Full opinion text
TJOFLAT, Circuit Judge: The crimes in this case arose from the activities of Walter J. Browne and his sister, Patricia A. Devaney, as a high-ranking official and administrative assistant, respectively, in two labor unions. Accused of lining their pockets by abusing their positions in the unions, the defendants in this brother-and-sister operation were prosecuted under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”), the Taft-Hartley Act, and other federal statutes proscribing embezzlement and fraud. After a two-month joint trial, Browne was convicted of eight counts and acquitted of seven counts, and Devaney was convicted of nine counts and acquitted of six counts. The Government obtained an order of forfeiture for which the defendants were held jointly and severally liable. In addition, the defendants received prison sentences, and Devaney was ordered to pay restitution. Both now appeal, contesting the legal and factual support for their RICO and Taft-Hartley Act convictions, the district court’s denial of severance, and the order of forfeiture. We affirm the defendants’ convictions and sentences in all respects. The structure of the opinion is as follows: Part I provides the facts relevant for purposes of this appeal. Part II describes the charges against the defendants and the proceedings in the district court. Parts III through VI examine the issues raised on appeal by the defendants. I. As an understanding of the membership and organizational structure of the two labor unions is crucial to this appeal, we first describe these unions, the defendants’ involvement therewith, and the incidents leading to prosecution. Founded in 1875, District 1-Marine Engineers Beneficial Association (“Dl-MEBA”) is an AFL-CIO-chartered labor organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. Throughout the relevant period, Dl-MEBA represented both licensed and unlicensed seamen in its maritime divisions. These seamen served on all manner of ships, including ships in international commerce, ready reserve force vessels, military sealift command ships, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration research vessels, ships of institutions such as Scripps Research Institute and Woods Hole Research Center, and Staten Island ferries. In addition to representing seamen, Dl-MEBA also represented non-maritime workers. In its Professional Office Industrial Division (“POID”), Dl-MEBA represented land-based employees who handled the freight and offices of shipping companies whose maritime employees were represented by Dl-MEBA’s maritime divisions. Dl-MEBA also represented various public-sector employees, ranging from school bus drivers to custodial workers, in its Federation of Public Employees (“Dl-MEBA/FOPE”) division, which was headquartered in Broward County, Florida. Although POID and Dl-MEBA/FOPE were administered as separate divisions, their members were considered full voting members of Dl-MEBA. Walter J. “Buster” Browne became executive director of Dl-MEBA/FOPE in 1977. Under Browne’s leadership, the membership of Dl-MEBA/FOPE grew steadily. In 1988, Dl-MEBA merged with the National Maritime Union, a union that primarily represented unlicensed seamen, and became Dl-MEBA/NMU. Sometime thereafter, Browne was forced out of the newly merged entity by Dl-MEBA president Gene DeFries. Browne went to Washington, D.C., and became involved in a movement to oust DeFries. The merger did not last; DeFries and others were indicted on charges including election rigging and embezzlement, and in late 1991, Dl-MEBA voted to secede and reconstitute itself as an autonomous entity under its original name. It retained a number of unlicensed seamen who worked on state-operated ferries in Alaska and Washington state. In 1992, the new leadership of Dl- MEBA restored Browne to his former position as Dl-MEBA/FOPE’s executive director. During the fall of 1993, Browne’s sister, Patricia A. Devaney, attempted suicide by ingesting a large quantity of pills and alcohol. The failed attempt was precipitated by her depression, heavy drinking, and the loss of her job at the Broward County sheriffs office. After receiving psychiatric and rehabilitative treatment, Devaney moved into Browne’s house. ' Browne hired Devaney as his administrative assistant and gave her a car. Although Deva-ney initially performed clerical work, she later began taking charge of the division’s finances, causing the office manager who had previously handled the finances to become offended and to quit. As executive director, Browne was permitted to make union-related telephone calls on union cell phones and union calling cards. He was also permitted to incur certain entertainment and travel expenses, so long as they were related to the union’s business. Under the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act, the union was required to file a Labor Organization Annual Report, or LM-2, detailing financial receipts and disbursements, including union-related expenditures, and to retain sufficient records documenting and explaining such transactions for at least five years. See 29 U.S.C. §§ 431(b), 436; 29 C.F.R. § 403.3. Accordingly, Dl-MEBA regulations required that each employee personally complete expense vouchers and attach substantiating documents justifying the expenses, such as receipts. Contrary to these regulations, Devaney often completed Browne’s expense vouchers. Furthermore, Dl-MEBA accountants noticed that supporting documentation for expenses charged to Browne’s union credit card was frequently late or missing. In October 1993, Browne began working as a lobbyist and consultant for Hvide Marine, Inc. (“Hvide”), a marine company operating out of Port Everglades in Bro-ward County. Browne accepted monthly payments from Hvide from October 1993 to July 1998. In total, these payments amounted to $254,000. By late 1993, the swelling ranks of Dl-MEBA/FOPE and POID members began to generate friction. Because of previous attempts by leaders of the former merged entity to marshal the increasing number of votes held by members of Dl-MEBA/ FOPE and POID, members of the maritime divisions feared that those non-maritime divisions would eventually dilute the traditional maritime focus of the union. For their part, members of Dl-MEBA/ FOPE and POID believed they would be better served by a separate union. Dl-MEBA therefore decided to create an autonomous affiliate union, the National Federation of Public and Private Employees (“NFOPAPE”), to represent directly the bargaining units of Dl-MEBA/FOPE and POID. With the help of a $250,000 loan from Dl-MEBA, NFOPAPE headquarters were established in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The new union was organized into two divisions: the Federation of Private Employees and the Federation of Public Employees. Browne was named president of NFOPAPE and divisional president of the Federation of Public Employees. De-vaney also began working for NFOPAPE, answering to both Browne and Gilbert Carrillo, who was hired as in-house counsel of the Federation of Public Employees. Browne was keen to establish NFO-PAPE’s autonomy from Dl-MEBA and its Washington, D.C. headquarters. He directed the drafting of NFOPAPE’s own constitution to ensure that, despite its affiliation with Dl-MEBA, NFOPAPE would have its own structure and identity. Under the affiliation agreement, bargaining units from Dl-MEBA would be transferred by election to NFOPAPE. Upon NFOPAPE’s creation, POID’s bargaining