 1952(a)(3); and one count of engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 848. Peters received a total of twenty-two years in prison and a special parole term of three years. Peters forfeited guns, automobiles, and real and personal property to the government pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 848 after the jury found that all the items were the profits of a continuing criminal enterprise. Peters claims eleven instances of error. Peters asserts that the search warrants for his home and for his parents’ home were impermissibly broad, that the district court should have conducted a pretrial probable cause hearing for his property, that the court erred in denying Peters standing to challenge the search of a 1972 Jaguar, and that the court erred by refusing to hold a hearing to enable Peters to explore the circumstances surrounding the excusal of a grand juror. Peters also challenges the court’s instruction admitting coconspirator’s hearsay testimony, the court’s refusal to sever count fourteen from counts one through thirteen, the court’s instruction about the relationship between counts one and fourteen, the sufficiency of the evidence of count fourteen, the admission of testimony of threats made by him, the admission of the business records of an interi- or decorator, and the admission of hotel and telephone records of David Word. A. SEARCH WARRANTS Anthony Peters contends that the search warrants issued for his home and for his parents’ home failed to describe with particularity the items to be seized and were overly broad. On April 26, 1983, the district court issued two search warrants, one authorizing a search of 3370 North Gordon Place, Milwaukee, the other authorizing a search at 3043 North Haekett, Milwaukee. The North Gordon search warrant was accompanied by a three-page, eleven-paragraph list of property to be seized and an eighteen-page affidavit. The supporting affidavit had two exhibits, a summary of Peters’ various purchases, improvements, and trips, and nine invoices of Peters’ purchases. The Haekett search warrant authorized the seizure of “[g]ems, narcotics, and currency, the profits of a Continuing Criminal Enterprise, 21 U.S.C. 848.” First, Peters argues that the North Gordon warrant authorized the seizure of items only evidencing possession of assets. Peters asserts that the warrant’s language authorized the seizure only of indicia of ownership, such as titles and bills of sale, and not the actual property. This novel argument is flawed, however, as the language at issue appears on the first page of the affidavit, not the search warrant. The warrant does not incorporate the affidavit by reference. The search warrant incorporates only a list of property to be seized, describing items such as “[a] Corfu brass/bronze/glass cocktail table” and “[a] Wild Boar Farnese bed, pillow shams and fitted bed cover.” Although not all eleven paragraphs are as detailed as these two items in paragraph ten, the property list for the North Gordon warrant is sufficiently specific to meet the “particularity” test of Marron v. United States, 275 U.S. 192, 196, 48 S.Ct. 74, 76, 72 L.Ed. 231 (1927). Peters’ second argument attacks paragraph eleven of the North Gordon search warrant and also challenges the Haekett warrant’s description of property to be seized as “[g]ems, narcotics, and currency, the profits of a Continuing Criminal Enterprise, 21 U.S.C. 848.” Peters argues that this language gave the agents executing the warrants too much discretion. This argument is unpersuasive. The Supreme Court addressed a similar argument in Andresen v. Maryland, 427 U.S. 463, 96 S.Ct. 2737, 49 L.Ed.2d 627 (1976). The warrants in Andresen were allegedly rendered overbroad by the presence in each warrant of the phrase “together with other fruits, instrumentalities and evidence of crime at this [time] unknown” at the end of a long list of documents. The Court rejected the overbreadth argument and held that the “clauses in the series are limited by what precedes that colon_ The warrants, accordingly, did not authorize the executing officers to conduct a search for evidence of other crimes but only to search for and seize evidence relevant to the crime of false pretenses.” 427 U.S. at 481-82, 96 S.Ct. at 2749. Both the Haekett warrant’s language and the North Gordon warrant’s paragraph eleven modify the items preceding them. The allegedly overbroad phrase in the Hackett warrant merely indicates that the specific items “gems, narcotics and currency” are to be seized as the “profits of a continuing criminal enterprise.” The defendant’s argument might have had more force if the Hackett warrant had authorized the seizure of “gems, narcotics, currency, and the profits of a continuing criminal enterprise.” The wording and punctuation of the Hackett warrant, however, indicate that the “profits” language merely describes the statutory authority for the seizure and does not represent a separate category of property to be seized. Paragraph eleven of the North Gordon warrant likewise must be read in the context of the ten paragraphs preceding it. Paragraph eleven follows a very detailed list of property to be seized. Like the language of the Hackett warrant, paragraph eleven of the North Gordon warrant merely indicates the crimes of which the specific items previously listed are evidence. Paragraph eleven therefore did not expand the executing officers’ authority beyond permissible limits, but rather described the source of that authority. The warrants described the items to be seized with sufficient particularity and therefore were not overly broad. B. PRETRIAL HEARING ON SEIZURE OF PROPERTY Anthony Peters’ second claim is that the district court violated his due process rights by failing to hold a hearing on the government’s seizure of his property. Pursuant to two search warrants, the government seized a substantial amount of Peters’ personal property on the day Peters was arrested. After convicting Peters of operating a continuing criminal enterprise, the jury found that the seized property as well as some pieces of real property were the profits of the illegal enterprise. The district court ordered the real and personal property forfeited to the government pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 848. At that time the government seized Peters’ real property. Peters asserts that the district court should have held an evidentiary hearing prior to trial to determine whether the government had the right to retain the property until trial. Peters urges this court to require a hearing as the Ninth Circuit did in United States v. Crozier, 674 F.2d 1293 (9th Cir.1982), vacated and remanded, — U.S. —, 104 S.Ct. 3575, 82 L.Ed.2d 873 (1984), vacated in part and aff'd in part on remand, 111 F.2d 1376 (9th Cir.1985). We need not decide whether to follow the Ninth Circuit on this issue because the seizures in this case were made pursuant to search warrants. Peters contends that although the property was seized pursuant to a search warrant, the government still violated due process by retaining his property until trial. Peters claims that the government should have returned the property after it had been