Full opinion text
TJOFLAT, Circuit Judge: A Southern District of Florida jury found Larry Schwartz, Edward Meyer, Raphael Raymond Levy, and Ronalee Or-lick guilty of offenses they committed in carrying out a fraudulent scheme to sell high-yield promissory notes, issued by companies Schwartz and Levy owned, to individual investors. The scheme had a life of about four years; it came to an end shortly before Schwartz’s company filed for bankruptcy. As investors became aware that their notes might become worthless, they demanded payment. Most were too late; the losses they suffered totaled in excess of $30 million. The district court accepted the jury’s verdicts and sentenced the defendants to lengthy prison terms. They now appeal. Schwartz appeals his convictions on the ground that the district court committed a Bruton violation when it permitted the prosecutor to introduce into evidence an out-of-court statement by codefendant Meyer that implicated him in most, if not all, of the charged offenses. Meyer appeals the district court’s refusal to dismiss the charges against him on the ground that the Government used statements he made under a grant of immunity to obtain his indictment. Levy and Orlick challenge the sufficiency of the evidence to convict. We consider these individual appeals in the above order, after describing the sale of the high-yield promissory notes, the crimes charged in the indictment, and the case’s post-indictment history. I. A. 1. First Capital Services sells “capital notes” to individual investors to raise money for its factoring business. Larry Schwartz formed First Capital Services (“FCS”) on December 23, 1992. From the beginning, FCS specialized in the purchase of discounted accounts receivable, or invoices, a financing practice called factoring. Schwartz was FCS’s president and one of its two directors. Edward Meyer started at FCS in October 1994 as a special projects manager. He served as controller from about January 1995 to October 1999. As controller, he maintained the financial books and records of the company, including the general ledger, cash disbursement journal, and accounts payable ledger. Starting in 1996, FCS sold “senior capital notes” to individual investors to raise money for factoring accounts receivable. FCS sold the notes to investors directly and through outside brokers. FCS provided the brokers with a tri-fold sales brochure advertising the terms and options for “Capital Funding/Senior Capital Notes.” One panel of the brochure titled “Safety and Yield[:] the Capital Note Advantages” provided an overview of the notes. It stated: “Notes [are] backed by Federal, State or Local Government receivables, and Insured Corporate Receivables.” The next paragraph stated: “All funds are held in a segregated Capital Note Account used only for the purchasing of Government backed and Insured corporate receivables.” This was followed by a bulleted list of the note’s attributes: 9.25 annual percentage rate (“APR”); 6-month term; fixed principal; fixed interest rate; liquid; monthly interest payments; ownership of receivables by First Capital evidenced by a first lien on a UCC-1 filing; no sales charge; and $25,000 minimum. There was a footnote linked to “liquid” that stated: “Note may be redeemed by lender prior to maturity date. Early re-demptions will incur a one month interest penalty.” Another panel of the brochure was titled “About First Capital Services.” It stated, among other things, that FCS had been in the “business of financing government backed and insured receivables since 1992, and as of December 1997 has purchased in excess of $225,000,000 in accounts receivable.” It further stated: [t]o assure and maintain the highest level of safety of principal, Continental Insurance Company part [sic] of the 65 Billion Dollar CNA/Continental insurance group conducts its own independent due diligence on all receivables and all debtor companies. FIRST CAPITAL SERVICES, INC WILL ONLY FINANCE RECEIVABLES THAT ARE UNDERWRITTEN AND INSURED BY THE CONTINENTAL INSURANCE COMPANY. (Government backed receivables are exempt from this requirement.). (Emphasis in original). A third panel of the brochure was dedicated to a list of “Debtor Clients,” including “Government” entities such as the “Federal Government,” “Department of Navy,” “Department of Transportation,” “State of Florida,” “State of Georgia,” “City of New York,” and “Broward County,” and rehable “Corporate” entities such as “Wal-Mart,” “3M,” “General Electric,” “AT&T,” “Heinz,” and “Florida Power & Light.” Yet another panel urged potential investors that upon “review[ing] this brochure,” “[cjommon sense will tell you this investment is an ideal combination of handsome returns, rock-solid safety, and liquidity.” Upon sending a check to FCS, investors received a “Corporate Funding Note” in the mail that detailed the terms of their investment and reiterated the representations made in the brochure. In particular, the note stated: “For the sole purposes of purchasing insured corporate receivables or government backed accounts receivables [sic].” Unlike the brochure, the note referred to the investor as “lender” and FCS as “borrower.” Paragraph four of the note stated that “[t]he terms of this note cannot be changed nor may the note be discharged in whole or in part except by a writing executed by the lender.” 2. U.S. Capital takes over FCS’s individual investor note program and buys FCS corporate notes. In 1997, the senior capital notes program came under investigation by the Florida Department of Financial Services, subsequently called the Florida Department of Banking and Finance. The Department was concerned that the notes should be registered as securities, and it had several conversations with FCS. On December 4, 1997, FCS sent a letter to note holders, stating that it was “pleased to announce important changes to the senior capital note program.” The letter mentions that an “offering memorandum” explaining the changes would follow; the memorandum never made it to a note holder. On December 22, 1997, Raphael Raymond Levy formed U.S. Capital Funding, Incorporated (“U.S. Capital”), a Florida corporation. Up to that point, Levy had been selling FCS senior capital notes through his companies — American Benefits Services, Incorporated (“American Benefits”), and Asset Based Management. U.S. Capital was evidently formed for the purpose of enabling FCS to continue the senior capital note program. U.S. Capital would sell its own promissory notes to individual investors and invest the proceeds in FCS “corporate” notes, which were substantially identical to