units were transferred to the Federation of Private Employees. In addition, approximately half of Dl-MEBA/FOPE’s bargaining units were transferred to the Federation of Public Employees; the remaining units were retained by Dl-MEBA until they were likewise transferred by late 1996 or early 1997. Thus, Browne continued to serve as Dl-MEBA/FOPE’s executive director for a couple years, remaining on Dl-MEBA’s payroll. As with his position at Dl-MEBA, Browne’s positions at NFOPAPE also permitted him to incur travel and entertainment expenses related to union business, for which he could be reimbursed by personally submitting expense vouchers and substantiating documentation. In addition, NFOPAPE policy required the secretary/treasurer to approve such expenses. Under the division bylaws of the Federation of Public Employees, it was also the responsibility of the secretary-treasurer, together with the divisional president, to maintain custody of the books and records, to supervise the financial accounts, to give financial reports at membership meetings, and to sign checks for disbursement from the division’s accounts. Shortly after NFOPAPE’s formation, Browne hired George Zakaib as the secretary-treasurer of the Federation of Public Employees. Zakaib was a former custodian and repairman who served as shop steward of the custodial unit. He had never attended college, had no financial training, and had never been involved in union finances. As secretary-treasurer, Zakaib primarily worked as a recruiter of new members. At membership meetings, his sole responsibilities were to lead the pledge of allegiance and to handle the raffle tickets. Zakaib did not have access to the union’s books and records, never signed payroll checks, and never reviewed union credit card bills, bank statements, entertainment expenses, or travel expenses. Rather, it was Devaney who handled the union’s books and records, received and paid bills, processed expense vouchers, and managed payroll. On several occasions, Zakaib complained to Deva-ney and requested the opportunity to review the union’s books and records, but Devaney told him to “go fishing.” Deva-ney complained to Browne that Zakaib was “starting a ruckus” about the records, to which Browne responded that he would “take care of it.” Zakaib also complained to Carrillo and Browne, even threatening to resign. Although Browne assured Za-kaib that he would “take care of it,” Za-kaib’s duties did not change. Despite having shown initial improvement after her treatment, Devaney had eventually relapsed into heavy drinking and depression. Carrillo became seriously concerned that Devaney’s drinking problems rendered her unfit to handle the union’s finances, and feared that Devaney’s use of a union car would create liability issues for the union. Carrillo spoke with Browne on more than one occasion, requesting that Browne take the union car away from Devaney and place Devaney in a rehabilitation program. Browne did not do so. In 1995 and 1996, an accountant retained by the union, George Maribella, indicated to NFOPAPE officials that additional internal controls over the union’s accounting functions were necessary. In August or September 1996, a dispute arose over NFOPAPE’s repayment of the $250,000 loan from Dl-MEBA. Dl-MEBA President Alexander Shandrowsky wrote a letter to Browne requesting permission to audit the books and records of NFOPAPE, which Browne refused. Flanked by Dl-MEBA officials and an independent auditor, Shandrowsky then paid a visit to NFOPAPE headquarters. Browne again refused to allow access to the financial records. In October 1996, Shandrowsky terminated Browne as executive director of Dl-MEBA/FOPE, primarily because of Browne’s refusal to permit Dl-MEBA to audit NFOPAPE’s books and records, but also because he believed that Browne was attempting to “raid” units in the Broward County area that were represented by other labor organizations. Following his termination from Dl-MEBA, NFOPAPE took over responsibility for Browne’s salary. In late 1996, NFOPAPE retained an outside accounting firm to audit the union’s financial statements going forward. One of that firm’s partners, Nadine Bellows, had several occasions to report on the audited financial statements at the union’s membership meetings. In her letters to union management, Bellows noted that the union’s internal controls were “weak or non-existent,” because Devaney was handling the bulk of the bookkeeping and financial duties. She recommended that such duties be divided among several persons, to provide for segregation of duties pursuant to standard accounting procedures. As of her year-end audit for 1999, Bellows noted that none of the previous years’ recommendations had been implemented by the union. Beginning in 1997, Devaney began authorizing increased payments to herself through payroll. She also issued checks to her husband, who had previously been employed as consultant to the union, and cashed the checks herself. In 1999, the union hired Tina Kaiser as a bookkeeper. Kaiser noticed suspicious bonus checks issued to Devaney and her husband. Not wanting to approach Browne, Kaiser mentioned her observations to several other union officials, including Pat Lambert, a union representative at the Broward County sheriffs office. At the Labor Day picnic in September 1999, Lambert informed Browne that Devaney was stealing from the union. In November 1999, Devaney altered her payroll scheme. Rather than issuing checks to herself or her husband, she began issuing unwarranted payroll checks to her daughter, who edited the union newsletter. Devaney then cashed the checks herself. In March 2000, Devaney went from a full-time to a part-time employee of the union in order to work for the Broward County sheriffs office. When she requested her vacation pay in advance, Kaiser informed a union official that Devaney had already received her vacation pay. The ensuing investigation revealed that Deva-ney had embezzled $116,207.66 from payroll, and she was terminated. On May 16 of that year, Devaney sent the union a letter of apology and a check for $1,500 as voluntary restitution. After the sale of her condo for $56,000, Devaney bought herself a new car for $21,000 and sent the union a $25,000 check on October 21. . II. On May 8, 2003, a Southern District of Florida grand jury returned a twenty-count, second superseding indictment charging Browne and Devaney with various offenses. Count 1 charged both defendants with conspiring to violate RICO. Count 2 charged both defendants with a substantive violation of RICO and listed fifteen predicate acts committed by Browne, Devaney, or both. Counts 3 through 6 charged Browne with accepting payments from certain employers in violation of §§ 302(b)(1) and (d)(2) of the TafiAHartley Act. See 29 U.S.C. §§ 186(b)(1), (d)(2). Count 7 charged Browne with committing “honest services” mail fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1341. Counts 8 and 9 charged both defendants and Devaney alone, respectively, with embezzlement from a labor union in violation of 29 U.S.C. § 501(c). Count 10 charged Devaney under 18 U.S.C. § 1344 for bank fraud. Counts 11 through 18 charged both defendants with committing mail fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1341 by submitting expense vouchers for the reimbursement of personal expenses. Count 19 charged Browne and Devaney with failing to maintain labor organization records in violation of 29 U.S.C. § 439(a). Count 20 