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TABLE OF CONTENTS I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND .841 A. Samuel Posada-Rios Organizes “La Compañía”.841 B. Threats from Rival Drug Dealers and Retaliation by La Compañía.843 C. Samuel Posada-Rios Operates La Compañía from Colombia.844 1. Ariel Ochoa and Esnoraldo De Jesus Posada-Rios take over the Houston operation.844 2. Elisa Grajales Murga.844 D. Harold and Wonda Cortes.845 1. The Harold Cortes Organization (Manuel Parada) .845 2. The Wonda Cortes Organization.847 a. Mona Smith Watson and Tony Jones.847 b. Mary Helen Hermann.848 c. Anthony Jerome Gage and Kelvin Jackquet.848 d. Carmenza Guzman Varón. 848 e. November 15-16, 1991, distributions to Gage, Jackquet, Watson, and Varón.848 f. December 10-11, 1991, distributions to Watson, Gage, Jackquet, Carmenza Varón, and Janeth Varón.849 g. January 1992 distributions.851 E. Mona Smith Watson’s Cocaine Distributions.851 F. Anthony Gage and Kelvin Jackquet’s Cocaine Distributions.851 G. Raul Gamboa and Carlos Mena.852 H. The Demise of La Compañía .853 II. VERDICTS AND SENTENCES.854 III. DISCUSSION. 00 cn cn A. Sufficiency of the Evidence Challenges. 00 cn cn 1. RICO, 18 U.S.C. § 1962(c)...41. 00 oi en 2. RICO Conspiracy, 18 U.S.C. § 1962(d)...45 00 en -3 a. Mena. 00 b. Murga. 00 07 <£> c. Varón.859 d. Parada.859 e. Gage.'.859 3.The Controlled Substances Violations.860 a. Mena.860 Murga .860 Gamboa.860 Parada.860 Gage.861 4. Jackquet’s conviction for use of a firearm “during and in relation to” a drug trafficking offense in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)...56.861 5. Murga’s conviction for making a false statement on a visa application in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1546(a)...58 .862 Joinder and Severance Issues.862 W 1. Joinder .862 2. Severance.863 Evidentiary Issues.865 O 1. Admissibility of Watson’s Statements.■..865 2. Admissibility of Murga’s Statements.867 3. Admissibility of Evidence Seized from the Mercury Sable.867 4. Admissibility of Evidence Seized from Jaekquet’s Residence .868 5. The Government’s Trial Charts.869 6. The Alleged Hearsay Testimony of Agent Schaefer.869 7. Impeachment Evidence Against Agent Schaefer.870 8. Extraneous Offense Evidence Against Gage.871 9. Violation of Fed.R.Evid. 615 by Hall and Cortes.871 Instructions to the Jury.872 Ü 1. Voir Dire Instruction About Guilty Pleas.872 2. Failure to Submit Duress Instruction.873 3. Deliberate Ignorance Instruction.875 Contact with a Juror .876 Ineffective Assistance of Counsel.877 Sentencing Issues.877 1. Esnoraldo Posada-Rios...878 2. Mena.878 3. Murga.879 4. Varón.880 5. Gamboa.880 6. Rios-Castano.880 7. Gage.881 8. Jackquet.881 IV. CONCLUSION. .882 Before KING and STEWART, Circuit Judges, and LAKE, District Judge. SIM LAKE, District Judge: In December of 1992 a 134-page superseding indictment was returned charging 35 defendants with drug trafficking and related charges arising out of a conspiracy that began in 1985. After 84 days of trial, the ten defendants who are parties to this consolidated appeal were convicted of a number of offenses. Most of the defendants challenge the sufficiency of the evidence to support their convictions, and various defendants challenge a number of the trial court’s rulings before and during trial and at sentencing. Except as to the RICO conspiracy conviction of Carlos Antonio Mena, we AFFIRM the judgments of the trial court. I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND A. Samuel Posada-Rios Organizes “La Compañía” In 1985 Leoncio Ysreal Espaillat .met Fa-bio Ochoa, Jr., a Colombian cocaine supplier, and Samuel Posada-Rios. From 1986 through 1988 Espaillat stored approrimately 12,000 kilograms of Fabio Ochoa’s cocaine at Espaillat’s ranch in the Dominican Republic. Some of the cocaine was delivered to Samuel Posada-Rios, who was then operating from Tampa, Florida. Samuel Posada-Rios and his partner, Carlos Moneada Rendon, formed a cocaine trafficking enterprise known as “La Compañía.” Samuel Posada-Rios’’ inner circle of associates included Miguel Cardona and Luis Gerardo Rios-Castano (“a/k/a Luis Rios a/k/a “Flecha ”) (both of whom operated as transporters and assassins for the organization), Pepo Rendon (Carlos Rendon’s brother), Wilson Patino, Mario Restrepo, and Mercedes Agredo. Samuel Posada-Rios supplied cocaine to a number of major distributors, including Esnoraldo De Jesus Po-sada-Rios, Jose Aref-Mohammed, Enrique Perez, Jose Hernandez, Harold Cortes, and Wonda Cortes. Each of the major distributors had his or her own distributor customers. At Samuel Posada-Rios’ direction Espail-lat began transporting drugs and money from Los Angeles to New York and Miami in 1986. On his first trip Espaillat flew to Los Angeles and was driven by Samuel Posada-Rios from the airport to the cocaine stash house. After hiding the cocaine in a secret compartment in a camper of a small truck, Espaillat drove to Queens, New York, and delivered the cocaine to Esnoraldo De Jesus Posada-Rios. Shortly thereafter, Samuel Posada-Rios moved his drug trafficking operations from Tampa to Houston. Samuel Posada-Rios began paying Espaillat $10,000 a month to assist in driving 25- to 200-kilogram loads of cocaine from Houston to Austin, Dallas, New York, and Colorado by renting cars and finding apartments and storage for the cocaine. In early 1987 Espaillat delivered two loads, of 10 and 25 kilograms, to Aref-Mohammed at the instructions of Samuel Posada-Rios. Aref-Mohammed then asked to meet Samuel Posada-Rios, and the two began dealing directly with one another. Espaillat then began making cocaine deliveries at least twice a month to “Chu Chu,” an employee of Aref-Mohammed. Henry Alfredo Garcia also transported cocaine from Samuel Posada-Rios to Aref-Mohammed through Chu Chu. In 1987 most of the cocaine delivered to Samuel Posada-Rios in Houston arrived over land. On September 6, 1987, however, 850 kilograms of cocaine arrived in Houston on a ship from Colombia and was transported to Samuel Posada-Rios’ house in the Mission Bend area of Houston. Present at the house to count and distribute the cocaine were Samuel Posada-Rios, Espaillat, Enrique Perez, Mercedes Agredo, Miguel Cardona, Rios-Castano, and Chu Chu. Perez and Aref-Mo-hammed received 350 kilograms, and the remaining 500 kilograms went to Samuel Posa-da-Rios. Espaillat delivered $675,000 in cash to the captain of the ship as payment for transporting the cocaine. Espaillat obtained the money from Samuel Posada-Rios, Enrique Perez, and Chu Chu, who was acting on behalf of Aref-Mohammed. In 1987, 1988, and 1989 Samuel Posada-Rios received between 400 and 500 kilograms of cocaine per month. Espaillat estimated that from the beginning of 1987 through the summer of 1988 Samuel Posada-Rios received between 12,000 and 14,000 kilograms of cocaine, and that he received another 2,000 kilograms of cocaine during the remainder of 1988. Over 1,000 kilograms of this cocaine was supplied to Aref-Mohammed. In September of 1988 Espaillat distributed 60 kilograms of cocaine in Miami at Samuel Posada-Rios’ direction. He received $250,-000 in cash in payment but was robbed of this money at gunpoint. Samuel Posada-Rios ordered Espaillat to go to Colombia, where he was shown a severed arm and hand wearing the watch and ring that Espaillat identified as formerly belonging to the person who had robbed him. B. Threats from Rival Drug Dealers and Retaliation by La Compania Carlos Palomino