the notes FCS had issued to individual investors, except that FCS issued them only to U.S. Capital. This plan was effectuated as follows. On December 31, 1997, FCS, through its counsel, sent a letter to the Florida Office of the Comptroller stating that it would stop selling and renewing senior capital notes. Some months later, Schwartz reaffirmed that position to Korinne Harper, a Department investigator, telling her that the existing FCS senior capital notes would mature in July 1998 without renewal. In February 1998, Levy’s daughter, Ro-nalee Levy Orlick, began managing U.S. Capital’s office and at some point she began exercising signatory authority. By early 1999, she was the company’s president. Levy remained U.S. Capital’s owner and director throughout the course of the charged conspiracies. By April 1998, senior capital note holders, without solicitation, began receiving renewal notes issued in the name of U.S. Capital instead of FCS. The renewal notes had the same terms as the original and stated: “The undersigned, U.S. Capital Funding, Incorporated, borrower, hereby promises to pay to the order of [investor].” U.S. Capital also began marketing its own notes, “U.S. Capital notes,” to individual investors directly — by placing ads in newspapers — and through independent brokers, often insurance agents, who were given sales brochures substantially identical to those previously used by FCS. Levy assured brokers and investors that the money generated from notes would be used to invest in FCS’s factoring program as described on the brochures; he described U.S. Capital as FCS’s “exclusive broker.” Investors wrote their checks to U.S. Capital, which deposited their money into its account and issued them promissory notes identical to those formerly issued by FCS, except that U.S. Capital was the borrower. Orlick signed most of the notes and accompanying literature explaining the note program. In 1998, U.S. Capital used the bulk of investor funds raised from its note program to purchase FCS corporate notes, which indicated FCS as the borrower and U.S. Capital as the lender. The rate of return on those notes was 10% per six months, or 20% annually, and the notes stated that the principal was to be used for government or corporate receivables insured by Continental Insurance. S. What FCS did with U.S. Capital’s money. Besides buying accounts receivable, FCS used investor money to make asset based loans. From 1997 to 1999, FCS made loans totaling $28,774,303, with about $14 million of that in 1998 to 1999, after U.S. Capital was supplying FCS with funds. From 1997 to 1999, FCS collected a total of $2,307,911 from its asset based loan debtors. Stephen Kelley, a forensic accountant hired by FCS’s attorneys in 2000 to prepare FCS’s 1996-2000 tax returns, testified that it was impossible to pinpoint the source of the funds used for any given transaction because FCS “commingled” operating and investor funds. Based on the percentage of FCS’s income represented by U.S. Capital notes and the amount FCS spent on issuing asset based loans, however, such loans “would have had to have been funded through U.S. Capital funds.” The loans were not covered by FCS’s accounts receivable insurance. In addition, FCS entered into transactions for assets that — though perhaps accurately described as accounts receivable — were by nature not insurable and, in fact, were uninsured. FCS did not carry insurance adequate to cover all of the accounts receivable it did purchase. FCS’s Continental insurance policy technically covered most of its accounts receivable individually, but it had a $2 million annual ceiling. Further, Continental Insurance, which became CNA Insurance, declined to renew FCS’s policy beginning March 24,1999. Thus, none of the notes set to mature after that date were covered by Continental Insurance. h- What U.S. Capital did with individual investor funds. U.S. Capital commingled investor funds in the same accounts with the funds it used to pay its own commission and the commission of independent brokers. In 1998, U.S. Capital forwarded its note holders’ liquidation requests to FCS, which would write a check to U.S. Capital, which in turn would write a check to the investor to satisfy the request. By early 1999, though, U.S. Capital was apparently receiving more in new investor funds than in liquidation requests and therefore started satisfying those requests — as well as paying interest and brokerage commissions— from funds provided by new investors. U.S. Capital then sent the balance of new investor funds minus payouts for liquidation, interest, and commissions to FCS, along with new business transmittals documenting each individual investor’s current balance. U.S. Capital usually paid brokers their commission within a week of when U.S. Capital issued the underlying note. The brokers believed their commission was coming from U.S. Capital’s profit from the notes program. 5. Things fall apart. In the spring of 1999, Levy was indicted in the Southern District of Florida for fraudulently operating a viatical program through his company American Benefits, which operated out of the same office as U.S. Capital. The indictment was publicly reported, and by all accounts, inspired many senior capital note investors to liquidate their U.S. Capital notes. U.S. Capital could not satisfy investor interest payments or liquidation requests, and FCS, which had been operating at a loss for years, was unable to marshal the funds. Also in the spring of 1999, U.S. Capital began putting the funds of its note holders into factoring companies besides FCS. July 19, 1999, was the last time U.S. Capital forwarded investor money to FCS. U.S. Capital stopped issuing senior capital notes by the end of July, and FCS sent money to U.S. Capital to satisfy an investor’s liquidation request for the final time on September 10,1999. U.S. Capital made its last payment to an investor on November 24,1999. In October 1999, Meyer left FCS and U.S. Capital sued FCS for defaulting on its corporate funding notes. Orlick resigned from U.S. Capital in November, after signing the last check to an investor. FCS ultimately filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on May 12, 2000. From February 2, 1998 to July 19, 1999, U.S. Capital bought over $22.9 million in FCS corporate notes. Over a broader period — January 16, 1998 to September 10, 1999 — FCS returned only $7.2 million to U.S. Capital. Over the course of the whole program, from when FCS began selling senior capital notes in 1996 to its collapse in 1999, individual investors-— many of them elderly people lured into the