inventoried and photographed. Peters urges that due process requires an adversarial hearing whenever the government seizes property either for forfeiture or for evidentiary purposes or to prevent the use or transfer of the assets. Peters’ due process rights were not violated by the government’s retention of his property pending trial. Peters cites no authority to support his claim that due process requires the return of evidence once the prosecution has inventoried and photographed the property. Furthermore, Fed. R.Crim.P. 41(e) provides an adequate procedural safeguard against illegal governmental seizure of property pursuant to a warrant. Peters availed himself of this safeguard by filing a motion to suppress challenging the search warrants. Due process did not require a pretrial adversarial hearing in these circumstances. C. SEARCH OF 1972 JAGUAR Anthony Peters next challenges the district court’s determination that Peters did not have standing to object to the search of a 1972 Jaguar owned by coconspirator Walter Daniels. Peters’ ability to challenge the search of the Jaguar depends upon whether he can establish a reasonable expectation of privacy in the car. Peters asserts a reasonable expectation of privacy based on his occasional use of the car, on his possession of keys to the car, on his arranging to store the car in his parents’ driveway from December 1982 until the time of its seizure in April 1983, on his paying for repairs to the car, and on his “equitable” interest in the car. As the Supreme Court has stated, “this inquiry ... normally embraces two discrete questions. The first is whether the individual, by his conduct, has ‘exhibited an actual (subjective) expectation of privacy’ — whether ... the individual has shown that ‘he seeks to preserve [something] as private.’ The second question is whether the individual’s subjective expectation of privacy is ‘one that society is prepared to recognize as reasonable’ — whether the individual’s expectation, viewed objectively, is ‘justifiable’ under the circumstances.” Smith v. Maryland, 442 U.S. 735, 740, 99 S.Ct. 2577, 2580, 61 L.Ed.2d 220 (1979) (quoting Katz v. United States, 389 U.S. 347, 353, 351, 361, 88 S.Ct. 507, 512, 511, 516, 19 L.Ed.2d 576 (1967) (citations omitted)). The defendant has the burden of proving a legitimate expectation of privacy in the area searched. Rawlings v. Kentucky, 448 U.S. 98, 101, 100 S.Ct. 2556, 2559, 65 L.Ed.2d 633 (1980). In applying this two-prong test several factors are relevant: [1] whether the defendant has a posses-sory [or ownership] interest in the thing seized or the place searched, [2] whether he has the right to exclude others from that place, [3] whether he has exhibited a subjective expectation that it would remain free from governmental invasion, [4] whether he took normal precautions to maintain his privacy and [5] whether he was legitimately on the premises. United States v. Haydel, 649 F.2d 1152, 1155 (5th Cir.1981), cert. denied, 455 U.S. 1022, 102 S.Ct. 1721, 72 L.Ed.2d 140 (1982) (iciting United States v. Salvucci, 448 U.S. 83, 92, 100 S.Ct. 2547, 2553, 65 L.Ed.2d 619 (1980); Rawlings v. Kentucky, 448 U.S. 98, 100 S.Ct. 2556, 65 L.Ed.2d 633 (1980); Rakas v. Illinois, 439 U.S. 128, 99 S.Ct. 421, 58 L.Ed.2d 387 (1978)). Applying these factors, we find that Peters has failed to meet his burden of proof and has not established that he had a reasonable expectation of privacy in the Jaguar. Peters was not in possession of the car at the time of the search. Nor does he assert legal ownership of the car, although he claims “an equitable ownership” interest. Peters bought the car and immediately sold it to Walter Daniels for $7,000. The title and registration were put in Daniel’s name. Peters sold the car to Daniels to pay for $3,000 worth of carpentry work that Daniels was doing at Peters’ home at the time. Daniels was to pay off the $4,000 difference in carpentry work for Peters, but at the time of the search Daniels had not paid the car off. Consequently Peters asserts an “equitable” interest in the car. Peters’ testimony at the suppression hearing, however, does not indicate that he had the right to control the use of or to exclude others from using the Jaguar. Peters and the owner each had a set of keys to the car, but Peters testified that he used the car only with the owner’s permission. Peters does not assert that he ever drove the car on a regular basis, and the record indicates that at least two or three other people used the Jaguar. Moreover, Peters’ testimony at the suppression hearing does not indicate that he held any subjective expectation of privacy for the vehicle. None of Peters’ statements suggests that he believed he could leave anything in the car and have it remain untouched. In addition, the record does not indicate that Peters took any precautions to assure privacy in the car. Finally, Peters was not in or near the car when the search occurred. As support for his argument, Peters cites three cases, Jones v. United States, 362 U.S. 257, 80 S.Ct. 725, 4 L.Ed.2d 697 (1960); United States v. Portillo, 633 F.2d 1313 (9th Cir.1980), cert. denied, 450 U.S. 1043, 101 S.Ct. 1764, 68 L.Ed.2d 241 (1981); United States v. Burke, 506 F.2d 1165 (9th Cir.1974), cert. denied, 421 U.S. 915, 95 S.Ct. 1576, 43 L.Ed.2d 781 (1975), in which the defendants were found to have a reasonable expectation of privacy in cars over which, he asserts, the defendants exercised “less possession and control” than he did over the Jaguar. These cases, however, differ substantially from the case before us. In both Jones and Portillo, the defendants were present when the searches occurred and both defendants had exclusive possession and control except with respect to the owner. Jones, 362 U.S. at 258-59, 265, 80 S.Ct. at 729-30, 733; Portillo, 633 F.2d at 1317. In contrast, Peters was not in possession of the car at the time of the search and could not exclude all others save the owner. Furthermore, Jones dealt with the search of an apartment, and “cars are not to be treated identically with houses or apartments for Fourth Amendment purposes.” Rakas v. Illinois, 439 U.S. 128, 148, 99 S.Ct. 421, 433, 58 L.Ed.2d 387 (1978). “One has a lesser expectation of privacy in a motor vehicle because its function is transportation and it seldom serves as one’s residence or as the repository of personal effects.” Cardwell v. Lewis, 417 U.S. 583, 590, 94 S.Ct. 2464, 2469, 41 L.Ed.2d 325 (1974). Accord United States v. Martinez-Fuerte, 428 U.S. 543, 561, 96 S.Ct. 3074, 3084, 49 L.Ed.2d 1116 (1976). In the third case, Burke, the determining factor was the defendant’s repeated use of the van which was searched. 