belonged to a rival drug gang from Buena Ventura, Colombia, called “Los Cañoneros” (highjackers or cannoneers in Spanish) that was noted for stealing cocaine and money from rival drug dealers and for killing members of rival gangs. In December of 1987 Samuel Posada-Rios told Es-paillat that Palomino had stolen 5 kilograms of cocaine from the Posada-Rios organization and had molested a woman who was guarding the drugs. Samuel Posada-Rios, Espail-lat, Pepo Rendon, and other members of La Compania decided to kill Palomino after the Christmas holidays in retaliation and to ensure respect for La Compania. On January 18, 1988, Rios-Castano and Edison Alvarez (a/k/a “Motor”) were sitting inside the Miami Beat Disco in Houston when Palomino and his girlfriend, Carolyn Tippett, arrived. Carlos Moncado-Rendon testified at trial that Rios-Castano related to him the following account of what happened at the club. Rios-Castano and Alvarez were sitting at the club drinking when Palomino arrived with two women. An argument ensued between Alvarez and Palomino, and Rios-Castano grabbed Alvarez and took him outside. Carolyn Tippett followed Rios-Cas-tano and Alvarez outside and began arguing with Alvarez. Palomino followed Tippett out of the club. When Tippett tried to hit Alvarez in the face he pulled his gun and shot and killed her. During the defense portion of the case Rios-Castano described a similar, but more detailed, version of the Tippett killing. The thrust of both of Rios-Castano’s versions was that Tippett’s killing was a personal, rather than business related matter. Tip-pett’s murder was discussed at a subsequent meeting of La Compania members Samuel Posada-Rios, Rios-Castano, Miguel Cardona, and Espaillat. When Samuel Posada-Rios suggested that they should not have killed Tippett, Rios-Castano responded, “We killed her, so what.” On February 27, 1988, three carloads of Posada-Rios’ men (including Miguel Cardo-na, Rios-Castano, Tumaco, Mikiquito, Mon-eada, and Pepo Rendon) went to the Thunderdome nightclub to kill Palomino. Although they shot Palomino numerous times as he came out of the club, Palomino escaped with only minor injuries. Robert Torres-Gonzalez (a/k/a “Gustavito”), a drug dealer who had been with Palomino at the club and who testified at trial, identified Rios-Castano as one of the gunmen, and Rios-Castano later pled guilty in state court of aggravated assault of Palomino. Palomino retaliated on June 26, 1988, by murdering Pepo Rendon at the Miami Beat Disco. Samuel Posada-Rios then told Miki-quito to find out which of Palomino’s people had killed Pepo Rendon and where they lived. Mikiquito identified Gustavito and Henry Barahona as Pepo Rendon’s killers and identified a house where they could be found. On June 27, 1988, Samuel Posada-Rios, Rios-Castano, Moneado, Mikiquito, and others went to 2703 Skelton to kill Gustavito and Barahona. When they could not find Rendon’s killers, they shot up the house, and another house at 11811 Green Lane. On August 7, 1988, Samuel Posada-Rios, Miguel Cardona, Carlos Moneada Rendon, and Rios-Castano finally tracked Gustavito and Barahona to an apartment complex, laid in wait for them to leave, and retaliated for Pepo Rendon’s murder. When four people emerged from the apartment, a gun battle ensued; Barahona was killed and Gustavito was shot nine times. Rios-Castano later pled guilty in state court to Barahona’s murder. Samuel Posada-Rios bragged to Harold Cortes how Barahona’s brain “splattered or exploded everywhere.” Barahona’s murder forced Samuel Posada-Rios to leave the country. Espaillat drove him to Miami, and from there he went to the Dominican Republic, and ultimately to Colombia, where Espaillat delivered $3 million to him. C. Samuel Posada-Rios Operates La Com-pañía from Colombia 1. Ariel Ochoa and Esnoraldo De Jesus Posada-Rios take over the Houston operation Samuel Posada-Rios continued his drug trafficking enterprise from Colombia, calling Espaillat on a daily basis. Carlos Moneada took over the Houston enterprise until his arrest on September 9, 1988. Samuel Posa-da-Rios then designated Ariel Ochoa as his successor in Houston to distribute Colombian cocaine. Samuel Posada-Rios also designated his brother, Esnoraldo De Jesus Posada-Rios, as his local successor to collect money owed him for previous cocaine deliveries. The money owed was recorded in ledgers that Espaillat retrieved from Samuel Posa-da-Rios’ house and gave to Miguel Cardona and Esnoraldo Posada-Rios. Esnoraldo Posada-Rios was arrested in August of 1988. Samuel Posada-Rios instructed Espaillat to bond Esnoraldo out of jail and to find him a place to live. Samuel Posada-Rios promised Espaillat 15 kilograms of cocaine for putting up Esnoraldo’s bond. Espaillat complied and moved Esnoraldo to 9001 Jones Road, # 1111, after bonding him out of jail. After his release from jail Esnoraldo and Ariel Ochoa worked together at Samuel Po-sada-Rios’ direction. (After his release from jail Esnoraldo also collected over $2 million of Samuel’s drug debts.) Ochoa had agreed with Samuel Posada-Rios to supply Esnoral-do with up to 150 kilograms of cocaine per week. Esnoraldo met with Ochoa at the Two Pesos restaurant on FM 1960 to arrange for additional deliveries of cocaine. Maximo Perez, a friend from the Dominican Republic whom Espaillat recruited to come to Houston, attended the meeting with Esnoraldo; and Ochoa was accompanied by Tatiana Be-doya, his girlfriend, and Elisa Grajales Mur-ga, his ex-wife. After the meeting Murga and Bedoya delivered 25 kilograms to Esno-raldo at Ochoa’s direction. Espaillat purchased 2 kilograms of this delivery. Again through Murga and Bedoya, Ochoa delivered a second 75-kilogram load to Esnoraldo and Maximo Perez in November of 1988. In January of 1989 Esnoraldo Posada-Rios had arranged for Espaillat to make a cocaine delivery. Espaillat had spotted surveillance agents earlier that day. Afraid that he was about to be arrested, he called a friend from his car to retrieve the cocaine he was carrying. Although Espaillat delivered what he believed to be all of the cocaine to the friend, when his car was stopped by the police 1 kilogram was discovered on the back seat floorboard. The Jones Road apartment was searched later that day, and nine packages of cocaine, weighing paraphernalia, guns, and ammunition were seized. Esnoraldo Posada-Rios talked to Espaillat two days after this arrest to locate the 3 kilograms of cocaine that Espaillat had turned over to his friend. Esnoraldo then fled to New York, where he ran Samuel Posada-Rios’ New York cocaine distribution operation. New York police arrested Esno-raldo on January 24, 1990, at an apartment where they also seized a machine gun, ammunition, and cocaine that belonged to him. 2. Elisa Grajales Murga Elisa Grajales Murga assisted her ex-husband, Ariel Ochoa, in the cocaine distributing operation. Jose Antonio Ortiz testified that in March of 1989 Murga paid him $500 per kilogram to sell cocaine for her. He sold 1 or 2 kilograms, which he received from Mur-ga’s maid, Mercedes Alonzo, at Murga’s house at 12806 Maxfield and for which he paid Alonzo. In late May of 1989 Ortiz negotiated a second delivery that was to occur in June of 1989. On June 13, 1989, surveillance officers observed Ernesto Torres emerge from room # 113 at a Manor House Motel with Murga carrying a large hard-sided suitcase, which Torres placed in the trunk of his car. Torres and Murga drove to her house at 12806 Maxfield, where police