program by periodic interest payments and the relatively low risk associated with insured and government accounts receivable- — lost around $30 million. B. On April 27, 2004, a Southern District of Florida grand jury returned a superceding 25-count indictment charging Schwartz, Meyer, Levy, and Orlick with various permutations of fraud and theft for their respective roles in the above scheme. The case went to trial on October 19, 2004, and on December 1 the jury convicted Schwartz and Levy of conspiracies to commit mail fraud and interstate transportation of stolen property (both under Count 1), and money laundering (Count 8), as well as numerous substantive counts. Meyer was convicted of the conspiracy charges and one count of money laundering. Orlick was convicted of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and interstate transportation of stolen property — but not conspiracy to commit money laundering — and numerous substantive counts. On March 15, 2005, the court sent Schwartz to prison for 210 months, Levy for 235 months, and Meyer for 48 months. Orlick was sentenced on April 28, 2005 to a term of 60 months. On June 1, 2005, the court conducted a restitution hearing and amended the judgments of Schwartz, Meyer, and Levy to order $32,381,080.62 in restitution. The court amended Orlick’s judgment to order $16,894,476.72 in restitution. The four co-defendants thereafter filed timely notices of appeal. II. The Government introduced into evidence over Schwartz’s objections a redacted statement made by codefendant Meyer, who did not testify at trial. Schwartz argues that the statement inculpated him in violation of the Sixth Amendment’s Confrontation Clause by implying his guilt without affording him the opportunity to cross-examine the declarant. See Bruton v. United States, 391 U.S. 123, 88 S.Ct. 1620, 20 L.Ed.2d 476 (1968). Unlike in Bruton, the statement here did not inculpate Schwartz by name. Instead, it named corporations he owned or controlled, which he argues compelled an inference of his guilt. See Gray v. Maryland, 523 U.S. 185, 195, 118 S.Ct. 1151, 1156, 140 L.Ed.2d 294 (1998) (noting that the “kind of, not the simple fact of, inference” matters). The Government, though, in its closing argument to the jury, linked Schwartz to the affidavit by name. After the Government’s argument, Schwartz moved for a mistrial and the court denied the motion. In evaluating Schwartz’s Bruton claim, we examine the whole record to determine whether a reasonable juror was compelled to draw an inference of Schwartz’s guilt from the codefendant statements. See Harrington v. California, 395 U.S. 250, 254, 89 S.Ct. 1726, 1728, 23 L.Ed.2d 284 (1969) (“Our judgment must be based on our own reading of the record and on what seems to us to have been the probable impact of the [codefendant statements] on the minds of an average jury.”). A. We consider the following in the order it was presented to the jury at trial: the Government’s evidence against Schwartz linking him to Meyer’s statement; the statement itself; and the Government’s closing argument. 1. The Government called forty-two witnesses in its case in chief, which lasted from October 20 to November 12, 2004. One of the Government’s chief goals was to show that FCS, at Schwartz’s direction, used investor money to make asset based loans, in spite of its representation to investors that it would use their money strictly to purchase government or insured accounts receivable. Lee Summers, FCS’s first attorney, testified for more than two days about Schwartz’s business affairs with FCS and other corporations. Schwartz recruited Summers in 1992 to form FCS, which retained his legal services until 1999. Summers testified to the following. Schwartz was the president of FCS. Schwartz and a shareholder named Fred Horwin were the only two directors. FCS had early on formed a committee to consider potential investments and make recommendations to the board. Schwartz, however, as CEO and “major shareholder,” occasionally funded an investment in spite of the committee’s recommendation against it. During the course of his work for FCS, Schwartz occasionally came upon business opportunities. Summers advised him to offer each opportunity to FCS before taking it himself, and testified that Schwartz normally got Horwin’s consent before doing so. On several occasions, Schwartz and Horwin purchased stock they became aware of in the course of acting in their capacity as directors of FCS. Schwartz owned and operated a company called First Consolidated Financial Corporation (“First Consolidated”). The Government introduced First Consolidated’s incorporation papers and filing statements, which showed that Schwartz controlled the company. First Consolidated referred investors to FCS and, in return, FCS paid a commission to Schwartz— above and beyond his FCS salary' — -for each referral. FCS regularly did business with other corporations owned partly by Schwartz, both by factoring their accounts and by making them loans (many of which were never repaid). Three scenarios recounted by Summers link Schwartz to the Bruton-ized statements at issue. First, FCS made a loan to Florida Restaurant Management, which had been formed by Summers at Schwartz’s request, for the purpose of purchasing the restaurant Nick’s Italian Fishery. Although Summers’ testimony is not entirely clear, it seems that FCS was joined in the purchase by Schwartz’s consulting firm First Consolidated, defendant Levy, and a man named Alex, the maitre d’ at Nick’s. Summers “did not issue any stock to First Capital” as a result of the loan, and did not know whether FCS’s books accounted for the loan. Second, FCS loaned around $160,000 to Seahawk Deep Ocean Technology, Inc. (“Seahawk”), a treasure salvager. The loan was secured by a preferred ship’s mortgage on one of Seahawk’s “research vessels.” The value of the lien was based on a three- to four-year-old appraisal of the vessel. Subsequent to the loan, the vessel’s crew placed several admiralty liens on it for items like dockage and materials, which turned out to be superior to FCS’s interest in the ship. It is unclear whether Seahawk ever repaid the loan. Third, FCS loaned money to Vanderbilt Square, a company controlled by Schwartz, to purchase the Dry Tortugas treasure from Seahawk. The treasure, a collection of artifacts recovered from a Spanish galleon in the waters of the Dry Tortugas, included gold bars, cannon, jewelry, and astrolabes. According to Summers, “Vanderbilt used a combination of cash and its stock to purchase” the collection. Summers did not know whether FCS documented