506 F.2d at 1171. Peters’ testimony at the suppression hearing, however, indicates that he at most used the car occasionally. In this case, the defendant did not own the car that was searched and did not control who drove the car. He was unsure how many people had access to the car. Peters did not use the car on a daily or even a regular basis and did not testify that he had a subjective expectation of privacy. In these circumstances we hold that Peters did not exercise sufficient dominion and control over the car to give him a reasonable expectation of privacy in the Jaguar. D. GRAND JURY Anthony Peters next challenges the district court’s refusal to allow him to inquire into the circumstances surrounding the ex-cusal of a grand juror. The defendant argues that he was entitled to an adversary hearing to review the grand jury proceeding and to ensure that proper procedures were used to protect the grand jury’s integrity. Before trial Peters filed an in camera motion requesting either disclosure of the grand jury minutes or an evidentiary hearing into the administration of the grand jury. Peters’ counsel submitted an affidavit stating that as part of discovery he had received a portion of a government surveillance report on a person living approximately two blocks away from Peters’ parents’ home. Peters’ counsel phoned the subject of the surveillance and learned that he was a grand juror sitting on the Peters investigation. Peters’ counsel then approached an Assistant United States Attorney who refused to comment upon the surveillance or upon the procedure for excusing a grand juror. The affidavit also states that an unnamed source informed Peters’ counsel that the grand juror’s house was “raided” by the government, and that he later learned that the grand juror was excused while the grand jury was still investigating Peters. After reviewing Peters’ motion, his attorney’s affidavit, and the government’s sealed response, the magistrate declined to hold an evidentiary hearing. The magistrate concluded that “the government’s attorneys proceeded cautiously and properly in order to protect the integrity of the members of the grand jury and their proceedings.” The trial court affirmed the magistrate’s ruling. The judge indicated that the defendant’s concerns had been addressed and the administration of the grand jury had been proper as the magistrate had authorized the grand juror’s discharge at the juror’s request and without objection from the U.S. Attorney. Peters asserts that an adversarial hearing was necessary to determine whether the grand juror’s excusal had prior judicial approval or was simply an exercise of arbitrary pros-ecutorial discretion. “We begin our analysis by noting that the grand jury remains a creature of statute, at least in the provisions for its governance.... In the present case, Rule 6 provides the applicable statutory standard.” United States v. Lang, 644 F.2d 1232, 1235 (7th Cir.), cert. denied, 454 U.S. 870, 102 S.Ct. 338, 70 L.Ed.2d 174 (1981). Fed.R.Crim.P. 6(g) provides: “At any time for cause shown the court may excuse a juror either temporarily or permanently, and in the latter event the court may impanel another person in place of the juror excused.” Rule 6(g) does not require an adversarial hearing before the court may dismiss a grand juror. Nor does Rule 6(g) require a court to notify the subject of the investigation that a grand juror has been dismissed or to explain the reason for the dismissal. An adversarial hearing would disrupt and delay grand jury proceedings, and therefore a petitioner requesting such a hearing bears a heavy burden. “Persons charging irregularities in the course of grand jury proceedings must present ‘a concrete basis’ supporting the inference of misconduct.” In re the Special April 1977 Grand Jury, 587 F.2d 889, 892 (7th Cir.1978). The defendant has failed to carry this heavy burden. Peters’ affidavit suggests that, as the district court found, the government excused the grand juror to protect the grand jury’s integrity. Peters also contends that the subsequent ex parte judicial review was inadequate to determine the appropriateness of the procedure for the grand juror’s removal. Peters complains of “the denial of defendant’s right ... to even challenge the government’s conduct in administering a grand jury which returned an indictment of him.” This amounts to a “general broadside attack against grand jury secrecy and the indictment system,” United States v. Frumento, 405 F.Supp. 23, 33 (E.D.Pa.1975), and not a “concrete basis” which would support disclosure of grand jury minutes or an adversarial hearing. Moreover, the defendant challenged the excusal of the grand juror by filing a pretrial motion for disclosure of the grand jury minutes. Fed.R.Crim.P. 6(e) controls the disclosure of grand jury matters. Rule 6(e) provides that “[disclosure otherwise prohibited by this rule of matters occurring before the grand jury may also be made ... upon a showing that grounds may exist for a motion to dismiss an indictment because of matters occurring before the grand jury.” Dismissal of an indictment is warranted if the defendant shows an abuse of the grand jury process which affects a substantial right of the defendant or impugns the grand jury’s integrity. United States v. Phillips, 664 F.2d 971, 1044 (5th Cir.1981), cert. denied sub nom. Myers v. United States, 457 U.S. 1136, 102 S.Ct. 2965, 73 L.Ed.2d 1354 (1982). The Supreme Court has interpreted Rule 6(e) to require the party requesting disclosure to show a “particularized need” for the grand jury materials. United States v. Sells Engineering, Inc., 463 U.S. 418, 443, 103 S.Ct. 3133, 3148, 77 L.Ed.2d 743 (1983). The Supreme Court has enunciated a balancing test for trial courts enforcing Rule 6(e): “Parties seeking grand jury transcripts under Rule 6(e) must show that the material they seek is needed to avoid a possible injustice in another judicial proceeding, that the need for disclosure is greater than the need for continued secrecy, and that their request is structured to cover only material so needed.... [Disclosure is appropriate only in those cases where the need for it outweighs the public interest in secrecy, and that the burden of demonstrating this balance rests upon the private party seeking dis-closure_ In sum, ... the court’s duty in a case of this kind is to weigh carefully the competing interests in light of the relevant circumstances and the standards announced by this Court. And if disclosure is ordered, the court may include protective limitations on the use of the disclosed material....” Id. (quoting Douglas Oil Co. v. Petrol Stops Northwest, 441 U.S. 211, 222-23, 99 S.Ct. 1667, 1674-75, 60 L.Ed.2d 156 (1979)). The disposition of a motion to inquire into the grand jury proceedings falls within the district court’s discretion, and we will not disturb the court’s ruling absent an abuse of that discretion. In re the Special April 1977 Grand Jury, 587 F.2d 889, 892 (7th Cir.1978). The district court balanced the competing interests referred to in Sells and found that Peters’ need for the government’s documents did not outweigh the need to maintain the secrecy of the grand jury proceedings. The district judge in denying Peters’ pretrial and post-trial motions, having twice reviewed the government’s response, determined that Peters had failed to show a particularized need for the information in the government’s ex parte response or for the disclosure of the grand jury proceedings. Furthermore, the court found that such disclosure might disrupt an ongoing government investigation of matters revealed in the government’s response. The information in Peters’ supporting affidavit does not suggest that disclosure of some unspecified matters