charged Devaney under 29 U.S.C. § 439(c) for destroying and falsifying records related to the union’s payroll. Finally, the indictment included a forfeiture count against both defendants, seeking forfeiture pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 1963 in the event of conviction under Counts 1 or 2. Browne filed two pretrial motions for severance which were denied. The defendants were tried in a joint trial beginning on April 5, 2004. At the close of the Government’s case, the defendants moved for judgment of acquittal pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 29 on certain counts. The district court subsequently granted Browne acquittals on the mail fraud charges in Counts 17 and 18, which also eliminated Predicate Act 15 of Count 2, but reserved ruling on the remainder of the counts. The defendants renewed their Rule 29 motions at the close of all the evidence, on which the district court reserved decision. On June 2, 2004, the jury found Browne guilty of Counts 1-3, 7, 12-14, and 19. With respect to the substantive RICO violation, Count 2, he was found to have committed Predicate Acts 1, 2, 4, 13, and 14. Devaney was found guilty of Counts 1, 2, 9, 10, 13, and 17-20. The jury found that she had committed Predicate Acts 10-14 of Count 2. Following sentencing hearings, Browne received concurrent prison sentences of 70 months for Counts 1, 2, and 7, 60 months on Counts 3, 12-14, and 12 months on Count 19. He also received three years’ supervised release for Counts 1-3, 12-14, and one year for Count 19. Devaney received concurrent sentences of 27 months’ imprisonment for Counts 1, 2, 9, 10, 13,17, and 18, and 12 months on Counts 19-20. She also received five years’ supervised release and was ordered to pay $87,100 in restitution. Finally, the defendants were held jointly and severally liable under an order of forfeiture in the amount of $592,271.32. The district court denied the defendants’ motions for judgment of acquittal and for new trial. Each defendant timely appealed. III. Browne first argues that the district court erred in interpreting the criminal section of the Taft-Hartley Act on which several of the counts against him were based. See Labor Management Relations (Taft-Hartley) Act § 302 (as amended), 29 U.S.C. § 186. The indictment contained four counts alleging separate violations by Browne of that section of the Act. Section 186 also served as the basis for eight of the predicate acts alleged against Browne in support of the substantive RICO count. The jury ultimately found Browne guilty of one Taft-Hartley count and that he had committed three of the Taft-Hartley predicate acts alleged in Count 2. These counts and predicate acts will be described in greater detail, infra. Browne argues that, under the proper interpretation of the statute, the evidence adduced by the Government at trial is insufficient to support his conviction on the Taft-Hartley count and the jury’s findings of culpability on the three Taft-Hartley predicate acts. As such, he suggests that he is entitled to entry of a judgment of acquittal on these counts. Alternatively, he argues that the district court erred in denying his request for a jury instruction defining the term “employee” to exclude supervisors, thus requiring a new trial on the Taft-Hartley count and two of the three predicate acts that the jury found Browne had committed. Ultimately, he argues, the infirmities of the Taft-Hartley count and predicate acts fatally undermine the remaining counts on which he was convicted — including the most serious RICO counts. Our review of this issue proceeds as follows. We begin in part III.A by determining the proper interpretation of § 186, then examining the sufficiency of the evidence to support Browne’s conviction on the Tail — Hartley violation alleged in Count 3, which was also alleged as Predicate Act 1. We then consider in part III.B the remaining two Tail — Hartley predicate acts that the jury found Browne had committed, as well as Browne’s convictions for the substantive RICO violation, RICO conspiracy, and “honest services” mail fraud. In part III.C, we address Browne’s argument challenging the jury instructions on certain of the Taft-Hartley charges. A. The Taft — Hartley Act, as amended, regulates various aspects of labor organizations and practices, but in part, the Act serves as “a conflict-of-interest statute designed to eliminate practices that have the potential for corrupting the labor movement.” United States v. Phillips, 19 F.3d 1565, 1574 (11th Cir.1994), amended on other grounds by 59 F.3d 1095 (11th Cir.1995). To this end, § 186 generally prohibits employers in industries affecting commerce from paying anything of value to labor organizations or their officials, and conversely prohibits labor representatives from receiving anything of value from employers. See id. Browne was charged in Counts 3-6 of the second superseding indictment, and in Predicate Acts 1-8 under the substantive RICO count (Count 2), with violations of § 186(b)(1). That subsection provides, in pertinent part: “It shall be unlawful for any person to request, demand, receive, or accept, or agree to receive or accept, any payment, loan, or delivery of any money or other thing of value prohibited by subsection (a) of this section.” 29 U.S.C. § 186(b)(1). Subsection (a), in turn, establishes four sets of circumstances under which the employer who makes or agrees to the prohibited payment may be criminally liable; thus, the liability of the recipient of the prohibited payment is coextensive with that of the employer. The Government framed each Tafb-Hartley count and predicate act in the indictment with reference to payments prohibited by § 186(a)(2) specifically, which provides in pertinent part: It shall be unlawful for any employer ... to pay, lend, or deliver, or agree to pay, lend, or deliver, any money or other thing of value ... to any labor organization, or any officer or employee thereof, which represents, seeks to represent, or would admit to membership, any of the employees of such employer who are employed in an industry affecting commerce!.] 29 U.S.C. § 186(a), (a)(2) (emphases added). The jury found Browne guilty of Count 3 and found that he had committed Predicate Acts 1, 2, and 4 of Count 2. Each count and each predicate act alleged that Browne unlawfully received monetary payments from a different employer whose employees Dl-MEBA and/or NFOPAPE would have admitted to membership. Count 3 and Predicate Act 1 alleged the same conduct — namely, that between October 1993 and July 1998, Browne accepted approximately $250,000 from Hvide. Predicate Act 2 alleged that Browne accepted approximately $12,500 from April to October 1995 from an agent of Coastal Gaming Group, Inc. (“Coastal Gaming”), which was doing business as International Cruises, Inc. In Predicate Act 4, the Government alleged that Browne accepted approximately $4,000 between September 1994 and July 1996 from the owner of Coleary Transport, Inc. (“Coleary Transport”). Browne contests the district court’s interpretations of two provisions of § 186 as they relate to the Government’s case on each of these counts. First, he argues that the district court erred in ruling that the term “employee,” as used in § 186(a)(2), includes supervisors. Under Browne’s interpretation, supervisors are excluded from the definition of “employee” by the terms of the applicable definition sections in Title 29. Thus, he asserts, the proper interpretation