observed them carrying packages into the house. Police continued to follow Torres. Later that afternoon Torres met several unidentified Latin males, one of whom handed Torres a package from the trunk of his car. On June 14, 1989, around 11:00 a.m., Mur-ga met Carlos Guillermo Rodriguez and Torres at the Cafe Miami Restaurant. Murga then left the restaurant and returned to the Maxfield house. Around noon police observed a Latin male, later identified as Victor Rodriguez, carry a box from the Maxfield house and place it in the trunk of his car. Victor Rodriguez was later stopped by the police on an outstanding warrant, and 10 kilograms of cocaine were seized from his car. The cocaine was labeled “Oro” and “Peria.” The same day that she delivered cocaine to Victor Rodriguez, Murga called Ortiz three times at the restaurant to tell him that his cocaine was ready. Ortiz drove to Murga’s house around 1:00 p.m. and spoke with Mercedes Alonzo, who told him that Murga had left him a package in a boat in Murga’s garage. Ortiz and Alonzo loaded a large corrugated box from the boat into the trunk of Ortiz’s car. Police later stopped Ortiz and seized 20 kilograms of cocaine from the box in his car. The police then went to Murga’s house and searched it with her consent. The police seized 10 kilograms of cocaine from the boat in the garage. The cocaine was packaged with the same “Oro” and “Peria” markings as the 30 kilograms previously seized from Rodriguez and Ortiz. Police also seized a bag containing 2.9 grams of cocaine from Mur-ga ’s purse and a triple-beam scale from her house. Olivia Alastre, a confidential informant working for the FBI, testified that in January of 1991 Murga was attempting to reestablish her contacts in the drug trafficking business. Murga first tried unsuccessfully to obtain cocaine from Fabio Zuniga, a friend of Ochoa’s. Ochoa finally agreed to give her 80-40 kilograms. In April of 1991 Murga asked Alastre’s assistance in renting an apartment to store the cocaine. She introduced Alastre to “Don Jose,” whom Murga told Alastre she had employed to assist her in distributing the cocaine to reduce her personal involvement. Murga’s address book, which she inadvertently left in Alastre’s car, was photocopied by federal agents before it was returned. The book contained names and telephone numbers of other documented drug traffickers. D. Harold and Wonda Cortes Harold Cortes was one of Samuel Posada-Rios’ best customers. When Ariel Ochoa took over the distribution of Samuel Posada-Rios’ cocaine in Houston, Harold became one of his main assistants. When Samuel Posa-da-Rios fled to Colombia, Harold Cortes owed him between $125,000-$130,000; Ariel Ochoa offered to let Harold repay the debt by becoming one of his distributors. Wonda Cortes was Harold’s wife and a long-time drug dealer in her own right. Wonda had a large number of customers whom she was not able to supply because of her own limited supply of cocaine and the high cost she was paying for the cocaine. In the fall of 1990 Harold Cortes agreed to let Wonda distribute cocaine from Ochoa to these customers. By 1991 the Corteses were well established as major distributors in the Samuel Posada-Rios organization. Ledgers seized from Harold Cortes’s residence on Sir William Street during a July 10,1992, search reflected almost $72 million in drug proceeds and 5,753.3 kilograms of cocaine distributions. Ariel Ochoa supplied cocaine to Harold Cortes through Tatiana Bedoya, Ochoa’s girlfriend. Millions of dollars in drug proceeds collected by the Corteses were wired to Colombia through money laundering facilities known as “giro houses” in Houston or other cities. Bedoya worked at a giro house named “One Stop Express.” 1. The Harold Cortes Organization (Manuel Parada) Wonda Cortes testified for the government at trial. She explained that the Posada-Rios drug trafficking enterprise operated like a corporation. Cocaine and money had to be accounted for, stored, and redistributed; and money had to be paid out for renting houses for living and stashing contraband, for cars for transporting drugs and money, and for pagers, telephones, scanners, and antisurveil-lance devices. To accomplish these tasks Harold Cortes employed Victor Loaiza (a/k/a Julio Jimenez), Hernán Moreno (a/k/a “Papo”), and Manuel De Jesus Parada. Victor Loaiza met Ariel Ochoa in 1989. Loaiza testified that in early 1990 he flew from Miami to Houston at Ochoa’s request to “take care of the money.” Ochoa took Loai-za to an apartment, and Harold Cortes arrived at the apartment with $150,000 for Loaiza to guard. Loaiza remained in Houston about 1-1/2 months before returning to Miami. On his next trip he remained in Houston for 2-3 months. He helped count and guard $350,000 to $400,000. On three occasions Loaiza also transferred drug proceeds at Harold Cortes’s direction in amounts ranging from $150,000 to $400,000 to a woman named “Bruni” and through Be-doya at One Stop Express. Hernán Moreno and Manuel De Jesus Par-ada performed logistical services for Harold Cortes. They rented stash houses, cars, U-Haul trailers, telephones, and pagers. At Harold Cortes’s direction they used false information in leases and applications, and changed residences periodically to minimize detection. Parada let Cortes and Moreno use his apartment at 2828 Rogerdale for registering car titles and applying for pager rentals. Moreno used Parada’s Rogerdale address on a purchase application for a gold Oldsmobile, which he bought with cash, and that was later discovered to have a hidden compartment. Parada also rented a house at 9658 Angie Street in his own name at Harold Cortes’s instruction. Moreno, who paid the rent, and “Alexis” and “Fernando (a/k/a Potes)” moved into the house to guard cocaine stored there. Loaiza testified that he also rented an apartment on Trailing Vine. At Harold Cortes’s instructions Loaiza listed Parada as a reference on the lease application. Loaiza explained that it was essential to use Parada as a reference because Parada had the necessary credit card. Harold Cortes paid Parada $1,000 per month. Parada’s name appeared in drug ledgers reflecting “rent” payments for stash houses, cars, and other expenses of the drug operation. Wonda Cortes explained that the ledger notations reflected expenses for then-drug enterprise. For example, one entry in a ledger stated “Manuel carro, phone car, phone house” next to the figure 3.0. Wonda Cortes explained that the entry referred to a $3,000 payment to Parada for expenses of the car and the house telephone bill. Harold Cortes also hired Parada to drive a car from Miami to Houston. Parada was stopped by a Louisiana state patrolman for a traffic violation on May 18, 1991. He told the patrolman that he was transporting the car from Florida to Houston for a friend, whom he did not identify. The car contained a fresh odor of fiberglass and paint. After obtaining Parada’s consent to search, the officer found an empty hidden compartment that had been built into the back of the rear seat and operated by a sophisticated hidden release device wired through the air conditioning vent. The car was also equipped with air shocks, controlled by an air pump panel switch, to disguise the weight being carried in the vehicle. Parada denied any knowledge of the hidden compartment. Par-ada was issued a traffic citation and released. Loaiza testified that after this incident Harold Cortes considered the car to be ruined as a drug smuggling vehicle and gave it