would uncover grounds for dismissing the grand jury’s indictment. There is nothing in the record to link the grand juror’s dismissal to the grand jury’s decision to indict Peters. Peters does not assert that the grand jury would not have indicted him had the grand juror not been excused. Due process did not require the district court to hold an adversarial hearing either before or after the grand juror’s removal. The district court’s subsequent review of the government’s sealed response to Peters’ motion for a hearing was sufficient to ensure that the government had not violated the integrity of the grand jury. Moreover, excusal of a grand juror who was the subject of government surveillance does not establish that any impropriety occurred before the grand jury itself. E. INSTRUCTION UPON THE ADMISSION OF COCONSPIRATOR HEARSAY TESTIMONY Anthony Peters argues that the trial judge’s instruction on the second day of trial in admitting hearsay referring to code-fendant Thomas Pogodzinski under Fed.R. Evid. 801(d)(2) invaded the province of the jury. Peters interprets the court’s instruction as alerting jurors that if the court allowed them to consider the hearsay evidence, then the court had found that a conspiracy had been established by independent evidence. Peters does not challenge the trial court’s Santiago determination. Rather, the issue here is whether the trial judge erred in his comments to the jury regarding the admission of this testimony. Under United States v. Santiago, 582 F.2d 1128 (7th Cir.1978), the trial judge must make “an express finding, preliminary to admitting coconspirator hearsay, that the conspiracy and the defendant’s membership in the conspiracy was proved by a preponderance of the evidence.” United States v. Medina-Herrera, 606 F.2d 770, 773 (7th Cir.1979), cert. denied, 446 U.S. 964, 100 S.Ct. 2939, 64 L.Ed.2d 822 (1980). This preliminary determination is made under Fed.R.Evid. 104(a) outside the hearing of the jury. United States v. Allen, 596 F.2d 227, 230 (7th Cir.), cert. denied, 444 U.S. 871, 100 S.Ct. 149, 62 L.Ed.2d 97 (1979). Under Santiago, the judge decides the admissibility of the co-conspirator hearsay, and the jury then determines the weight and credibility of this evidence “as it considers all the evidence in determining whether guilt has been established beyond a reasonable doubt.” Santiago, 582 F.2d at 1133. The judge may admit the coconspirator hearsay conditioned upon the prosecution subsequently establishing by independent evidence the existence of a conspiracy. United States v. Andrus, 775 F.2d 825, 837 (7th Cir.1985). If the condition is never satisfied, a mistrial or at least an instruction for the jury to disregard the hearsay statements would be necessary. Id. At the close of all the evidence, if the court rules that the cocon-spirator hearsay is admissible, this evidence goes to the jury with all the other evidence. In ruling upon the admissibility of coconspirator hearsay, the judge should not explain to the jury his ruling on this issue. Allen, 596 F.2d at 230; Santiago, 582 F.2d at 1136. As the Sixth Circuit has advised, the trial judge should refrain from advising the jury of his findings that the government has satisfactorily proved the conspiracy. The judge should not describe to the jury the government’s burden of proof on the preliminary question. Such an instruction can serve only to alert the jury that the judge has determined that a conspiracy involving the defendant has been proven by a preponderance of the evidence. This may adversely affect the defendant’s right to trial by jury. The judge’s opinion is likely to influence strongly the opinion of individual jurors when they come to consider their verdict and judge the credibility of witnesses. United States v. Vinson, 606 F.2d 149, 153 (6th Cir.1979), cert. denied, 444 U.S. 1074, 100 S.Ct. 1020, 62 L.Ed.2d 756 (1980) (footnote omitted). More appropriately, the judge should at most merely caution the jurors at the time the coconspirator hearsay is admitted that the evidence was not subject to crossexami-nation. See 1 J. Weinstein & M. Berger, Weinstein’s Evidence ¶ 104[05], at 104-57 (1985). The court should not charge the jury on the admissibility of the coconspirator’s statement, but should, of course, instruct that the government is required to prove the ultimate guilt of the defendant beyond a reasonable doubt. An appropriate instruction on credibility should be given, and the jury should be cautioned with regard to the weight and credibility to be accorded a coconspirator’s statement. United States v. Bell, 573 F.2d 1040, 1044 (8th Cir.1978). Accord Vinson, 606 F.2d at 153. In this case, on the second day of trial, the judge was asked to rule on the relevance of the witness’ belief about the contents of a bag that codefendant Thomas Pogodzinski had been holding at the time in question. An off-the-record sidebar conference was held, and then the judge gave the instruction at issue. The judge allowed the testimony to continue; and a little further on, after another sidebar conference, the judge gave a “curative” instruction telling the jury to disregard his previous comments. These instructions amounted to an explanation of the judge’s admissibility ruling on the coconspirator hearsay. The defendant does not cite, however, nor has this court’s research uncovered, any case holding that an instruction of this type is reversible error. Although the better practice is to refrain from instructing the jury on the reason the coconspirator hearsay is admissible, or to caution the jury on the credibility of such hearsay, the trial judge here in any event later withdrew his comments. See United States v. Allen, 596 F.2d 227, 230 (7th Cir.1979). The judge’s comments about the admissibility of the hearsay testimony did not deprive Peters or his code-fendants of a fair trial. Although the trial judge’s comments to the jury were ill-advised, we do not find that his remarks actually prejudiced Peters or his codefendants. The court’s comments were at best vague, unclear, and possibly confusing for the jury. These comments were not, as Peters would have us believe, a forceful de facto pronouncement to the jury that the government had convinced the judge that a conspiracy existed. Moreover, “the jury had abundant, non-hearsay evidence on which to base its verdict.” Vinson, 606 F.2d at 152. As discussed in detail in sections 1(H), 11(E) and III(H) infra, the government’s proof of the conspiracy rested upon substantial non-hearsay testimony from several witnesses. Furthermore, any confusion caused by the comments was cured by the court’s customary and complete final instructions to the jury about its role and about the law of conspiracy. In these final instructions the judge also told the jurors that they were “at total liberty to disregard all comments of the court in arriving at ... findings as to the facts.” The jury’s acquittal of codefendant Po-godzinski attests to the jury’s understanding of the judge’s instructions and the jury’s lack of confusion or prejudice from the trial judge’s earlier unfortunate remarks. Therefore reversal of these convictions is not required on these facts. F. SEVERANCE OF COUNT