of the term “employee” renders insupportable the jury’s findings on Count 3 and Predicate Acts 1 and 2 of Count 2, all of which involve what Browne characterizes as negotiations for his unions to provide only supervisory employees to potential employers. Second, Browne argues that the district court erred in interpreting the term “would admit to membership” as used in § 186(a)(2). In short, Browne suggests that the district court interpreted this provision too broadly, allowing the jury to convict him of Count 3 and find him responsible for each of the three predicate acts on the basis of evidence that, in his estimation, was insufficient to prove what is required under the statute — namely, an existing employment relationship between the employer in question and members of the union. For reasons that will be explained infra, this appeal does not require us to interpret definitively the term “employee.” As such, we leave that issue for another day, and for the limited purpose of discussion here, we assume that Browne is correct in his assertion that the term “employee” in § 186 does not include supervisors. Instead, we focus our attention on the “would admit to membership” provision. Ultimately, we must determine what elements of proof are required of the Government to obtain a conviction under the Act, and against those we measure the sufficiency of the evidence on each of the contested counts and predicate acts. 1. With regard to the “would admit to membership” provision of § 186(a)(2), Browne argues that the district court applied an “unduly broad interpretation” in deciding his motions for judgment of acquittal. Browne suggests that the district court erred in its consideration of his sufficiency of evidence challenge to the TafN Hartley counts because the court focused its analysis on whether the employers at issue “had the present intent ... to employ” members of Dl-MEBA or NFO-PAPE by hiring them for positions that had yet to be created but would be filled in the future. In his view, in order for the Government to sustain its burden of proof under the “would admit to membership” clause, it must prove “an existing employment relationship between the employer and union members.” When construing a criminal statute, we begin with the plain language; where “the language Congress chose to express its intent is clear and unambiguous, that is as far as we go to ascertain its intent because we must presume that Congress said what it meant and meant what it said.” United States v. Steele, 147 F.3d 1316, 1318 (11th Cir.1998) (en banc) (citing Connecticut Nat’l Bank v. Germain, 503 U.S. 249, 253-54, 112 S.Ct. 1146, 1149, 117 L.Ed.2d 391 (1992)). By its terms, § 186(a)(2) prohibits payments by an employer to an officer of a labor organization when the labor organization “represents, seeks to represent, or would admit to membership, any of the employees of such employer who are employed in an industry affecting commerce.” 29 U.S.C. § 186(a)(2) (emphasis added). In order to be understood properly, the “would admit to membership” clause must be read in light of the subsection as a whole — specifically, the “who are employed” clause. The plain language indicates that there can be no criminal liability under § 186(a)(2) — or, by extension, for the intended recipient of a payment under § 186(b)(1) — unless, at the time the payment was made or agreed upon, the employer currently had employees who would be admitted to membership in the union. The use of the present tense (“are employed”) imposes a temporal limitation on the employment status of those employees whom § 186 would protect from corrupt double-dealing between union officials and employers. Cf. Allied Chem. & Alkali Workers of America, Local Union No. 1 v. Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co., 404 U.S. 157, 166, 92 S.Ct. 383, 391, 30 L.Ed.2d 341 (1971) (interpreting the statutory definition of “employee” under the TafWHart-ley Act “not to be stretched beyond its plain meaning embracing only those who work for another for hire”), accord. Folsom v. Prospect Hill Resources, Inc. (In re Prospect Hill Resources, Inc.), 837 F.2d 453, 455 (11th Cir.1988) (per curiam); Blassie v. Kroger Co., 345 F.2d 58, 68 (8th Cir.1965) (Blackmun, J.) (“An employee ordinarily is a person presently engaged in employment.”). The few reported cases to have considered the meaning of the “would admit to membership” clause do not compel an alternative interpretation. Browne relies heavily on United States v. Cody, in which the Second Circuit reversed the conviction of a union official, holding that the “connection” between the union official and the employer was “too nebulous” to support a charge under § 186. United States v. Cody, 722 F.2d 1052, 1059 (2d Cir.1983). The employer in Cody employed no union members at the time the union official received the thing of value (in that case, a rent-free apartment), and the court was unpersuaded by the Government’s argument that the employer would have employed union members on a future building contract for which there were then no “actual plans.” Id. at 1057-59. Here, Browne draws on the language of Cody in suggesting that the “would admit to membership” clause requires “an existing employment relationship, between the employer and members of the union.” Id. at 1058 (second emphasis added). We find the reasoning of Cody less than persuasive on this score, however. As we have noted above, the plain language of § 186(a)(2) certainly requires an existing employment relationship, but that association need not be with current union members — instead, it need only be the case that the employer has an existing employment relationship with employees who would be admitted to the union. The court in Cody, responding directly to the Government’s two arguments in that case, seemed to conceive of only two possible theories for a prosecution under § 186: either (1) that the employer currently employs individuals who are already union members, in which case a payment by the employer to a union official would constitute a violation, or (2) that the employer would allegedly hire union members in the future, in which case there would ordinarily be no violation. Id. Yet by its own examination of the statutory language and history, the Cody court described a third possibility that encompasses the interpretation relevant here: “subsection (a)(2) was added ... to deal with employers’ attempts through bribery of union officials to block unionization of their present employees.” Id. This interpretation is evident from the plain language of § 186(a)(2); if the “conditional verbiage” of the “would admit to membership” clause is to have any meaning, see id., Congress must have intended § 186 to capture payments to union officials when the employer employs individuals who were not yet union members. We see nothing in the statute or its legislative history to support Cody’s seeming assertion that the existing employment relationship must be between the employer and current union members. See id. Thus, the relevant consideration in applying § 186(a)(2)’s “would admit to membership” clause is whether the union would admit any of the employees who were currently working for the employer at the time the subject payment was made. We note that other courts have considered some form of a “present intent” test, under which the determination of whether a union “would admit to membership” would turn on either (a) whether the employer had, at the