to Parada. Registration of this vehicle was later changed to Parada’s name. On July 18, 1991, DEA agents followed Loaiza in a gray Dodge rented by Parada from the Angie Street house to an apartment at the Stonefield Village complex. Loaiza entered the apartment empty-handed and left carrying a shoulder bag. When Loaiza was stopped by police officers and searched, he had $73,405 in cash and a digital pager. Loaiza identified this cash as drug proceeds received from “Hubert,” an associate of Harold Cortes who lived at the Stonefield Village complex. Loaiza was stopped en route to delivering the money to Cortes. A digital pager in Loaiza’s possession reflected a coded message from Parada. After the July 18, 1991, seizure of drug proceeds Ariel Ochoa instructed Loaiza to return to Miami, and he did so the next day. Law enforcement agents continued to follow Moreno and Parada. On August 6, 1991, agents saw Hernán Moreno and Parada arrive at a Captain Benny’s restaurant around 6:50 p.m. Moreno made several calls from a pay telephone at the rear of the restaurant. The calls appeared to be made to a beeper. The two men then drove from the restaurant to an Exxon station next door and made more calls from a pay telephone there. They then returned to Captain Benny’s and made more calls from the pay telephone there. Around 7:20 p.m. Moreno and Parada left the Captain Benny’s restaurant and drove to the Stonefield Village apartment complex and went inside apartment # 1804. Fifteen minutes later the two men came out of the apartment, one of them carrying a purple gym bag. Moreno and Parada then drove to Harold Cortes’s residence at 19803 Joan-Leigh. Moreno carried a half-full brown grocery bag into the residence. A few minutes later Parada came out of the JoanLeigh residence carrying a purple gym bag. He got into a different car with two women and drove to 9658 Angie, where he took the gym bag into the residence. Fifteen minutes later Parada left the Angie residence without the gym bag with the two women and drove to a Two Pesos restaurant. There was no direct evidence of the contents of the grocery bag or the purple gym bag. Pen registers from the three telephone lines that Parada had installed at his Roger-dale residence reflected 238 calls from Harold Cortes during the period from June 5, 1991, through January 15, 1992. In a telephone conversation intercepted pursuant to a Title III wiretap on March 5, 1992, Jaime Cardenas told Parada that he had “papers” to bring him. Wonda Cortes testified that she used the term “papers” in telephone conversations to refer to money. In a statement made to DEA agent Mike Schaefer after his arrest in August of 1992 Parada stated that Hernán Moreno had stopped him from walking down the hallway of one of the rented houses and told him that “you don’t need to see what’s down there.” Parada told agent Schaefer that at that point he knew Harold Cortes and Hernán Moreno were “up to no good.” 2. The Wonda Cortes Organization Wonda Cortes distributed cocaine to her brother, Richard Winston Hall, Mona Smith Watson, Tony Jones, Carmenza Guzman Var-ón, Mary Helen Hermann, Anthony Jerome Gage, and Kelvin Jackquet. a. Mona Smith Watson and Tony Jones Tony Jones began as one of Wonda Cortes’s customers and became one of Harold Cortes’s largest customers. Through Mona Smith Watson, Jones’ girlfriend and the mother of his child, Harold Cortes distributed large amounts of cocaine. Watson assisted Jones by retrieving and delivering cocaine-laden vehicles supplied by Harold Cortes and returning drug proceeds to Cortes. Tony Jones was murdered in 1991. At the time of his death Jones owed Harold Cortes $360,000 for drug purchases. Harold asked Watson for assistance in collecting drug debts owed by Jones, and Watson gave Harold Cortes a list of people who owed money to Jones. After Tony Jones was murdered Wonda Cortes agreed to continue supplying Mona Smith Watson with cocaine for the customer base that Jones had developed during his drug trafficking activities with Harold Cortes. Watson acted primarily as a broker in these transactions. She would contact the customers, determine how much cocaine they wanted, and call Wonda Cortes and put the customer in contact with her. For her role as a broker Watson was paid from $500 to $1,000 per kilogram. In a statement made to the FBI at the time of her arrest, Watson also admitted personally buying and distributing 3 kilograms of cocaine in addition to her brokering activities. b. Mary Helen Hermann Mary Helen Hermann was a long-time drug dealer who testified for the government at trial. In 1987 Hermann supplied Wonda Cortes with cocaine from a supplier named Mario Moreno in Los Angeles. Wonda Cortes later told Hermann that she would no longer deal with Moreno because she could get a better price and had easier access to cocaine through Samuel Posada-Rios. In mid-1988 Hermann moved from Los Angeles to Wonda Cortes’s residence on Hearthstone in Houston and began assisting Wonda and accompanying her on deliveries of cocaine received from the Posada-Rios organization through Harold Cortes. Hermann described instances when Wonda Cortes and Mona Smith Watson distributed cocaine together and counted the proceeds. Hermann also picked up a load of cocaine for Wonda Cortes at the Port of Houston. Her-mann and her brother went to the port pretending to sell electronic equipment. They took a television set onto a ship and two sailors loaded 24 kilograms of cocaine inside the television. Hermann and her brother delivered the television set to Wonda Cortes and were each paid $12,000. In late 1991 or early 1992 Hermann assisted Wonda Cortes and Tatiana Bedoya in counting $500,000 at Wonda’s house on Corral Street. Cortes and Bedoya delivered the money to Ochoa later that evening. c. Anthony Jerome Gage and Kelvin Jackquet In August of 1991 a large shipment of cocaine arrived in Houston. In August and September of 1991 Wonda Cortes made four large cocaine sales. Wonda delivered 14 kilograms to Watson and Anthony Jerome Gage a/k/a “Bo” at a price of more than $14,000 per kilogram. This was the first time Wonda Cortes had met Gage. Wonda Cortes delivered another 20 kilograms to Gage at the apartment of his brother, Kelvin Jackquet a/k/a “Pop,” at 2425 Holly Hall, apartment # B-25. Gage paid Cortes for part of the price for the cocaine, and Mona Smith Watson paid Cortes the rest of the sales price. Wonda Cortes made a third, 25-kilogram sale, at $14,500 per kilogram, at Jackquet’s apartment on Holly Hall. Present during this sale were Gage, Jackquet, Wonda Cortes, and Carmenza Guzman Varón. Gage delivered the balance of the payment for the 25 kilograms to Wonda Cortes at a “stash house” that she rented on El Mundo Street under the alias “Alexis Caron”; and Wonda Cortes, Carmenza Guzman Varón, and Won-da’s brother, Richard Winston Hall, counted about $350,000 in cocaine receipts. In September of 1991 Wonda Cortes made a fourth delivery of 40 kilograms to Gage at the apartment of Gage’s sister, Yolanda Gage. Present during the delivery were Wonda Cortes, Carmenza Varón, and Gage. Gage made a $300,000 or $400,000 down payment for the cocaine and took the rest on consignment, with the balance to be paid after Gage sold the cocaine. d.Carmenza Guzman Varón Carmenza Guzman Varón (a/k/a “Men-chie”) began working for Wonda Cortes in May or June of 1991 at a clothing store Cortes owned. In July of 1991 Varón agreed to supply cocaine to Olivia Alastre. Alastre would