FOURTEEN Anthony Peters next contends that the trial judge erred in refusing to sever count fourteen from counts one through thirteen. Peters asserts that the district court’s ruling prevented him from testifying and that his testimony would have provided exculpatory evidence on count fourteen. Peters concedes that joinder of the counts was proper under Fed.R.Crim.P. 8, but argues that severance was mandated under Fed.R. Crim.P. 14. Peters, in a sealed affidavit to the district court, stated that in a separate trial on count fourteen he would have admitted the substance of cQunts one through thirteen in order to present his defense to count fourteen. Apparently Peters sold gems with inflated appraised values. Peters would have testified that he amassed a substantial amount of money from his gem business. Peters would have testified that he “passed himself off as a cocaine dealer” in order to gain the confidence of drug dealers whom he assumed would have large sums of money to spend on his gems and would be unlikely to check the gem values. This testimony, Peters felt, would explain his massive amount of wealth and would discredit the government’s theory that Peters accumulated his wealth by operating a criminal enterprise. The trial court denied him due process, Peters asserts, by presenting him with a “Hobson’s Choice” of testifying and admitting guilt on counts one through thirteen, or not testifying and avoiding self-incrimination but also foregoing the opportunity to present exculpatory evidence on count fourteen. Peters cites Baker v. United States, 401 F.2d 958 (D.C.Cir.1968), cert. denied, 400 U.S. 965, 91 S.Ct. 367, 27 L.Ed.2d 384 (1970), to support this argument. The issue here is whether Anthony Peters has established that the district court’s refusal to try count fourteen separately caused him to suffer substantial actual prejudice and to receive an unfair trial. See United States v. Percival, 756 F.2d 600, 610 (7th Cir.1985); United States v. Harris, 761 F.2d 394, 401 (7th Cir.1985). “[Sjeverance is not mandatory every time a defendant wishes to testify to one charge but to remain silent on another. If that were the law, a court would be divested of all control over the matter of severance and the choice would be entrusted to the defendant.” Holmes v. Gray, 526 F.2d 622, 626 (7th Cir.1975), cert. denied sub nom. Holmes v. Israel, 434 U.S. 907, 98 S.Ct. 308, 54 L.Ed.2d 194 (1977). The defendant’s showing of actual prejudice must be balanced against the policy encouraging joint trials — especially when a conspiracy is charged — for judicial economy and to avoid lengthy and repetitious trials involving the same evidence and the same witnesses. United States v. Papia, 560 F.2d 827, 836-37 (7th Cir.1977). Because the trial court is in the best position to balance these concerns, a court’s decision on a severance motion will be reversed on appeal only upon a clear abuse of discretion. United States v. Gironda, 758 F.2d 1201, 1220 (7th Cir.1985). Peters’ contention mirrors the allegations made by one of the defendants in United States v. Webster, 734 F.2d 1048, 1052-53 (5th Cir.1984). Like Peters, Webster was charged with conspiracy, several substantive counts, and a continuing criminal enterprise count. Webster’s trial strategy was to admit his involvement in numerous cocaine transactions while maintaining his innocence on the continuing criminal enterprise charge. Not surprisingly, the jury convicted Webster of the conspiracy and substantive charges, but nevertheless acquitted him of the continuing criminal enterprise count. On appeal, Webster argued that the court’s refusal to sever forced him to admit guilt on the substantive counts in order to defend against the continuing criminal enterprise charge. The Fifth Circuit did not find this argument compelling, noting that “Webster certainly could have argued that he did not engage in any of the acts charged in the conspiracy or substantive counts and, at the same time, argue that he was not the. head of the continuing criminal enterprise.” Id. at 1053. The Webster court’s logic applies equally well to the facts' in this case. Peters acknowledges that his argument “closely resembles” that made by Webster, but challenges the Webster court’s finding that the defendant was not prejudiced because he voluntarily adopted a trial strategy of confessing guilt on the substantive counts. Peters argues that he did not make a truly voluntary choice because he would have had to either incriminate himself on the substantive counts in order to testify on the criminal enterprise count or forego presenting exculpatory evidence in order to avoid self-incrimination. These, however, were not his only two options. As in Webster, Peters was not barred from denying his guilt on both the conspiracy and the substantive counts and also presenting evidence that his income came from selling gems, not from heading a criminal enterprise. It was not essential to his defense that Peters explain the “occupations” that his gem business customers pursued. Furthermore, the court gave Anthony Peters’ tendered instruction about his theory of defense. Peters has failed to show actual prejudice from the denial of his severance motion and has therefore failed to show that the district court abused its discretion by denying the severance motion. G. JURY INSTRUCTION ON COUNTS ONE AND FOURTEEN Peters challenges the instruction given on the relationship between count one, the conspiracy charge, and count fourteen, the continuing criminal enterprise charge. Peters does not challenge the substance of the instruction, but he objects to the wording. Peters contends that the instruction gave “preferential treatment” to count fourteen and therefore prevented the jury from independently evaluating the two counts. Peters’ tendered instruction simply informed the jury that they could find Peters guilty of either count one or count fourteen. When reviewing jury instructions, “we view the instructions as a whole and ‘as long as the instructions treat the issues fairly and accurately, they will not be interfered with on appeal.’ ” United States v. Thibodeaux, 758 F.2d 199, 202 (7th Cir.1985) (quoting United States v. Croft, 750 F.2d 1354, 1366 (7th Cir.1984)). In addition, “ ‘[i]f a charge is substantially accurate, it is not error for the trial judge to refuse to use the language submitted by counsel.’ ” United States v. Zarattini, 552 F.2d 753, 759 (7th Cir.), cert. denied, 431 U.S. 942, 97 S.Ct. 2661, 53 L.Ed.2d 262 (1977) (quoting United States v. Sacco, 436 F.2d 780, 783 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 404 U.S. 834, 92 S.Ct. 116, 30 L.Ed.2d 64 (1971)). Considering the instruction on this issue as a whole, we do not find the instruction “prejudicially erroneous.” United States v. Shaffner, 524 F.2d 1021, 1023 n. 2 (7th Cir.1975), cert. denied, 424 U.S. 920, 96 S.Ct. 1126, 47 L.Ed.2d 327 (1976). The instruction follows the language of the Seventh Circuit’s lesser-included-offense instruction, and is “substantially accurate.” The court began by issuing general instructions covering issues such as burden of proof. At the very beginning of these preliminary comments, the judge told the jury “not to single out one instruction alone as stating the law, but ... consider the instructions as a whole, as a totality.” Before reading the indictment, the judge admonished the jury to consider each count separately as to each defendant, stating, “you must consider each count and the evidence relating to it separate and apart from every other count.” The judge also stated that the jury should not interpret either the instructions or the verdict form as an indication of the verdict he thought should be rendered. The court then read the full indictment, listed the elements of each count separately, and gave the legal definition of the significant aspects of each element of each count. It is at best speculative that the jury would have inferred from the instruction at issue that the district judge for some reason preferred them to find Peters guilty of the continuing criminal enterprise charge instead of the conspiracy charge. The wording of the instruction would not raise that inference, even if the jury had focused upon it to the exclusion of the other instructions. We do not find that the language of the instruction as worded as inaccurate or misleading. Moreover, we are unwilling to speculate that the jury would ignore the judge’s specific instruction to consider each count separately. Considering the instructions as a whole, we do not find support for Peters’ speculation that this instruction improperly directed the jury’s deliberations or prevented the jury from evaluating the evidence for each count independently. H. SUFFICIENCY OF THE EVIDENCE ON COUNT FOURTEEN Anthony Peters argues that the government introduced insufficient evidence that he supervised a continuing criminal enterprise. Peters concedes that the government introduced “massive evidence of conspiracy,” but asserts that the prosecution failed to show that he directed or controlled five or more persons. Initially we note that Peters has a heavy burden on this issue. A court reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence must uphold a conviction if, “after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.” Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979). See United States v. Percival, 756 F.2d 600, 610 (7th Cir.1985). An appellate court will not weigh the evidence or assess the credibility of the witnesses. United States v. Wilson, 715 F.2d 1164, 1173 (7th Cir.), cert. denied sub nom. Williams v. United States, 464 U.S. 986, 104 S.Ct. 434, 79 L.Ed.2d 187 (1983). Peters challenges only the proof that he organized, supervised, or managed the activities of five or more persons. Peters claims that the witnesses who testified that they bought cocaine from Peters were not directed by Peters “as to price, conditions, time, identity, or in any other way” when they subsequently sold the cocaine. Peters concedes, however, that Lawrence Peters, Michael Schroeder and Jacek Odoner “might be said to have taken direction from Anthony Peters.” “What is left,” Peters maintains, “are occasional times when a loosely-knit group of friends would drop off cocaine as a favor [to Anthony Peters].” To support its contention that Peters organized and supervised the activities of five or more persons, instead of merely participating in a conspiracy to distribute cocaine, the government called numerous witnesses to testify about Anthony Peters’ cocaine activities. After reviewing the testimony of these witnesses in the light most favorable to the prosecution, we conclude that there was ample evidence that Peters “organized, managed or supervised” at least five people in a narcotics distribution business. Three witnesses testified that for several years Larry Peters, Jay Mussbrugger, and Jacek Odoner delivered to them cocaine ordered from Anthony Peters. Two of these witnesses also stated that Walter Daniels and Anthony’s other brothers, Steve and Matthew Peters, delivered Peters’ cocaine to them at various times. In addition, four other witnesses stated that they themselves delivered cocaine and collected money for Anthony Peters. Finally, one witness, John Redford, testified that in 1981 Anthony Peters sent him to take over Peters’ “Houston Connection” from another conspirator. While in Houston, Redford sold cocaine, mailed to him from Milwaukee by Larry Peters, and supervised John Schroeder and Debbie Helmuth who also distributed cocaine for Anthony Peters in Houston. The testimony from these witnesses provided ample evidence from which “any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements ... beyond a reasonable doubt.” The evidence easily supports the conclusion that Anthony Peters organized, managed, and supervised the delivery of cocaine to his customers from a number of people. In addition John Redford testified that Anthony Peters sent him to Houston to distribute cocaine and to supervise two other conspirators in Houston. From the evidence presented, a rational jury could have found that Anthony Peters supervised as many as twelve people over the years in operating his cocaine business, and therefore Peters’ sufficiency claim fails. I. CHALLENGES TO THE EVIDENCE Anthony Peters’ final challenge is to the admission of three pieces of evidence: (1) threats that he made to Michael Dale and to Mary McCoy; (2) business records of an interior designer who worked on Peters’ Chicago condominium; and (3) hotel and telephone records of David Word of Aspen, Colorado, allegedly Peters’ source of cocaine. In weighing the probative value of relevant evidence against the danger of unfair prejudice a trial judge has broad discretion as the judge is “much closer to the pulse of a trial.” United States v. Juarez, 561 F.2d 65, 71 (7th Cir.1977). Accordingly, we will reverse a district court’s evidentiary rulings only upon a clear abuse of discretion. See United States v. Harris, 761 F.2d 394, 398 (7th Cir.1985); United States v. Falco, 727 F.2d 659, 665 (7th Cir.1984). 1. THREAT EVIDENCE The district court in two instances allowed the government, over the defendant’s objection, to introduce testimony of threats made by Anthony Peters. First, Michael Dale, Peters’ roommate at one time, testified that he had a phone conversation with Peters after a federal agent had visited Dale and questioned him about his relationship with Anthony Peters. Dale testified that Peters asked what Dale had told the agents, and he told Dale that “a lot of people would go down” if Dale told the agents anything. Peters also stated that “the only good snitch is a dead snitch.” After listening to both sides’ arguments, the district court applied the Fed.R.Evid. 403 balancing test and admitted the evidence. The district judge reasoned that the conversation with Dale tended to establish Peters’ supervisory role and that the threat was “a part and parcel of the conspiracy.” Later in the trial, the court admitted over objection a tape recording of a telephone conversation between Mary McCoy, a paid informant for the government, and Anthony Peters. During the conversation, Peters accused McCoy of trying to “set us up” for the government and told her “you’re going to be sorry, you don’t know the half of it — you’re not ******* around with a little punk ... I’m not making any threats on