time of the payment, the present intent to hire individuals who either were union members or would be admitted to membership after being hired, or (b) whether the union had the present intent to admit the employer’s employees at the time the payment was made. See United States v. Pecora, 798 F.2d 614, 622 (3d Cir.1986) (considering, but ultimately rejecting, a “present intent” theory); United States v. Sink, 355 F.Supp. 1067, 1071 (E.D.Pa.1973) (denying motions for judgment of acquittal and new trial where the jury had been instructed that “would admit to membership ... means at the time the acts were performed and done ... there was a present intention for [the employer] to obtain work in the Philadelphia area and to employ employees that would and could be admitted to membership in [the union]”), ajfd mem., 485 F.2d 683 (3d Cir.1973). As the Third Circuit did in Pécora, we reject these formulations as inconsistent with the statutory language. The first suggested “present intent” test would improperly allow for liability under the “would admit to membership” clause of § 186(a)(2) in situations where the employer had no current employees who would be admitted to membership, but instead had the present intent to hire individuals in the future who would be admitted to membership. As we have explained supra, this interpretation would be inconsistent with the statutory provisions requiring an existing employment relationship between the employer and the employees who would be admitted. Furthermore, the second formulation — which would require that the union have the present intent to admit the employees — “would seem to render the ‘would admit to membership’ language superfluous, since section [186(a)(2)] also prohibits payments to officers of a labor organization which ‘seeks to represent’ a group of employees, language more suited to the ‘present intention’ situation than the phrase at issue here.” Pecora, 798 F.2d at 622. Having established the proper interpretation of the “would admit to membership” clause, we now have all the pieces to assemble a complete statement of the minimum proof required to sustain a conviction under § 186(a)(2). Combining all the elements, the Government was required to prove, for each Taft-Hartley count and predicate act based on § 186(a)(2), that Browne received or accepted the alleged monetary amount from the employer, and that, at the time of the alleged criminal act, the employer had employees in an industry affecting commerce whom Dl-MEBA or NFOPAPE would have admitted to membership. Again, for the sake of discussion here, we assume Browne’s suggested definition for the term “employee” in § 186(a)(2) — that the term does not include supervisors. With that in mind, we now proceed to examine the sufficiency of the evidence for the contested Taffc-Hartley count and each of the contested predicate acts. We review de novo a district court’s denial of judgment of acquittal on sufficiency of evidence grounds. United States v. Yates, 438 F.3d 1307, 1311-12 (11th Cir.2006) (en banc). In reviewing a sufficiency of the evidence challenge, we consider the evidence in the light most favorable to the Government, drawing all reasonable inferences and credibility choices in the Government’s favor. United States v. Puche, 350 F.3d 1137, 1142 (11th Cir.2003). If a reasonable jury could conclude that the evidence establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, we will affirm the verdict. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 2789, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979); United States v. Drury, 396 F.3d 1303, 1312 (11th Cir.2005). This inquiry does not require that the evidence be inconsistent with “every reasonable hypothesis except guilt.” United States v. Starrett, 55 F.3d 1525, 1541 (11th Cir.1995) (citation omitted). Because we recognize that “the jury is free to choose between or among the reasonable conclusions to be drawn from the evidence presented at trial,” our sufficiency review requires only that a guilty verdict be reasonable, not inevitable, based on the evidence presented at trial. See id. (“In reviewing conspiracy convictions, the question is whether there is substantial evidence to support the verdicts.” (quoting United States v. Russo, 796 F.2d 1443, 1455 (11th Cir.1986))). 2. We begin with a review of the evidence in support of the allegation that between October 1993 and July 1998, Browne accepted approximately $250,000 from Hvide. This same conduct underlies substantive Count 3 and Predicate Act 1. We find that, when construed in the light most favorable to the Government, a reasonable jury could have concluded beyond a reasonable doubt that during the relevant time period, Hvide had non-supervisory employees who would have been admitted to Dl-MEBA and NFOPAPE. Hvide was founded in 1958 by a good friend of Browne’s named Hans Hvide, and had three divisions: a towing division that provided tug services for several ports in the southeastern United States, an offshore energy support division that provided support services for offshore oil drilling, and a tanker division that transported petroleum and chemicals up the east and west coasts of the United States. By the time Hvide went public in 1996, it had expanded its operations to a worldwide marine services company employing over 3,000 workers. Hvide employees comprised the crew of the towing and tanker divisions. Even assuming that a portion of the licensed seamen would qualify as supervisors for collective bargaining purposes, and thus be excluded from Browne’s definition of “employees,” a reasonable jury could conclude that Dl-MEBA and NFO-PAPE would have admitted to membership the remaining licensed seamen, unlicensed seamen, and land-based support staff in Hvide’s employ. The Government adduced testimony that the life blood of the unions was recruitment; active unionization of new members replaced retiring workers, increased the available job base, and ensured the survival of unions. Indeed, at NFOPAPE’s inception, Browne “wanted to be able to organize anybody and everybody in the private sector,” both in state and out of state. Accordingly, the division bylaws of the Federation of Private Employees were broadly drafted without any restrictions on the types of workers who could be admitted to NFO-PAPE: Article I, section 4(f) named as its object “[t]o bring within its membership ranks any and all employees of employers within the scope of this organization’s jurisdiction.” There is no question that Hvide’s shipboard crew members were precisely the type of workers that were already organized in Dl-MEBA’s maritime divisions, and Hvide’s land-based support employees were of the type that were already organized in POID. As for whether NFO-PAPE would have organized maritime workers, the Government introduced “pledge cards” for two proposed divisions of NFOPAPE that would have organized seamen, the United Seafarers of America and the Nautical Workers of America. Negotiations concerning Hvide’s double-hull tanker project provide further support that Dl-MEBA and NFOPAPE would have sought to organize Hvide’s employees. In 1995, Hvide entered into a venture to build state-of-the-art double-hull oil tankers. Based on certain financing restrictions, Hvide and its partners were required to obtain an agreement with a labor organization to crew the new tankers. In 1995, Hvide approached Browne to request his assistance in securing such a labor agreement. Browne in turn spoke