sell the cocaine to her customers, and Alastre and Varón would split the proceeds equally. On August 15, 1991, Alastre gave Varón $15,000 for 1 kilogram of cocaine at Varón’s apartment at 7222 Bellerive. On October 2, 1991, Wonda Cortes made a second 1-Mlogram delivery to Alastre through Wonda’s younger brother, Richard Winston Hall. Hall handed the cocaine to Varón, who handed it to Alastre. e.November 15-16, 1991, distributions to Gage, Jackquet, Watson, and Varón By November of 1991 federal authorities had placed a wiretap on one of Wonda Cortes’s cellular telephones and began recording conversations detailing her drug trafficking activities. In a conversation recorded on November 8,1991, Anthony Jerome Gage told Wonda Cortes that he had lost $100,000 at the airport and that someone “got hit 76 times,” meaning that the police had confiscated 76 kilograms of cocaine. Wonda Cortes told Gage that his brother, Kelvin Jackquet, was short $4,640 in his cocaine payments. (This shortage was also reflected in Wonda’s drug ledger; it was paid on November 15, 1991.) A series of conversations were recorded on November 13, 1991. Wonda Cortes testified about the code phrases the participants used in the calls to conceal drug quantities and prices. In the first call Kelvin Jackquet told Wonda Cortes that he was ready to buy cocaine from someone else. Wonda replied that she was expecting another delivery of cocaine in a day or so. In a later call that day with Jackquet and Gage, Wonda Cortes confirmed the load was coming but could not quote a price. In a conversation between Mona Smith Watson and Wonda Cortes, Watson told Wonda that she needed to make some money selling cocaine. Wonda replied that she had 5 kilograms to sell and Watson asked to buy it. Bedoya called Wonda Cortes to tell her that she had been notified that the expected load of cocaine had arrived in Houston. The arrival of the load of cocaine sparked a series of telephone calls on November 14, 1991. Wonda Cortes notified Gage, Roy Ford, and Jackquet that she was on her way to pick up the cocaine. Jackquet wanted 3 kilograms. Wonda quoted Ford a price of $14,500 per kilogram; and she quoted Watson a price of $14,000. Tatiana Bedoya delivered 15 kilograms of cocaine to Wonda. Wonda stored it at a stash house she had rented at 1115 Augusta, # 31, under the alias Alexis Caron. Carmen-za Varón was living at the house to guard the cocaine. From this shipment of cocaine Wonda delivered 1 kilogram to Ford on November 14,1991. Mona Smith Watson wanted 8 kilograms but only had the money to buy 4. She later called Wonda Cortes to tell her that she had the money for 5 kilograms. Wonda delivered 4 kilograms to Watson, and Wonda made another 1-kilogram delivery to “Andrea” the next day at Watson’s request. In a coded conversation between Wonda Cortes, Carmenza Yaron, and Janeth Varón, Janeth told Wonda that she had “dresses” (kilograms of cocaine) she wanted to sell in Wonda’s shop. Wonda replied that “most of the things I take in are TI and 11-1/2’,” meaning $11,000 to $11,500 per kilogram. Janeth’s price was too high and Wonda did not want to deal with her. Wonda Cortes and Richard Winston Hall made a cocaine delivery to Kelvin Jackquet and Anthony Gage on November 15, 1991, at a house on Calumet. This delivery was referenced in Wonda’s ledgers as 2 kilograms at $14,300 each. Jackquet was short $100. In a subsequent conversation, Wonda informed Jackquet that he was $200 over, and that she would credit the amount against his outstanding cocaine balance. Wonda also told Jackquet that she was going to have additional cocaine to sell him. Wonda delivered her remaining 7 kilograms of cocaine to Jackquet on November 16, 1991. On November 16, 1991, after receiving payment for the sale of this cocaine, Wonda Cortes, Car-menza Varón, Richard Hall, and Donald Wayne Woods counted it in a room at the Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza at the Houston Galleria. While there Wonda received a phone call from a Colombian with a Cali accent whose voice she did not recognize. He warned her that one of her associates was an informant and that “there was a tail” on her. They quickly gathered the money and left the hotel. In a conversation with Mona Smith Watson on November 18,1991, Wonda Cortes referred to having “loose ends,” meaning she had people around her who were making mistakes. Wonda Cortes wanted to consolidate her cocaine deliveries to Watson into one daily load. f. December 10-11, 1991, distributions to Watson, Gage, Jackquet, Carmenza Varón, and Janeth Varón On November 26, 1991, Jackquet asked Wonda Cortes if she could obtain 2 kilograms of cocaine for him. Wonda replied that a shipment was coming but that she did not yet have any cocaine. Wonda Cortes received 50 kilograms of cocaine from Tatiana Bedoya on December 10, 1991. With Wonda Cortes’s acquiescence, Bedoya agreed to lend Harold Cortes 10 of the 50 kilograms. Wonda Cortes then began contacting her distributors to sell the rest of the cocaine. In a 10:37 a.m. telephone conversation with Jackquet on December 10, 1991, Wonda told him to “sit still” because she was awaiting delivery of the cocaine. At 2:36 p.m. Wonda told Mona Smith Watson that “everything is everything,” meaning that she had the cocaine in hand. Wonda Cortes also told Watson that the price would be around $14,400 per kilogram and she would confirm the price to Watson over her digital pager. In these conversations Wonda cautioned both Jackquet and Watson about talking over the telephone. Kelvin Jackquet and Anthony Gage spoke with Wonda Cortes three times between 3:02 and 3:39 p.m. Wonda stated that a “plentiful” cocaine load had arrived, and Gage stated that his customers were ready. At 4:17 p.m. Wonda told Mona Smith Watson that she had the cocaine, and Watson replied that she had to get the “papers (i.e., money) together.” At 4:21 p.m. Wonda told Jackquet that she had the cocaine but that she would not deliver the amount he requested to him on consignment. At 4:31 p.m. Roy Ford called requesting 1 kilogram. At 4:52 p.m. Mona Smith Watson called and ordered 3 kilograms. Later that afternoon, while still negotiating sales to other customers, Wonda Cortes began delivering the cocaine she had sold earlier in the afternoon. At 6:11 p.m. Wonda arranged with Watson to meet Andrea at the Children’s Etc. in the Galleria to deliver 2 kilograms of cocaine. Wonda made the delivery later that evening. By 8:20 that evening Wonda Cortes told Mona Smith Watson that she only had 25 kilograms of cocaine left. Wonda met Roy Ford later that evening at a shopping center and delivered 1 kilogram of cocaine to him. Ford was driving a white Lincoln Continental limousine that the agents had seen in November. A DEA agent observed Wonda Cortes remove a light-colored bag from her vehicle, place it in the limousine, and leave. The limousine was followed and stopped by Houston police officers for a traffic violation, and Ford was arrested. Four clear plastic bags containing 128 grams of cocaine were recovered from the front seat transmission hump of Ford’s ear. Wonda Cortes made two deliveries to Kelvin Jackquet on December 10. The first, a 3-kilogram delivery, was made around 6:15 p.m. to Jackquet’s Holly Hall apartment. Jackquet paid Wonda in cash. Wonda made the second 1-kilogram delivery to Jackquet at a strip shopping center later that evening. Surveillance agents followed Wonda and saw her park beside a white pickup truck occupied by