the phone, Mary, if I do something, you won’t even know about it, Mary.” The district court determined that the conversation was probative of Peters’ supervisory role for the criminal enterprise count. The district court found that the relevancy of this evidence on this issue outweighed any possible prejudice, and therefore admitted the recording. Peters argues that the “threat evidence” had slight or no probative value on the issue of the defendant’s supervisory position, but had great prejudicial effect. The trial judge, however, found that both conversations were relevant to this issue and also to the existence of a conspiracy. After reviewing the conversations at issue, we cannot say that the trial judge abused his discretion in reaching that conclusion. As the Second Circuit has noted: [T]he potential prejudice from death threats may be great.... Thus, the government must have an important purpose for the evidence in order to satisfy the Rule 403 balancing test.... We stress, however, that death threats, just as other potentially prejudicial evidence, are to be judged by “the normal process of Fed.R.Evid. 403 balancing.” United States v. DeLillo, 620 F.2d [939] at 944 [(2nd Cir.1980)]. The trial court’s “exercise of broad discretion will not lightly be disturbed[,]” United States v. Williams, 596 F.2d 44, 50 (2d Cir.), cert. denied, 442 U.S. 946, 99 S.Ct. 2893, 61 L.Ed.2d 317 (1979), because it is in a better position to evaluate both the probativeness and the prejudicial effect of evidence. United States v. Qamar, 671 F.2d 732, 736 (2d Cir.1982) (citations omitted). Rule 401 defines probative or relevant evidence as “evidence having any tendency to make the existence of any fact that is of consequence to the determination of the action more probable or less probable than it would be without the evidence.” Probative value ■ is a “relative measurement.” United States v. Falco, 727 F.2d 659, 665 (7th Cir.1984). Rule 403 requires the trial court to weigh the relevance of the evidence against its potential for prejudice. The district court found that this evidence was relevant to several important issues in the case and also assessed the possible prejudicial effect of the evidence. Although the “threat evidence” may not have been the strongest evidence of Peters’ supervision or of the existence of a conspiracy, the district court did not abuse its discretion in admitting this evidence. 2. BUSINESS RECORDS Anthony Peters also challenges the admission of certain invoices and a summary sheet of the invoices of an interior designer, Jerry Deal, who worked for Anthony Peters in Peters’ Chicago condominium. Peters argues that the government did not present sufficient evidence to authenticate the invoices. Peters also contends that the summary sheet does not fall within the business records exception because the sheet was made for tax reasons and not in the regular course of business. The government introduced the invoices and the summary sheet through the testimony of Donna Plotzker, an employee of Jerry Deal. The invoices document purchases from September 1982 through April 1983. Plotzker testified that she worked for Deal from January through August 1981 and then returned to his employment in March 1983. Peters argues that Plotzker’s testimony did not establish the reliability and accuracy of the invoices because Plotzker did not work for Deal when the invoices were prepared and therefore had no personal knowledge about who prepared the invoices, whether the information on the invoices was accurate, and whether Peters ever paid the bills or received the merchandise. Plotzker’s testimony satisfied the trial judge that Deal’s recordkeeping for his business was sufficiently regular to satisfy the evidentiary requirements of reliability and authenticity for the invoices under Fed.R.Evid. 803(6). The admissibility of business records is entrusted to the broad discretion of the trial court, and the court’s ruling will not be disturbed absent an abuse of that discretion. Rosenberg v. Collins, 624 F.2d 659, 665 (5th Cir.1980). “Business records are reliable to the extent they are compiled consistently and conscientiously.” United States v. Ramsey, 785 F.2d 184, 192 (7th Cir.1986). It is clear that, in admitting documents under the business records exception to the hearsay rule, “the testimony of the custodian or otherwise qualified witness who can explain the record-keeping of his organization is ordinarily essential.” 4 Weinstein, Evidence 11803(6)[02] (1981). See also Coughlin v. Capitol Cement Co., 571 F.2d 290, 307 (5th Cir.1978). Such testimony establishes the regular practices and procedures surrounding the creation of the records, the very elements that are necessary for a finding of trustworthiness. United States v. Wables, 731 F.2d 440, 449 (7th Cir.1984). We find Donna Plotzker to be such a “qualified witness,” and the district court did not abuse its discretion in admitting the invoices and the summary-sheet. Deal, who is in a coma with no expectation of recovery, operated his own interior design business. Other than Deal himself, Plotzker was the only bookkeeper Deal used in his business. Her work for Deal included preparing and processing invoices such as those admitted at trial. Plotzker readily identified the invoices introduced into evidence as those of Deal’s interior design business by the form of the invoices and by the presence of Deal’s printed logo on each invoice. She testified that Deal normally had invoices prepared at or near the time of the purchase. Plotzker testified that the invoices at issue were the type of document that Deal normally made in the ordinary course of his business. She based this knowledge on her experience in preparing the same type of invoices for Deal when she worked for him in 1981, although she did not prepare these specific invoices. Plotzker furthermore stated that she had visited Peters’ apartment with Deal and could identify certain pieces of merchandise listed on the invoices that she had actually seen in Peters’ apartment. We find no abuse of discretion in the admission of these invoices. Peters also objects to the admission of the summary sheet because it was prepared for Deal’s tax return and thus, Peters argues, it was not made in the ordinary course of Deal’s interior design business. Peters argues that the sheet thus does not qualify as a business record. We need not address this contention, however, because the trial judge specifically admitted the summary sheet under Fed.R.Evid. 803(6), not Fed.R.Evid. 803(6) which deals with business records. Plotzker testified that she had prepared a handwritten summary sheet of the invoices because Deal had requested the sheet to prepare his 1983 tax return. The sheet summarized the invoices Plotzker identified as describing merchandise purchased by Anthony Peters during 1982 and 1983. The sheet relates to all of the invoices that the court had previously admitted under Fed.R.Evid. 803(b)(6), and each invoice identified Anthony Peters as the purchaser. Plotzker’s summary was handwritten, but the summary introduced into evidence was typed. Plotzker did not type the sheet and could not testify who did. Plotzker did not have the handwritten copy for comparison, but she stated that “to the best of my knowledge [the typed copy is] an exact copy of the handwritten copy I prepared.” The court found the necessary “circumstantial guarantees of trustworthiness” in Plotzker’s testimony that the typed sheet was, to the best of her knowledge, an exact copy of the summary she had prepared and admitted the typed summary sheet under Fed.R.Evid. 803(24). After reviewing Plotzker’s testimony that she had prepared a handwritten summary of the invoices of Peters’ purchases, that she could identify certain items on the invoices that she herself had seen in Peters’ condominium, and that the typed summary sheet relates to these same invoices, we are satisfied that the trial judge did not abuse his discretion in admitting the summary sheet under Rule 803(24). 