with Dl-MEBA officials, and in early December 1995, union officials invited Hvide to the Washington, D.C. headquarters to discuss having union members crew the new tankers from top to bottom. On December 4, Alexander Shandrowsky was elected as the new president of Dl-MEBA. Despite Browne’s encouragement, Shandrow-sky refused to agree to a contract with Hvide, believing that the terms of the contract would have made it “by far and away, the worst contract” that Dl-MEBA had. Although the deal ultimately fell through, the negotiations support the finding that the employees already employed by Hvide were the very types of employees that Dl-MEBA and NFOPAPE would have admitted to membership. Indeed, Hvide wanted to be able to transfer some of its employees who were crewing other Hvide ships onto the new oil tankers. Furthermore, during the negotiations, Browne discussed the possibility of organizing the unlicensed seamen aboard the oil tankers into a new, unlicensed division of NFOPAPE, to be called the United Seafarers of America. Browne went so far as to have pledge cards and division bylaws for this new division drawn up and reviewed by a NFOPAPE organizer, Ernest Rumsby, whom Browne informed would become a vice-president of that division. Browne’s principal argument with respect to the Hvide payments is that the “admit to membership” clause does not apply because Hvide’s existing maritime employees were already represented by the Seabulk Officer’s Association and the Seabulk Seamen’s Association. Although these associations were not affiliated with the AFL-CIO, Browne argues that the “contract-bar doctrine” would have prevented Dl-MEBA and NFOPAPE from representing Hvide’s existing employees. The contract-bar rule precludes the filing of a petition for an election involving employees covered by a contract of no more than three-years’ duration, unless the petition is filed within a certain time period prior to termination of the existing contract. See Local Union 3074, District 15, United Steel Workers v. Shore, 386 F.Supp. 600, 602 (W.D.Pa.1975). Its purpose is “to stabilize for a reasonable term an existing contractual relationship between an employer and its employees’ bargaining representative.” See N.L.R.B. v. Arthur Samow Candy Co., 40 F.3d 552, 557 (2d Cir.1994) (quoting Corallo v. Merrick Cent. Carburetor, Inc., 733 F.2d 248, 252 (2d Cir.1984)). In other words, Browne asserts that the unions would not have sought to represent Hvide’s employees because they could not. The Government responds that the Seabulk Officer’s Association and the Seabulk Seamen’s Association were merely in-house associations of Hvide (Hvide was later renamed Seabulk International Inc.), and that such informal agreements would have presented no true impediment to organization. Construing the facts in the light most favorable to the Government, it was reasonable for the jury to find that the existence of these agreements would not have prevented Dl-MEBA and NFO-PAPE from seeking to organize Hvide’s employees. As the Pécora court observed, “the existence of possible roadblocks” in the form of “practical or legal impediments to the actual organization of a group of workers” does not conclusively render § 186(a)(2) inapplicable. See Pecora, 798 F.2d at 623. Even if the contract bar were otherwise applicable, the contract-bar doctrine would not have prevented the operation of § 186(a)(2) in this case. In the first place, the contract bar is a creation of the National Labor Relations Board; it has no source in any express language of the National Labor Relations Act. Pecora, 798 F.2d at 621 n. 3; Local 1545, United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, AFL-CIO v. Vincent, 286 F.2d 127, 130 (2d Cir.1960). Accordingly, the three-year period is not an inflexible bar; it remains a policy “[wjhieh the Board in its discretion may apply or waive as the facts of a given case may demand in the interest of stability and fairness in collective bargaining agreements.” Vincent, 286 F.2d at 131 (quoting N.L.R.B. v. Grace Co., 184 F.2d 126, 129 (8th Cir.1950)). Second, and more importantly, an “agreement constitutes a bar to the holding of a representation election for the life of the agreement, up to a maximum of three years.” Arthur Sarnow Candy Co., 40 F.3d at 557 (emphasis added). After three years have elapsed, “insurgent unions can challenge incumbents for jurisdiction.” Pecora, 798 F.2d at 621 n. 3. Thus, Hvide’s agreements could not have raised an insurmountable bar to the organization of Hvide’s employees by Dl-MEBA and NFOPAPE for the entire period that Browne was accepting payments from Hvide, namely, October 1993 to July 1998. See id. (“It is implausible that the contract bar could have prevented Local 863 from asserting its jurisdiction during the entire decade that the scheme was in operation.”). A reasonable jury could have concluded that Dl-MEBA and NFOPAPE would have sought to organize Hvide’s existing employees despite the presence of practical or legal roadblocks to actual organization. Having so decided, a reasonable jury could also conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that Browne violated the Taft-Hart-ley Act when he accepted payments from Hvide. Thus, we affirm the district court’s denial of the motion for judgment of acquittal on Count 3/Predicate Act 1. B. Having determined that Browne’s conviction on the Taft-Hartley violation embodied in Count 3 and Predicate Act 1 must stand, we now turn our attention to his sufficiency of evidence challenge on the remaining Taft-Hartley predicate acts and other substantive counts of the indictment. As with the Hvide-related charges, Browne moved for entry of judgment of acquittal on the Taft-Hartley violations alleged in Predicate Acts 2 and 4 of Count 2, claiming that the Government had adduced insufficient evidence. Similar to the Hvide charges, Predicate Acts 2 and 4 each alleged that Browne received money from a different employer whose employees either Dl-MEBA or NFOPAPE would admit to membership. The jury ultimately found that Browne committed both these acts, and the district court denied the motion for judgment of acquittal. Browne asserts that the district court erred in submitting Predicate Acts 2 and 4 to the jury, and that ultimately this error taints his convictions for RICO conspiracy, Count 1, the substantive RICO violation, Count 2, and honest services mail fraud, Count 7. 1. Browne’s argument is layered, so we must disassemble it before we can engage in any analysis. For ease of discussion here, we take the substantive RICO violation as our starting point. As relevant here, RICO generally prohibits a person who is affiliated with a broadly defined “enterprise” from conducting that enterprise’s affairs through a “pattern of racketeering activity.” 