its loan to Vanderbilt and he did not think Vanderbilt ever repaid it. On November 4, 2004, the Government called Alan Goldberg as a witness. On March 31, 2000, Schwartz hired Goldberg, a professional bankruptcy trustee and turn-around-artist, to lead FCS to profitability as Chief Operating Officer. After FCS’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy case was converted to a Chapter 7 liquidation case, Goldberg was appointed trustee to preside over FCS’s liquidation. In his capacity as FCS’s Chief Operating Officer and, later as the bankruptcy trustee, Goldberg became intimately acquainted with FCS’s financial history and its outstanding credits and debts. He testified as follows. FCS made loans to Florida Restaurant Management for the purpose of buying Nick’s and then paid off Nick’s debts and carried the payments at first as “accounts receivable,” and then as “asset based loans.” At that point, Schwartz and Levy both had an ownership interest in Nick’s Italian Fishery, according to Goldberg. FCS never collected a dime from Nick’s or Florida Restaurant Management. Goldberg also relayed his role in the hunt for the Dry Tortugas treasure. FCS made a loan to Vanderbilt Square to acquire the collection. That loan was secured by the collection, which FCS had appraised at around $5 million. FCS also made a loan to Michael’s Jewelry and Michael’s International, both of which promoted and tried to sell the treasure. Eventually FCS acquired possession of the treasure as partial satisfaction of the debt owed by Vanderbilt. As FCS’s bankruptcy trustee, Goldberg was interested in selling the treasure to pay back FCS’s creditors. Schwartz told him, however, that FCS had already sold and sent the treasure to an Idaho-based corporation called Grand Slam. Goldberg, believing the treasure had been sold for a fraction of its value, traveled to Idaho in the hopes that the collection could be recovered. The president of Grand Slam informed him, however, that the company had never received the goods. Goldberg, with a “crew” of deputy U.S. marshals and Boca Raton officers, executed a writ of entry in a hunt for the missing treasure. They discovered some of the loot in Schwartz’s house and more at FCS’s office in a FedEx box shoved into Schwartz’s credenza. They also found 12 “goldfinger” bars worth from $20,000 to $40,000 apiece in a shoe box in a closet in Schwartz’s mother’s condominium. Goldberg ultimately sold the “treasure” for about $450,000, or about 10% of its appraised value as originally reported by FCS. According to Goldberg, Schwartz owned and served as the president of a corporation called Big Sun, which benefited from loans issued by FCS. Goldberg also confirmed Summers’ testimony that Schwartz owned and operated First Consolidated. In addition to his salary of $96,000 a year as CEO and president of FCS, Schwartz was paid brokerage commissions by FCS for the deals he negotiated as the operator of First Consolidated. Goldberg identified Schwartz’s signature on several checks drawn on accounts held by FCS, two of which were payable to First Consolidated. The following exchange between the prosecutor and Goldberg is particularly relevant for our Bruton inquiry: Q: [A]re you able to quantify any of the transactions as far as the total dollar figure ... that you were able to identify as additional compensation paid to Mr. Schwartz over and above the 96,000 we have already talked about? A: Yes, sir. Q: And what general figure do you recall? A: The ninety day period immediately preceding the bankruptcy, so that is ninety days from May 12th or 14th earlier, First Capital Services disbursed to Larry Schwartz $120,000 and $135,000 was disbursed to First Consolidated. I’m sorry, 126,000 to First Consolidated. Schwartz’s attorney cross-examined Goldberg on that line of questioning. Goldberg said that the money disbursed to First Consolidated was to pay commissions, and “one was to repay a loan that ... First Consolidated allegedly made to First Capital, two or three I don’t recall.” Schwartz’s attorney said: Q: First Capital Services, the company with you [Goldberg] at its head, and the committees of unsecured creditors entered into a settlement agreement with First Consolidated, Larry Schwartz, right? A: Correct. Q: And that settlement agreement was for all claims that First Capital Services and the committees of unsecured creditors had against either First Consolidated, Larry Schwartz and actually a Debra Stanley, Z.B. Levin, Sara Levin and Palm Bay Capital, right? A: I believe that’s correct. Q: And how much was the amount of that settlement? A: 650,000 I believe. On November 8, the Government called Nikki Nedbor. She testified that Schwartz alone interviewed her for the position of in-house counsel, as Summers’ replacement. According to her, Schwartz was the president of Vanderbilt Square, subsequently renamed Treasures & Exhibits International, Incorporated. On November 12, 1999, Nedbor wrote a letter on FCS letterhead to Larry Schwartz, as president of Vanderbilt Square, demanding the collateral of the Dry Tortugas collection in payment of Vanderbilt’s debt to FCS. Stephen Kelley testified on November 9. He is a forensic accountant with the firm Berger, Epstein & Garver, PA, which was hired in January 2000 by FCS’s counsel to prepare FCS’s tax returns for the years 1996 through 2000. While at FCS’s office he learned that Schwartz was “affiliated” with the Big Sun family of corporations. Kelley offered detailed testimony on FCS’s asset based loans from 1997 to sometime in 1999, based on several summary reports of FCS’s books. During that time period, FCS issued, inter alia, the following loans: $1,027,062 to Nick’s Italian Fishery, $762,607 to Vanderbilt Square, $592,753 to Michael’s International, $462,420 to Big Sun, and $154,000 to Seahawk. On July 19, 1997, FCS began accounting for certain transactions to Big Sun, Nick’s, and Michael’s International as asset based loans, even though they had originally been carried on the books as accounts receivable. Kelley’s team was unable to find documentation to justify that change one way or the other. 