3. EVIDENCE RELATING TO DAVID WORD Peters’ final evidentiary objection is to the admission of hotel and telephone records of David Word, Peters’ source of cocaine. Peters first asserts-that the evidence suggesting that David Word was Peters’ cocaine source was too “tenuous” to support a finding of relevancy under FecLR.Evid. 401. Peters also argues that the evidence was “potentially misleading” and should have been excluded under Fed. R.Evid. 403. The government contends that testimonial evidence established a sufficient connection between Peters and Word to make the documents admissible. Mark Gernetzke testified that he went to Aspen, Colorado, with Anthony Peters in 1979. Peters told Gernetzke to sit apart during the plane ride to Aspen and also on the return trip to Milwaukee. At Peters’ apartment upon returning from Aspen, Gernetzke testified, Peters had a clear plastic bag containing a white substance. Michael Dale testified that Anthony Peters told him that a man named “Dave” from Aspen, Colorado “knew where to get the cocaine.” Dale later met a “Dave” at Peters’ apartment, and Peters silenced Dale when he asked Peters if this was the same “Dave.” Dale identified a driver’s license photograph of David Word as the man he had met at Peters’ apartment. Michael Schroeder testified that Larry Peters told him that initially the cocaine came from Aspen, Colorado and later from Miami. The district court found that Dale’s testimony that Peters indicated his source was “Dave” in Aspen and his in-court identification of David Word’s photograph as the man he had met at Peters’ apartment established a connection between Peters and Word. The judge also found that an inference could be drawn from Peters silencing Dale after he asked Peters if David Word was the “Dave” from Colorado. The trial judge acknowledged that “you can argue all sorts of weaknesses in the inference,” but that such weaknesses would go to weight, not to admissibility. Based on these considerations, the trial court admitted the evidence. Fed.R.Evid. 401 defines relevant evidence as “evidence having any tendency to make the existence of any fact that is of consequence to the determination of the action more probable or less probable than it would be without the evidence.” “Relevancy is not an inherent characteristic of any item of evidence but exists only as a relation between an item of evidence and a matter properly provable in the case. Does the item of evidence tend to prove the matter sought to be proved?” Advisory Committee Notes to Fed.R.Evid. 401. In this case, the testimony concerning David Word and the telephone and hotel records establishing a relationship between Word and Anthony Peters tend to make it more probable than not that Word was Peters’ source of cocaine. This evidence was therefore relevant and probative of Peters’ involvement in a cocaine distribution conspiracy and of Peters’ operation of a continuing criminal enterprise. Determining that the testimonial and documentary evidence about Word was relevant does not end the inquiry, however, because Peters argues that the court should have excluded the evidence under Fed.R.Evid. 403. Peters asserts that the prejudical impact of suggesting that Word was Peters’ source of cocaine was much greater than the “virtually nonexistent” probative value of the evidence. “ ‘Unfair prejudice’ within this context means an undue tendency to suggest decision on an improper basis, commonly, though not necessarily, an emotional one.” Advisory Committee Notes to Fed.R.Evid. 403. Evidence is “unfairly prejudicial if it ‘appeals to the jury’s sympathies, arouses its sense of horror, provokes its instinct to punish,’ or otherwise ‘may cause a jury to base its decision on something other than the established propositions in the case.’ ” Carter v. Hewitt, 617 F.2d 961, 972 (3d Cir.1980) (footnote omitted) (quoting 1 J. Weinstein & M. Berger, Weinstein’s Evidence ¶ 403[03], at 403-15 to 403-17 (1978)). The trial judge has broad discretion in assessing the possible prejudice of evidence, and a reviewing court will not lightly overturn the trial court’s assessment. See United States v. Falco, 727 F.2d 659, 665 (7th Cir.1984) (trial court’s balancing must be “accorded great deference”); Ebanks v. Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Co., 688 F.2d 716, 728 (11th Cir.1982), cert. denied, 460 U.S. 1083, 103 S.Ct. 1774, 76 L.Ed.2d 346 (1983) (Rule 403 should be used sparingly). As discussed in the previous paragraph, this evidence was probative on the issue of Peters’ distribution of cocaine as well as his involvement in a cocaine conspiracy or his supervision of a criminal enterprise. Furthermore, this evidence regarding Word as a possible source of Peters’ cocaine is not the type of evidence that would inflame the jury and cause the jury to decide the case on an emotional basis rather than on the legal issues involved. Admitting evidence about David Word, therefore, was not an abuse of the trial court’s discretion. II. LARRY PETERS Larry Peters, Anthony Peters’ brother, was convicted of participating in a conspiracy to possess and distribute cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846. Peters was sentenced to twelve years in prison. Larry Peters claims the district court erred by refusing to hold a pretrial hearing on the amount and effect of the case’s publicity; by postponing decision upon and then subsequently denying the defendant’s motion for change of venue; by failing to sequester the jury at the start of the trial; by admitting the testimony of prosecution witnesses who had agreements with the government; by denying the defendant’s severance motion; by sentencing Peters to twelve years; and by refusing to apply the Young Adult Offender Statute. We affirm each of the district court’s rulings. A. PRETRIAL HEARING ON PUBLICITY Larry Peters claims that the district court erred by refusing to hold a pretrial hearing on the nature, amount, and effect of the publicity generated by the case. Peters sought a hearing to present examples of newspaper articles and of the radio and television coverage. Peters sought a hearing also to ensure a complete record of the publicity for the appellate record. We find no support for Peters’ contention that the district court’s refusal to hold an evidentiary hearing violated his Fifth Amendment due process rights. An evi-dentiary hearing w