Jackquet and Gage. Jackquet got out of his truck and joined Wonda in her vehicle for 2-3 minutes. Wonda handed him a dark-colored plastic bag from the back seat and Jackquet returned to his pickup truck. While making cocaine deliveries during the evening of December 10,1991, Wonda Cortes was also negotiating a 5-kilogram sale to Janeth Varón through her sister, Carmenza Varón. At 5:36 p.m. Carmenza Varón called Wonda. Later that evening Wonda delivered 5 kilograms of cocaine to the Varón sisters at a Shipley’s Do-Nut Shop on Veteran’s Memorial Drive. A DEA agent watched the transaction. The Varón sisters retrieved a gray plastic bag from Wonda’s Lincoln Continental and put it in the trunk of the red Chevrolet they were driving. In return the Varón sisters gave Wonda Cortes a brown paper bag. The Varons were later stopped by HPD officers and Janeth Varón was arrested. Inside the gray bag was a telephone box containing 5 kilograms of cocaine. Car-menza Varón called Wonda Cortes the next day to discuss the arrest. Wonda was upset over losing the cocaine because she would have to explain the loss to Ariel Ochoa and was concerned that Janeth could implicate her as the source of the cocaine. Wonda met with Ochoa, Harold Cortes, Tatiana Bedoya, and Hernán Moreno the next day to discuss the seizure. Harold Cortes was concerned that if Wonda “brought the heat” everybody would go to jail. Wonda Cortes testified that while making the December 10 deliveries, she drove around Houston carrying both cocaine and large amounts of cash. She delivered the drug proceeds to her house on Corral Street. She continued negotiating cocaine sales on December 11, 1991. Around 6:30 p.m. she delivered 1 kilogram to Jackquet and Gage at a location on Yellowstone and Lozier, near a “Dr. Chuck’s” auto shop. Earlier that day she had tried to convince Donald Wayne Woods to take at least 4 kilograms. After the Jackquet delivery Wonda delivered 15-17 kilograms of cocaine to Woods at his residence. She was there 3-4 hours and saw his customers come and go. Wonda Cortes and Mary Hermann checked into the Residence Inn on December 12, 1991, to count the drug proceeds. g. January 1992 distributions Wonda Cortes received another load of cocaine in January of 1992. Roy Ford called Wonda on January 8,1992, asking if she still had the cocaine and requested a kilogram. Richard Winston Hall assisted Wonda in delivering at least 2 kilograms of cocaine to Mona Smith Watson in January of 1992. Hall testified that in January of 1992 he also made a 2-kilogram delivery and a 1-kilogram delivery to Ford, and a 4-kilogram delivery to Kelvin Jackquet. Each time he returned the money to Wonda Cortes. Hall also testified at trial that he delivered cocaine supplied by Wonda Cortes to Ford in February, March, and April of 1992 and returned the money to Wonda. E. Mona Smith Watson’s Cocaine Distributions Like many of Wonda Cortes’s customers, Mona Smith Watson had other sources of cocaine and her" own network of customers for the cocaine she obtained. Watson shopped around for the lowest price and the best terms. On January 10, 1992, Wonda Cortes quoted Watson a price of $14,100 per kilogram. Wonda agreed to lower the price if Watson purchased at least 20 kilograms. In a January 16, 1992, conversation Wonda offered to sell Watson 10 kilograms at a time at $13,500 per kilogram. This was the same price she was then quoting to Kelvin Jackquet. (Wonda quoted Richard Winston Hall a discounted price of $13,200 because he was her brother.) Mona Smith Watson’s customers included “Paula,” “Stan,” and Linda Jones, the mother of Watson’s murdered boyfriend, Tony Jones. The cocaine that Watson purchased from Wonda Cortes in January of 1992 was for Paula. Wonda Cortes, Hall, and Watson delivered a few kilograms of cocaine to Stan at his residence in Missouri City, Texas, in December of 1991 or January of 1992. Stan wanted to deal on a regular basis directly with Wonda,- but she refused to do so because Stan was Watson’s customer. Most of Mona Smith Watson’s cocaine was supplied by Wonda through Carmenza Var-ón. In the late spring to early summer of 1992 Wonda Cortes and Mary Hermann made six deliveries in amounts ranging from 10 to 30 kilograms to Watson, who would send Linda Jones to pick up the cocaine. Linda Jones picked up three of the loads of cocaine from Carmenza Varón at her apartment on 2205 Hayes Road. Carmenza Yaron later moved to 2801 Walnut Bend and delivered cocaine to Linda Jones from that location. In the spring of 1992 Mona Smith Watson was also dealing directly with Ariel Ochoa, who was supplying Watson with cocaine through Jaime Cardenas. Cardenas had started out as one of Harold Cortes’s subordinates but had become one of Ariel Ochoa’s major distributors by January of 1992. Wonda Cortes believed that Cardenas had been skimming money from her drug payments to Ochoa and blaming her for the shortages. Mona Smith Watson experienced a similar problem; in February of 1992 Ariel Ochoa called Watson complaining that a cash delivery from Watson to Ochoa through Cardenas was short $5,000. F. Anthony Gage and Kelvin Jackquet’s Cocaine Distributions Kelvin Jackquet and Anthony Gage redistributed the cocaine they purchased from Wonda Cortes and Mona Smith Watson. One of Jackquet and Gage’s drug transporters was Charles White, who ran a vehicle body shop called “Dr. Chuck’s Auto Hospital.” White testified that beginning in December of 1991 he delivered cocaine for Gage. For his first delivery Jackquet and Gage gave White cocaine, which he hid in the doors of a rented U-haul truck. White drove the truck to Atlanta where, as Gage directed, a man picked up the truck from White. Gage provided White a plane ticket to return from Atlanta to Houston and paid him $1,500 for transporting the cocaine. White made a second trip to Atlanta about a week later, driving a blue Chevy Malibu. Both Gage and Jackquet were with White when he picked up the car. When White picked up the ear there was a black bag with cocaine inside. At the direction of Gage and Jackquet, White hid the cocaine in the car’s spare tire. White drove the car to Atlanta where he delivered part of the cocaine to Gage and part to another man at Gage’s direction and was paid by Gage. White made a third and final trip to Atlanta on January 14, 1992. He drove the same blue Chevrolet. White put the cocaine in a car door and in the spare tire. Gage and Jackquet paid White $600 before he left Houston. Late that evening sheriffs deputies in Atlanta stopped White for not wearing a seat belt. After White consented to a search of the car the deputies found a .22 caliber handgun in a soft eyeglass case on the front passenger floorboard. They also found five packages of cocaine and four packages of marijuana in the car’s spare tire. During a later interview White told the deputies that more cocaine was concealed in the right door panels, and three additional packages of cocaine were found there. G. Raul Gamboa and Carlos Mena Mary Hermann testified that she first met Carlos Antonio Mena a/k/a Gaspar Prado in early 1987 in Houston. At the time Her-mann was transporting cocaine for Jose Mos-quera. In Mosquera’s apartment Hermann saw a drug ledger that belonged to Mena. The ledger contained figures representing distributions of kilogram quantities of cocaine. Mena took the ledger away from Her-mann and told her not to look in it. In September of 1989 Mena was convicted in state court of Panola County, Texas, of