2. On November 10, before calling any witnesses, the Government proffered an “Affidavit of Edward Mark Meyer,” which originated as evidence in FCS’s bankruptcy proceedings. Schwartz raised “[t]he same objections that we have discussed about Bruton.” The court overruled the objection “with the changes we have previously made” and admitted the document into evidence as Government’s Exhibit 1.76. Then a prosecutor read the text of the statement to the jury. The affidavit’s theme is summed up in its assertion that “First Capital was in the business of factoring account receivables and also made asset-based loans.” It states: Paragraph 9. When First Capital made loans to or advanced monies pursuant to factoring agreements with third parties First Consolidated was paid a commission sometimes approaching 20 percent of the amount advanced. Paragraph 10. In some instances when First Capital made loans to or factored invoices for third parties, including First Consolidated, it received shares of stock or ownership interest in those third parties. These shares of stock or ownership interests were not entered into the books and records of First Capital. Examples of transactions in which First Consolidated received shares of stock or ownership interest include Superior Waterlogged Lumber and Aviation Composites, Incorporated. Paragraph 12. I was never able to ascertain that the shares of stock had been properly issued in the name of First Capital and was never able to enter such assets on the company’s books. Paragraph 13. First Capital also made loans and advanced monies to Vanderbilt Square Company and to Michael’s International Jewelers (“Michael’s Jewelers”). These funds were used by Vanderbilt to purchase the inventory of Michael’s Jewelers and other assets. Paragraph 14. As part of these transactions with Vanderbilt and Michael’s International Jewelers, a large amount of gold coins, pearls, goldfinger bars, silver bars and other artifacts (known collectively as the “Dry Tortugas Treasure”) came into the possession of First Capital. Portions of the treasure were delivered to the offices of First Capital in Boca Raton. A portion of the gold was personally brought by me and Zachary Metrick, operations manager of First Capital, to First Union Bank, Town Center Branch, located at 5355 Town Center Road, Boca Raton, Florida, 33486, to be stored in a safety deposit box. Paragraph 15. In addition to the “Dry Tortugas Treasure,” inventory from Michael’s Jewelers consisting of numerous watches, including Rolex, Cartier and other designer makes, was also delivered to the offices of First Capital. These watches were subsequently sold to wholesalers. The proceeds of these sales did not go into the books and records of First Capital. These loans and advances were never repaid to First Capital. Paragraph 16. In addition to loans made to third parties, on several occasions First Capital loaned substantial sums of money to companies. Examples of these transactions included loans or factoring arrangements made with Big Sun Investments, Inc., and Florida Restaurant Management, Inc. (which owned and operated a restaurant known as Nick’s Italian Fishery). This included factored invoices for and advanced money to Southern Multi-Capital, which provided paving services for Big Sun. First Capital was never able to collect on the invoices from Big Sun or never intended to seek collection from Big Sun of the invoices. The invoices totaled hundreds of thousands of dollars. Paragraph 17. Additionally, First Capital directly paid the invoices generated by materialmen, suppliers and contractors who were providing services and materials to Big Sun Investments for construction work in Ocala, Florida. These amounts totaled in excess of several hundred thousand dollars. Such advances were booked as additional loans to Big Sun. Big Sun, however, never repaid any of the loans or advances made either directly to it or on behalf to its third party creditors. Paragraph 18. I was directed to issue checks to third party companies without any due diligence being conducted as to whether the loans by First Capital should be made. After the prosecutor read the statement to the jury, the court instructed the jury to consider it only against Meyer. B. The prosecutor’s closing argument to the jury before it retired to consider its verdicts included the following remarks on the above evidence: We talked earlier about what First Capital did with the money and specifically we know from the discussion and analysis done by Mr. Kelley and Mr. Goldberg and the evidence in this case that First Capital utilized a significant portion of the money that was investor funds to go to asset-based loans, many of which were controlled by or affiliated with Mr. Schwartz. What are some of those companies? Nick’s Italian Fishery, a restaurant. They don’t have any accounts receivable. There is no factoring in a restaurant. Who owes you money in a restaurant? The customer that comes in to buy food, buy a meal. There’s no accounts receivable there. And Mr. Goldberg testified that when he went in to the books and records of First Capital he discovered that they were doctored records attempting to show that the monies that had been sent to Nick’s Italian Fishery were factoring when they were not. Now, who would do that? There’s only two people in this case that would have access to those records and have a motive to do that and that’s Edward Meyer and Larry Schwartz. What are the types of asset-based loans that were involved? Michael’s International, Michael’s Jewelry, South Mountain Resort, an [asset-based loan]. Big Sun Investment. We know from the records filed with the State of Florida that Mr. Schwartz is a director of that company. We also know that, with regard to other entities that are listed here, that Vanderbilt Square was a recipient of an asset-based loan. Seahawk Deep Ocean, a deep sea diving vessel used in treasurer [sic] hunting. We know from Mr. Kelley that these ABL’s that occurred, $9 million in ’98, only $185,000 was collected from those. And with regard to the next year, $4.6 million in asset-based loans, only $654,000 was collected. Let’s talk about Larry Schwartz. Larry Schwartz, it is undisputed that he, during the relevant years after Mr. Hor-win left, that he owned and controlled First Capital .... Mr. Schwartz was responsible in large measure for the ABL diversions. You will recall that deals that occurred and transactions that occurred over the objection or the rejection by the investment committee or the executive committee or the loan committee, whatever name you put on it internally at First Captial [sic] Services, that the only person that really had the authority to override the decisions and the rejections of the ad hoc committee of Zack Metrick, Lee Summers and Edward Meyer was Larry Schwartz, and he did it whenever he pleased because it was his company. So you can’t have it both ways. He was responsible in large measure for diverting most of this money. Even more important, however, with regard to Mr. Levy’s knowledge of what was really going on, is the