18 U.S.C. § 1962(c). In support of this count, the Government was required to prove: (1) that an enterprise existed; (2) that the enterprise affected interstate commerce; (3) that the defendants were employed by or associated with the enterprise; (4) that the defendants participated, either directly or indirectly, in the conduct of the enterprise; and (5) that the defendants participated through a pattern of racketeering activity. United States v. Starrett, 55 F.3d 1525, 1541 (11th Cir.1995). We are concerned here with the fifth element — the “pattern of racketeering activity” — which, at the threshold, requires proof that Browne committed at least two predicate racketeering acts. 18 U.S.C. §§ 1961(1), 1962(c); see also Starrett, 55 F.3d at 1541. The Government alleged a total of fifteen predicate acts in the second superseding indictment, twelve of which were charged against Browne. The jury indicated its findings of “Committed” or “Not Committed” for each defendant on each alleged predicate act by responding to a special verdict form. In total, the jury found that Browne committed five of the twelve predicate acts charged against him in Count 2. Two of these — Predicate Acts 13 and 14 — alleged mail fraud violations, and Browne does not contest the jury’s findings on these acts. The remaining three predicate acts found by the jury were those alleging violations of the Taft-Hartley Act: Predicate Acts 1 (pertaining to Hvide), 2 (pertaining to Coastal Gaming), and 4 (pertaining to Coleary Transport). We have already rejected Browne’s challenge to Predicate Act 1, so only acts 2 and 4 remain in dispute. We conclude that an examination of the sufficiency of evidence on these two predicate acts is unnecessary to the disposition of this appeal. As we will explain, even if Browne were correct and he were entitled to reversal of the jury’s findings on Predicate Acts 2 and 4, such an outcome would not affect any of the substantive counts of the indictment on which he was found guilty. With regard to the substantive RICO charge, Count 2, Browne does not challenge the jury’s findings on the mail fraud predicate acts (13 and 14), so his argument does not rest on any suggestion that the Government failed to prove at least two predicate acts as required by § 1961(5), even if we assume that Acts 2 and 4 are invalid as he contends. Instead, Browne focuses on the sufficiency of the evidence to establish part of the fifth element of § 1962(c). To establish the fifth element under § 1962, the Government must prove two components: the predicate acts must relate to the enterprise charged, which we have referred to as the “relationship component,” see Starrett, 55 F.3d at 1546; and “the predicate acts must actually form a pattern, i.e., relate to each other and have continuity,” United States v. To, 144 F.3d 737, 747 (11th Cir.1998); see H.J., Inc. v. Northwestern Bell Tel. Co., 492 U.S. 229, 239, 109 S.Ct. 2893, 2900, 106 L.Ed.2d 195 (1989) (holding that the Government must prove not only that at least two predicate acts were committed, but also “that the racketeering predicates are related, and that they amount to or pose a threat of continued criminal activity”), which we have called the “pattern component.” Starrett, 55 F.3d at 1546-47. As we have elaborated the former part of the pattern component, the predicate acts must relate to each other (as distinguished from the relationship component), meaning that the predicate acts must “have the same or similar purposes, results, participants, victims, or methods of commission, or otherwise [be] interrelated by distinguishing characteristics and ... not [be] isolated events.” See Sedima, S.P.R.L. v. Imrex Co., 473 U.S. 479, 496 n. 14,105 S.Ct. 3275, 3285 n. 14, 87 L.Ed.2d 346 (1985) (quoting Title X of the Organized Crime Control Act of 1970, 18 U.S.C. § 3575(e)). It is the latter part of the pattern component — continuity — that Browne contests in this appeal, so we confine our discussion accordingly. We will say more about continuity below, but first we summarize the parties’ arguments. Browne suggests that, because of “the centrality of the Taft-Hart-ley charges to the government’s case,” this court “should not ‘hazard a guess’ ” as to whether the jury would have found the required continuity to satisfy the pattern component solely on the basis of the mail fraud acts alleged in Predicate Acts 13 and 14. In support of his argument, Browne relies heavily on the decision of the Second Circuit in United States v. Delano, 55 F.3d 720 (2d Cir.1995). In that case, the jury issued a special verdict, finding that the defendant had committed five RICO predicate acts and convicting him on one substantive RICO count and one count of RICO conspiracy. Delano, 55 F.3d at 725. The defendant moved for judgment of acquittal, which was denied. Id. On appeal, the court vacated the jury’s findings on three of the five predicate acts, holding that the evidence was insufficient. Id. at 727. The other two predicate acts remained undisturbed, and, in considering what effect its holding would have on the RICO counts, the court acknowledged that, “for the purposes of our review, [the defendant] engaged in ... a pattern of racketeering that included at least two predicate acts.” Id. at 728. Nevertheless, the court reversed the RICO counts and remanded for a new trial. Id. at 729. The court reasoned that “it would be too speculative to assume” that the jury would have found relatedness and continuity on the basis of the two remaining predicate acts alone, noting that “the proof concerning [the invalid predicate acts] represented the bulk of this RICO prosecution, eclipsing all else.” Id. at 728-29. Here, Browne urges this court to adopt Delano’s reasoning. He suggests that because we cannot know what evidence the jury relied on to find that he had undertaken a continuous pattern of racketeering acts, we must reverse the substantive RICO conviction. Our resolution of this issue is not as simple as the Government at first suggests in its response. For its primary argument in support of the substantive RICO conviction, the Government cites precedent of this circuit as determinative for the proposition that a RICO conviction will survive appeal whenever at least two valid predicate acts remain, regardless of whether other predicate acts are invalidated. See United States v. Peacock, 654 F.2d 339, 348 (5th Cir. Aug.1981) (“[C]onviction under § 1962(c) requires only that the defendant be convicted of two acts of racketeering and that the [acts] must be related to the affairs of the enterprise .... ” (internal quotation marks and citation omitted)), vacated in part on other grounds on reh’g, 686 F.2d 356 (5th Cir. Unit B 1982); see also United States v. Pepe, 747 F.2d 632, 668 (11th Cir.1984) (“[T]he government proved at least two predicate acts of racketeering beyond a reasonable doubt. This is all the government had to prove to establish a RICO pattern of racketeering and substantive RICO liability.”). However, these cases simply do not address the continuity requirement of the pattern component. That the two decisions omitted any discussion of continuity is unsurprising, as both were decided before the Supreme Court pronounced definitively that continuity and relatedness are necessary components of a pattern under § 1962. See H.J., Inc., 492 U.S. at 239, 109 S.Ct. at 2900. Peacock and Pepe were decided during a simpler time for the Government in RICO prosecutions, before the statute was complicated by such abstractions as “continuity.” Thus, Peacock and Pepe do not address, much less decide, the continuity issue here. Moreover, the Government is fully aware of the requirements under H.J., Inc. that predicate acts must be related to one other and must be continuous — it even discussed them extensively in its alternative argument supporting the RICO conviction. See 492 U.S. at 239, 109 S.Ct. at 2900 (“[T]o prove a pattern of racketeering activity a plaintiff or prosecutor must show that the racketeering predicates are related ....”); id. at 238, 109 S.Ct. at 2900 (“Section 1961(5) concerns only the minimum number of predicates necessary to establish a pattern; and it