aggravated possession of cocaine after law enforcement officers found 11 pounds of cocaine in a car he was driving. In October of 1991 Wonda Cortes began using Tatiana Bedoya as a direct source of supply for cocaine instead of buying the cocaine through her estranged husband, Harold Cortes. Bedoya agreed to supply the cocaine in return for Wonda splitting the profits 50/50. In early November of 1991 Bedoya attempted to find a source of cocaine apart from the Samuel Posada-Rios organization. On November 7, 1991, she flew to Los Angeles to meet with Carlos Mena, whom she had known since 1988. Carlos Mena arranged for Wonda to meet with “El Negro” to discuss the possibility of obtaining cocaine from a source not associated with Harold Cortes. Although Wonda and Mena continued to discuss a possible purchase of cocaine from Mena for several months, no purchase ever materialized from the discussions with El Negro or Mena. There was no evidence, either from Wonda’s trial testimony or the recorded conversations between Won-da and Mena, that Wonda told Mena about the Posada-Rios organization or any of her co-conspirators in the organization. On August 11, 1992, at around 5:45 p.m., United States Customs Service agents observed Raul Gamboa, Mena, and a woman arrive at “Giro El Calima,” a money exchange, in a tan Nissan Maxima. A confidential source had told the agents that money laundering was occurring at the giro house. The woman remained in the car while Gamboa and Mena “scanned” the cars in the parking lot. The men then walked empty handed into the giro house, remained inside for 10-15 minutes, and came out carrying a red and black gym bag that appeared to be quite heavy. Gamboa and Mena again scanned the parking lot before they got back in their car. Gamboa put the bag in the trunk of the car. Agents followed the Nissan and noticed Mena making cellular telephone calls. The Nissan proceeded to the Collingsford Apartments, where it drove through a coded gate to the back of the apartment complex and then exited through another gate. The Nissan then circled around the complex and proceeded to the Rustic Village Apartments. Customs Agent Peter Lattanci, who participated in the surveillance of the Nissan, testified that these maneuvers were typical of a “heat run” — a tactic commonly used by drug traffickers to detect surveillance. At the Rustic Village Apartments Mena, Raul Gam-boa, and the woman who was with them went into apartment # 181. A few minutes later a blue Mercury Sable, driven by Esmeralda Hooker, arrived and Hooker went into apartment # 181. Mena, Gamboa, and Hooker left the apartment together and proceeded in the blue Sable to the Collingsford Apartments, where they parked the car. Dressed in raid jackets, agents approached Gamboa and Mena as they got out of the ear. A Spanish-speaking officer informed Gamboa that the agents were investigating drug and money laundering activities at Giro El Calima. Gamboa consented to a search of the car and signed a Spanish language “Voluntary Consent to Search and Seize” form. Agents recovered a plastic bag that contained $34,000 in cash from the right rear passenger area of the car where Mena had been sitting. When asked in Spanish about going to the Rustic Village Apartments, Gamboa stated he had driven Hooker there to visit her friends; and Mena stated that he had just been picked up by Gamboa and Hooker from a bus stop near the apartments. Both Gam-boa and Mena denied being at the Giro El Calima or knowing anything about the Nissan Maxima. Gamboa and Mena were not arrested but agreed to follow the agents back to the Rustic Village Apartments. There, the Nissan Maxima was pointed out to both Mena and Gamboa, and they again denied any knowledge of the vehicle — which was registered to Mena — or of apartment # 181. The agents called a drug detection dog to the scene, and it alerted them to the trunk of the Nissan. After Gamboa consented to a search of the car agents seized from the trunk the red and black gym bag, which contained 9 packages of cocaine wrapped in plastic tape, and $4,000 in cash in the glove compartment, and arrested Mena and Gamboa. An hour or two later Mena admitted that he had owned the Nissan, but stated that he had sold it, but could-not recall to whom. H. The Demise of La Compañía DEA agents searched Harold Cortes’s residence on Sir William Street on July 10,1992. They seized drug ledgers, cellular telephones, anti-surveillance equipment, a sophisticated scanner, photographs, and various documents. Wonda Cortes was arrested on July 21, 1992. On July 23, 1992, agents executed a search at her residence at the Legend Point Apartments. They seized several cellular telephones, a pink drug ledger, a blue drug ledger, and numerous other documents and notebooks. Analysis of Wonda Cortes’s drug ledgers documented the receipt of $3,952,402 in drug proceeds for cocaine sold to customers in 1991 and 1992. Cortes testified that she “doctored” this ledger to reflect lesser amounts to cheat Bedoya out of profits. On August 13, 1992, fifteen raid teams participated in the simultaneous execution of arrest warrants for Elisa Murga, Ford, Manuel Parada, Hall, Donald Wayne Woods, Kelvin Jackquet, and Mona Smith Watson and execution of search warrants for various premises. Watson was arrested at her mother’s residence. A search of Watson’s apartment on Greenbriar uncovered photographs, notebooks, and drug ledgers. Carmenza Varón’s residence on Walnut Bend was searched and agents seized drug ledgers, a money counting machine, an address book, and other documents noting prices for varying amounts of cocaine. When agents arrived at 10538 Farmington in Houston to execute a search warrant and a warrant to arrest Kelvin Jackquet, they saw a silver Nissan drive away. The agents stopped the vehicle and spoke with the driver, Marla Jackquet, Kelvin Jackquet’s sister. Marla told the agents that Kelvin Jackquet was in the downstairs bedroom, and Marla gave agents keys to the burglar bars that protected the house. Agents unlocked the burglar bars and announced their presence loudly several times. When the agents entered the house they again announced their presence. As agent Renaldo Ollie approached the downstairs bedroom, he told Kelvin Jackquet to come out and that agents had a warrant for his arrest. As agent Ollie reached inside the room to turn on the lights, he heard what appeared to be the sound of someone chambering a round in a shotgun. Agent Ollie yelled out “shotgun” loudly to warn other agents. Agent Ollie then backed out into the hallway. As he did so he saw someone run down the hallway carrying a shotgun into the utility room that led to the garage. Agent Ollie then heard the garage door opening and heard several shots. DPS agent Larry Allen was securing the perimeter approximately 8 feet from the garage door. Allen was wearing a raid jacket labeled “DPS” and “Police” in large letters. As Jackquet came out of the garage he shot Allen in the chest. Although Allen was wounded in the hand and arm, his body armor prevented more serious injury. Agent Allen returned fire and one bullet grazed Jackquet’s left shoulder blade. Agent Ollie then ran outside and saw Jackquet standing with the shotgun. Ollie told Jackquet to drop the shotgun. Jackquet dropped the gun and ran, but other agents quickly arrested him. Approximately $32,000 in cash and an address book were seized from a nightstand next to Jackquet’s bed and two pistols were seized from beneath his