evidence in this case that Mr. Levy was a partner with Mr. Schwartz in one of the beneficial years of these asset-based loans, Nick’s Italian Fishery. That is pretty darn significant, ladies and gentlemen, because it shows circumstantially that Ray Levy knows Larry Schwartz owns this restaurant. We know that Mr. Meyer knew exactly what was going on with this company and that he aided it despite the fact that he knew what was going on there because he signed a declaration himself in which he admitted that. Government Exhibit 1.76, after this company has gone in the toilet and gone in bankruptcy, the unsecured creditors file a suit, and in connection with this, and this is in the bankruptcy court, in connection with that Mr. Meyer provides an affidavit in which he is being sworn and he indicates various facts that are in this affidavit, and this is Government’s Exhibit 1.76. What is significant about the representations that Mr. Meyer swears are true? In paragraph 9 he says when First Capital made loans with third parties First Consolidated was paid a commission sometimes approaching 20 percent of the amount advanced. From independent evidence in this case you know that the person benefitting from those commissions that paid sometimes 20 percent of the ABL’s was Larry Schwartz. The independent evidence has demonstrated to you in this case ... [SCHWARTZ’S COUNSEL]: I have an objection at this point and would ask the Court to instruct the jury that evidence again can only be considered as to Mr. Meyer, not as to Mr. Schwartz or any other defendant. That’s argument in support of their conspiracy. THE COURT: Certainly as to this affidavit, that is the case. That affidavit was introduced only as to Mr. Meyer. [PROSECUTOR]: Let me move on. With regard to paragraph 13, Mr. Meyer clearly knew, based on his sworn affidavit, that First Capital made loans and advanced monies to Vanderbilt Square and to Michael’s International. He clearly knew that First Capital was diverting investor funds to these purposes while he worked at First Capital. That, ladies and gentlemen, shows you knowing participation and aiding and abetting a fraud conspiracy. Count 20, Count 20 is Edward Meyer signing a check on the First Capital account during this time period investor funds from U.S. Capital are in that account, this is April of 1999, the check is for the amount of $3,495 and the person, the entity to whom this check is cut is First Consolidated. Now, First Consolidated, from the face of this check you can’t tell who that is. You don’t know who controls that. We only know if you go to the records of the State of Florida or subpoena the account of First Consolidated that it’s Larry Schwartz. It’s not apparent from this where the money came from, originally U.S. Capital investors, or who’s benefitting from this check. That’s a concealment and that’s Count 20. With regards to Count 22, same comments as before with regards to First Consolidated. This particular check is a check apparently signed by Larry Schwartz himself on May 5th of ’99 with First Capital. We know from Steve Kelly most of the money in the account during this time period had been provided by U.S. Capital. And again a check to First Consolidated, you cannot tell from the face of the check where the money came from originally or who controls the money when this check was cashed or deposited. And again there’s no Larry Schwartz endorsement on the back of that. It just says, “For Deposit Only, First Consolidated.” That is evidence of concealment, ladies and gentlemen. C. A criminal defendant prosecuted by the United States enjoys the Sixth Amendment right “to be confronted with the witnesses against him.” U.S. Const, amend. VI. One purpose of the right is to enable the accused to cross-examine, and thereby test the credibility and evidentiary force of, the witnesses against him. See Bruton, 391 U.S. at 136, 88 S.Ct. at 1628. In Bruton, the Supreme Court held that the admission of “powerfully incriminating extrajudicial statements of a codefendant” violates the Sixth Amendment’s Confrontation Clause, even if the court issues an instruction to the jury not to consider the statement as evidence against the defendant. Id. at 135, 88 S.Ct. at 1627. The Supreme Court reasoned that “in the context of a joint trial we cannot accept limiting instructions as an adequate substitute for [the defendant’s] constitutional right of cross-examination,” id. at 137, 88 S.Ct. at 1628, the finest tool for testing the credibility of a codefendant’s “devastating” statement against the defendant, id. at 136, 88 S.Ct. at 1628. See also id. at 138, 88 S.Ct. at 1629 (“A basic premise of the Confrontation Clause, it seems to me, is that certain kinds of hearsay ... are at once so damaging, so suspect, and yet so difficult to discount, that jurors cannot be trusted to give such evidence the minimal weight it logically deserves, whatever instructions the trial judge might give.”) (Stewart, J., concurring). Still, the Court acknowledged that “[n]ot every admission of inadmissible hearsay or other evidence can be considered to be reversible error unavoidable through limiting instructions.” See id. at 135, 88 S.Ct. at 1627. In Richardson v. Marsh, 481 U.S. 200, 107 S.Ct. 1702, 95 L.Ed.2d 176 (1987), the Supreme Court held that “the Confrontation Clause is not violated by the admission of a nontestifying codefendant’s confession with a proper limiting instruction when, as here, the confession is redacted to eliminate not only the defendant’s name, but any reference to his or her existence.” Id. at 211, 107 S.Ct. at 1709. To come to its conclusion, the Court examined the totality of the Government’s case against Richardson and the precise nature of the codefendant statement allegedly inculpating her. It noted that “the confession was not incriminating on its face, and became so only when linked with evidence introduced later at trial (the defendant’s own testimony).” Id. at 208, 107 S.Ct. at 1707. Therefore, unlike in Bruton, the trial court’s limiting instruction immunized the potentially incriminating statement against a Confrontation Clause violation. The Court “express[ed] no opinion,” however, “on the admissibility of a confession in which the defendant’s name has been replaced with a symbol or neutral pronoun.” Id. at 211 n. 5, 107 S.Ct. at 1709 n. 5. In Gray v. Maryland, 523 U.S. 185, 118 S.Ct. 1151, 140 L.Ed.2d 294 (1998), the Supreme Court held that a “redaction that replaces a defendant’s name with an obvious indication of deletion, such as a blank space, the word ‘deleted,’ or a similar symbol” violates the rule announced