assumes that there is something to a RICO pattern beyond simply the number of predicate acts involved.”); cf. United States v. Alexander, 888 F.2d 777, 778 (11th Cir.1989) (considering anew, on remand from the Supreme Court for consideration in light of H.J., Inc., whether two predicate acts were sufficiently continuous and related to establish a pattern where other predicate acts had been invalidated on appeal), on remand from 492 U.S. 915, 109 S.Ct. 3236, 106 L.Ed.2d 584 (1989). Furthermore, “[it] is by now well established that in order to prove a ‘pattern of racketeering activity’ it is not sufficient to simply establish two isolated predicate acts.” Jackson v. BellSouth Telecomms., 372 F.3d 1250, 1264 (11th Cir.2004). Thus, Peacock and Pepe are irrelevant to our discussion here. Continuity of racketeering activity may be proven “in a variety of ways,” “depend[ing] on the specific facts of each case.” H.J., Inc., 492 U.S. at 241-42, 109 S.Ct. at 2902. In spite of the case-specific nature of the continuity inquiry, certain general principles guide the analysis. Continuity “is both a closed- and open-ended concept, referring either to a closed period of repeated conduct, or to past conduct that by its nature projects into the future with a threat of repetition.” Id. at 241, 109 S.Ct. at 2902. “A party alleging a RICO violation may demonstrate continuity over a closed period by proving a series of related predicates extending over a substantial period of time.” Id. at 242, 109 S.Ct. at 2902. Predicate acts “extending over a few weeks or months and threatening no future criminal conduct” do not suffice. See id. at 242, 109 S.Ct. at 2902; Jackson v. BellSouth Telecomms., 372 F.3d at 1265-66. By contrast, the “open-ended” theory of continuity relies not on a closed set of repeated prior acts committed over a substantial period of time, but instead on the “threat of continuity” extending into the future. See Jackson v. BellSouth Telecomms., 372 F.3d at 1265. The burden under this theory can be met by proof that (1) the “racketeering acts themselves include a specific threat of repetition extending indefinitely into the future,” or (2) the predicate offenses are “part of an ongoing entity’s regular way of doing business,” including where “the predicates can be attributed to a defendant operating as part of a long-term association that exists for criminal purposes.” See H.J., Inc., 492 U.S. at 242-43, 109 S.Ct. at 2902; Jackson v. BellSouth Telecomms., 372 F.3d at 1265. Unlike under the “closed period” theory, continuity may be established under the “open-ended” theory “[t]hough the number of related predicates involved may be small and they may occur close together in time.” H.J., Inc., 492 U.S. at 242, 109 S.Ct. at 2902; see also To, 144 F.3d at 747 (affirming RICO substantive and conspiracy convictions where the evidence was sufficient to show that the defendant committed three predicate acts, all within a span of several hours). Given that the jury returned a guilty verdict on the substantive RICO count, we know it must have found continuity in the pattern of racketeering activity. The instruction given to the jury on that count mirrored the Eleventh Circuit pattern instruction, which we have previously held to be sufficient on the issue of continuity, United States v. Kotvas, 941 F.2d 1141, 1144 (11th Cir.1991), and Browne does not contest the instruction here. Because the special verdict form did not require any specific findings on continuity, however, Browne argues that we would be blindly guessing what the jury relied upon in making its finding. But neither our inquiry on appellate review, nor the district court’s task in considering a motion for judgment of acquittal, requires us to determine the specific underlying basis of the jury’s finding on continuity. Browne’s continuity argument goes astray in its focus on the jury outcomes regarding individual predicate acts. Any two predicate acts can be sufficient for the jury to find continuity. See Starrett, 55 F.3d at 1545 (“[I]f any two of Nolan’s thirty-four predicate acts establish the required RICO elements, then Nolan’s RICO conviction is due to be affirmed.”); United States v. Church, 955 F.2d 688, 694 (11th Cir.1992) (rejecting a sufficiency of evidence challenge where exactly two predicate acts were available to support the continuity requirement); Alexander, 888 F.2d at 778 (same); cf. 18 U.S.C. § 1961(5) (“ ‘[PJattern of racketeering activity’ requires at least two acts .... ”). Of course the jury may find, in a given case, that the Government has proven more than two predicate acts, and the jury in such a case may rely on all the proven predicate acts to find continuity sufficient to establish a pattern. The same jury theoretically might also, consistent with the minimum requirements of the statute and H.J., Inc., find that multiple predicate acts were proven beyond a reasonable doubt, go on to find unanimously that the evidence proving just two of the acts also fulfills the continuity requirement, and stop its inquiry there. In this latter scenario, the jury has not considered whether every proven predicate act supports a finding of continuity, but nothing further is required so long as at least two acts fulfill the requirement. In most, if not all, cases, the jury will have no occasion to explain the specific basis for its finding of continuity. Even in the instant case, in which the jury made specific findings on each predicate act via a special verdict form, the finding of continuity can only be inferred from the eventual guilty verdict on Count 2 issued by a properly instructed jury. The jury’s decisions on individual predicate acts indicate nothing about its finding of continuity. In this regard, the jury’s finding of continuity is, with regard to that limited issue, much like a general verdict. The jury may have relied on any two of the proven predicate acts, or more, in finding continuity, but it will not have indicated which specific acts formed the basis for its decision. In such situations, our analysis is guided by Griffin v. United States, 502 U.S. 46, 112 S.Ct. 466, 116 L.Ed.2d 371 (1991). Griffin involved a conspiracy charge alleging two factually distinct objects of the conspiracy in the same count of the indictment. Id. at 47, 112 S.Ct. at 468. At trial, the evidence against Griffin only connected her to one of the two alleged objects, but the jury convicted her of the conspiracy count by general verdict after being instructed that it could find guilt upon proof of either object. Id. at 47-48, 112 S.Ct. at 468. The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction, noting the rule at common law that “a general jury verdict was valid so long as it was legally supportable on one of the submitted grounds — -even though that gave no assurance that a valid ground, rather than an invalid one, was actually the basis for the jury’s action.” Id. at 49, 112 S.Ct. at 469. The Court distinguished prior decisions reversing general verdicts on counts based on alternate grounds when one of the possible grounds was later revealed to be either constitutionally or legally flawed, as opposed to being “merely unsupported by sufficient evidence.” Id. at 56, 112 S.Ct. at 472. In the latter type of case, “the verdict stands if the evidence is sufficient with respect to any one of the acts charged.” Id. at 56-57, 112 S.Ct. at 473 (citation omitted). Although a jury, in its limited role as factfinder, cannot be trusted to identi