mattress. II. VERDICTS AND SENTENCES Esnoraldo De Jesus Posada-Rios was convicted of count 1 (conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1962(d)), count 2 (participation in a racketeering enterprise in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1962(c)), and count 3 (conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(b)(1)(A) and 846). Posada-Rios was sentenced to concurrent terms of life in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay $150 in special assessments. Carlos Antonio Mena was convicted of counts 1 and 3 and of counts 42 and 43 (conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and possession with intent to distribute it in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a) and 846). He pled guilty to count 46 (unlawfully reentering the United States after deportation and commission of an aggravated felony in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a)). Mena was sentenced to concurrent terms of 240 months in prison on counts 1, 3, 42, and 43 and a 180-month concurrent prison term on count 46, followed by 10 years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay $250 in special assessments. Elisa Grajales Murga was convicted of counts 1 and 3 but was acquitted of count 2. She was also convicted of count 41 (possession with intent to distribute cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)) and count 48 (making a false statement on an application for immigrant visa in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1546(a)). Counts 37-40 (possession with intent to distribute cocaine) and count 53 (possessing a firearm as an illegal alien in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(5)) were dismissed on the government’s motion. Murga was sentenced to concurrent terms of 292 months in prison on counts 1, 3, and 41 and 60 months in prison on count 48, followed by 5 years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay $200 in special assessments. Carmenza Guzman Varón was convicted of counts 1, 2, and 3. She was also convicted of counts 11, 12, 13, 22, 23, and 24 (possession with intent to distribute cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)), but was acquitted of counts 6, 21, and 25, which also charged her with violating § 841(a)(1). Varón was sentenced to concurrent terms of 292 months in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay $450 in special assessments. Raul Gamboa was convicted of counts 42 and 43 (conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1)). He was sentenced to concurrent 121-month prison terms, followed by 5 years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay $100 in special assessments. Luis Gerardo Rios-Castano was convicted of counts 1 and 2, and pled guilty to count 45 (unlawfully reentering the United States after deportation and commission of an aggravated felony in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a)). He was sentenced to life in prison on counts 1 and 2 and a concurrent 180-month prison term on count 45, followed by 5 years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay $150 in special assessments. Manuel De Jesus Parada was convicted of counts 1 and 3. He was sentenced to concurrent terms of 151 months in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay $100 in special assessments. Anthony Jerome Gage was convicted of counts 1, 2, and 3. He was also convicted of count 5 (conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine), but was acquitted of counts 6 and 21, which charged him with the same offense. Gage was sentenced to concurrent terms of 300 months in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay $200 in special assessments. Kelvin Jackquet was convicted of counts 1, 2, and 3 and of count 52 (use of a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)). He pled guilty to count 27 (possession with intent to distribute cocaine). Jackquet was acquitted of count 6 (possession with intent to distribute cocaine). The court granted his motion for a mistrial on count 26 (possession with intent to distribute cocaine). Jackquet was sentenced to concurrent terms of 235 months in prison on counts 1, 2, 3, and 27 and a consecutive 60-month prison term on count 52, followed by 5 years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay $250 in special assessments. Mona Smith Watson was convicted of counts 1, 2, and 3 and of counts 5, 7, 8,10,11, 12, and 13 (possession with intent to distribute cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1)). She was acquitted of count 6. Watson was originally sentenced to concurrent terms of 360 months in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release, and was ordered to pay $500 in special assessments. On September 23, 1996, an Amended Judgment was entered reducing her term of imprisonment to 292 months pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2) because of a retroactive amendment to the Sentencing Guidelines that lowered Watson’s guideline range. III. DISCUSSION A. Sufficiency of the Evidence Challenges Mena, Murga, Varón, Gamboa, Para-da, Gage, and Jackquet contend that the evidence was insufficient to sustain some or all of their convictions. In reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence we view the evidence and all inferences to be drawn from it in the light most favorable to the verdict to determine if a rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. See United States v. Sneed, 63 F.3d 381, 385 (5th Cir.1995). 1. RICO, 18 U.S.C. § 1962(c) The substantive RICO statute charged in the indictment, 18 U.S.C. § 1962(c), prohibits “any person employed by or associated with any enterprise engaged in, or the activities of which affect, interstate or foreign commerce, to conduct or participate, directly or indirectly, in the conduct of such enterprise’s affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity or collection of unlawful debt.” To establish a violation of § 1962(c) the government must prove (1) the existence of an enterprise that affects interstate or foreign commerce, (2) that the defendant was “employed by” or “associated with” the enterprise, (3) that the defendant participated in the conduct of the enterprise’s affairs, and (4) that the participation was through “a pattern of racketeering activity.” United States v. Erwin, 793 F.2d 656, 670 (5th Cir.1986). Gage argues that the government failed to establish that he participated in the conduct of the affairs of the enterprise as required by Reves v. Ernst & Young, 507 U.S. 170, 113 S.Ct. 1163, 122 L.Ed.2d 525 (1993). In Reves the Court held that to be convicted of a substantive RICO offense under § 1962(c), “one must participate in the operation or management of the enterprise itself.” Reves, 507 U.S. at 185, 113 S.Ct. at 1173. The Court concluded that in enacting § 1962(c) Congress intended “participate” to have the “common understanding of the word ... ‘to take part in.’ ” Id. at 179, 113 S.Ct. at 1170. The Court specifically rejected the D.C. Circuit’s suggestion that § 1962(c) requires significant control over or within an enterprise. Id. at 179 n. 4, 113 S.Ct. at 1170 n. 4. The Court held that “the word ‘participate’ makes clear that RICO liability is not limited to those with primary responsibility for the enterprise’s affairs, just as the phrase ‘directly or indirectly’ makes clear that RICO liability is not limited to those with a formal position in the enterprise....” Id. at 179, 113 S.Ct. at 1170.