in Bruton. Id. at 192, 118 S.Ct. at 1155. Just like in Richardson, the Court recounted the other evidence admitted against the defendant, the nature of the codefendant statement against him, and how the prosecution used that statement at trial. The Court conceded that Richardson “limited Bruton's scope,” id. at 189, 118 S.Ct. at 1154, placing outside of it “those statements that incriminate inferentially.” Id. at 195, 118 S.Ct. at 1156. “But inference pure and simple cannot make the critical difference,” id., the Court added, explaining that “Richardson must depend in significant part upon the kind of, not the simple fact of, inference,” id. at 196, 118 S.Ct. at 1157. The inference required in Richardson was of a different kind than the one required to link the defendant to the code-fendant’s statement in Gray. In Richardson, the statement “did not refer directly to the defendant himself,” id. at 196, 118 S.Ct. at 1157, and allowed an inference of guilt “ ‘only when linked with evidence introduced later at trial,’ ” id. (quoting Richardson, 481 U.S. at 208, 107 S.Ct. at 1707). In contrast, the codefendant statement in Gray “obviously refer directly to someone, often obviously the defendant, and which involve inferences that a jury ordinarily could make immediately, even were the confession the very first item introduced at trial.” Id. “Moreover,” the Court noted, “the redacted confession with the blank prominent on its face, in Richardson’s words, ‘facially incriminates’ the [defendant],” id. (quoting Richardson, 481 U.S. at 209, 107 S.Ct. at 1709), even without naming him. In 1999, the year following Gray, we evaluated three different Bruton claims, none of which was factually identical to Bruton, Richardson, or Gray. In United States v. Taylor, 186 F.3d 1332 (11th Cir.1999), we addressed a codefendant statement that replaced the defendant’s name with neutral pronouns. We wrote: Although the Supreme Court did not express any opinion in Richardson about the admission of a statement that includes neutral pronouns, the Eleventh Circuit has dealt with the issue. Under our precedent, the admission of a co-defendant’s statement that contains neutral pronouns does not violate the Confrontation Clause so long as the statement does not compel a direct implication of the defendant’s guilt. Id. at 1336 (citing United States v. Vasquez, 874 F.2d 1515, 1518 (11th Cir.1989) (per curiam)). The court concluded that the codefendant statement did not necessarily implicate the defendant. Id. We addressed a codefendant statement that referred to the defendant by nationality and a physical description in United States v. Gonzalez, 183 F.3d 1315 (11th Cir.1999). Because “[f]rom other evidence, including Buitrago’s own confession, it became obvious at trial that the Colombian was Buitrago,” id. at 1322, we held that the trial court violated Bruton by admitting the statement (though the mistake amounted to harmless error). Id. at 1323. Another codefendant statement introduced in Gonzalez replaced the defendants’ names with neutral nouns, such as “a couple of people” and “the people.” We held that the redacted statement implicated the defendants in violation of Bruton and Gray In the drug conspiracy case United States v. Ramirez-Perez, 166 F.3d 1106 (11th Cir.1999), we addressed a codefen-dant statement even more vague than those described above. A Government agent testified regarding a post-arrest statement by the codefendant. “He said the pistol belonged to him,” asked to have the pistol brought to the drug transaction at issue, and “stated he wanted the pistol at the location for protection in case [the undercover agent] tried to rip him off.” Id. at 1109. Other evidence suggested that the defendant brought a pistol to the codefendant. The Government conceded that admitting the codefendant statement that passively referred to some actor who brought a pistol to the codefendant inculpated the defendant in violation of Bruton. We validated that concession by holding that the Bruton violation was not a harmless error because it was the only evidence showing the defendant had knowledge that the transaction at issue was for drugs. Id. at 1110-11. We think the proper Bruton standard is clear from a close reading of Bru-ton, Richardson, Gray, and our subsequent Bruton decisions: a defendant’s confrontation right is violated when the court admits a codefendant statement that, in light of the Government’s whole case, compels a reasonable person to infer the defendant’s guilt. D. In this case, Meyer’s affidavit “powerfully ineriminat[ed]” Schwartz by summarizing the loans FCS made to other companies Schwartz controlled. See Bru-ton, 391 U.S. at 135, 88 S.Ct. at 1627. Even though Meyer’s statement “was not incriminating on its face, and became so only when linked” with other evidence, Richardson, 481 U.S. at 208, 107 S.Ct. at 1707, we think that the statement compelled an inference that Schwartz directed FCS to use investor monies to line the coffers of his personal business enterprises. Any doubt that the limiting instructions were ineffective was erased when the prosecutor, in his closing argument, expressly linked Schwartz to the companies named in Meyer’s statement. The trial evidence besides the affidavit was sufficient to link Schwartz to FCS and his other corporations. Although the trial was lengthy and the Government called forty-two witnesses, the evidence showing Schwartz controlled FCS and that he personally benefited from FCS loans to companies like First Consolidated, Florida Restaurant Management, Seahawk, and Vanderbilt Square would not have been lost on the jury. FCS’s attorneys Lee Summers and Nicki Nedbor, and FCS’s Chief Operating Officer-turned-bankruptcy trustee Alan Goldberg, were in many ways star witnesses. Each had worked for Schwartz at FCS, knew FCS’s corporate structure and its transactions, and together their testimony took the equivalent of about five trial days out of a total of only fifteen in the Government’s case in chief. The evidence showed that Schwartz controlled the day-to-day operations of FCS, made all hiring and firing decisions, and regularly overrode the investment committee’s recommendations, effectively directing FCS’s investment strategies. Indeed, the fact that corporations owned or controlled by Schwartz received loans from FCS presents circumstantial evidence that he had substantial, if not unilateral power over how FCS used investor funds. Moreover, the Government presented sufficient evidence to show that Schwartz owned or controlled a number of corporations receiving loans from FCS. Money was constantly sloshing back and forth from FCS and First Consolidated, owned by Schwartz. FCS loaned money to Nick’s Italian Fishery and then Florida Restaurant Management, created for Schwartz as a vehicle to purchase Nick’s. FCS also issued loans to numerous corporations, including Schwartz’s Vanderbilt Square, to purchase the Dry Tortugas collection. The treasure was ultimately found divided between Schwartz’s desk at work, his apartment, and his mother’s condominium. FCS also made loans to Big Sun, owned by Schwartz. In light of the foregoing, Meyer’s affidavit “obviously referr[ed]” to Schwartz, Gray, 523 U.S. at 196, 118 S.Ct. at 1157, without naming him. See Gonzalez, 183 F.3d at 1322 (“[From other evidence, including [the defendant’s] own confession, it became obvious at trial that the Colombian was Buitrago.]”). By naming Schwartz’s corporations after the jury had heard lengthy testimony regarding the extent of Schwartz’s ownership and control of them, the codefendant statements compelled an inference against Schwartz even more forcefully than a statement that replaces a defendant’s name with a neutral pronoun. See United States v. Taylor, 186 F.3d 1332, 1336 (11th Cir.1999). The affidavit was particularly damaging because it summarized in one streamlined and articulate statement all of the Government’s evidence of Schwartz’s self-dealing with investor money, all without expressly naming him. If the affidavit was insufficient to compel an inference of guilt based on the trial testimony alone, the inference was made inevitable—and therefore “devastating”— when the prosecutor expressly made that connection for the jury in his closing argument. See Bruton, 391 U.S. at 136, 88 S.Ct. at 1628. He first reminded the jury that “it is undisputed that [Schwartz], during the relevant years after Mr. Horwin left, that he owned and controlled First Capital,” and that “Mr. Schwartz was responsible in large measure for the ABL diversions” to companies such as Nick’s Italian Fishery, Big Sun Investments, Sea-hawk, and Vanderbilt Square, several of which were owned by Schwartz. He then expressly referred to Meyer’s bankruptcy affidavit, stating “this is Government’s Exhibit 1.76” and reminded the jury that “[f]rom independent evidence in this case you know that the person benefitting from those commissions [to First Consolidated] that paid sometimes 20 percent of the [asset based loans] was Larry Schwartz.” After Schwartz’s sustained objection at this point, the prosecutor took another approach to equate Schwartz with First Consolidated, by reminding the jury that First Consolidated’s incorporation papers listed Schwartz as the owner. In sum, the Government was relying on the jury to equate Schwartz with the corporations named in the codefendant statement, and we agree that, by the time the jury retired to its deliberations, its reasonable members would have inferred from the statement that Schwartz—in violation of his representations to investors—directed FCS to issue unsecured asset-based loans, frequently to his own companies. E. A Bruton violation requires a new trial unless the error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. Schneble v. Florida, 405 U.S. 427, 432, 92 S.Ct. 1056, 1060, 31 L.Ed.2d 340 (1972) (noting that a new trial is required if “there is a reasonable possibility that the improperly admitted evidence contributed to the conviction”); Harrington v. California, 395 U.S. 250, 254, 89 S.Ct. 1726, 1728, 23 L.Ed.2d 284 (1969) (“Our judgment must be based on our own reading of the record and on what seems to us to have been the probable impact of the [codefendant statements] on the minds of an average jury.”); United States v. Gonzalez, 183 F.3d 1315, 1323 (11th Cir.1999). We have explained this standard as follows: “[a] Bruton error is harmless only if the properly admitted evidence of guilt is so overwhelming, and the prejudicial effect of the co-defendant’s statement so insignificant, that beyond any reasonable doubt the improper use of the statement was harmless.” United States v. Doherty, 233 F.3d 1275, 1282 (11th Cir.2000). We cannot say that the admission of Meyer’s affidavit, and the indispensable role it played in the prosecutor’s closing argument to the jury, was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. Ironically, it is in part the strength of the testimony of witnesses like Summers, Goldberg, and Nedbor that transformed the affidavit’s references to Schwartz’s corporations into a Bruton violation. Still, we do not think that the weight of that evidence is so great as to marginalize the significantly prejudicial impact of the affidavit. Although the disparate evidence against Schwartz was sufficient to compel an inference that Schwartz equaled his corporations in the context described by the affidavit, that evidence — though organized and summarized in this opinion — was presented to the jury piecemeal, over the course of numerous hours of testimony that meandered across various subjects and was punctuated by objections, argument, rulings, and breaks in the trial. The affidavit, by contrast, articulately summarized the evidence preceding it. It was admitted into evidence as a written document and available for study by the members of the jury during its deliberation. It impacted the jury like a prosecutor’s closing argument, except it was available to the jury in its deliberations as an admitted exhibit, and, as a written document, was not subject to the vagaries of jurors’ memories. In addition, the statement’s source lent it singular credibility; Meyer was FCS’s controller during the course of the alleged conspiracies and his testimony made under oath to the bankruptcy court could reasonably be perceived as unusually reliable, particularly as a confession that clearly did not help him avoid prosecution. The prosecutor, recognizing the unique power of the statement as evidence against Schwartz, resorted to it in his closing argument despite the weight of the other evidence against him. We cannot say that the Government’s use of the statement was harmless. III. Meyer challenges the indictment on the ground that the grand jury returned it on the basis of his immunized statements to the grand jury. A. On October 5, 2002, an Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida sent a “proffer letter” to Edward Meyer’s attorney, granting Meyer limited use immunity in exchange for his cooperation with investigative interviews. Government agents thereafter interviewed Meyer four times in November and December 2002. On February 17, 2004, and then again on April 27, FBI Special Agent Gary Hellmer, the case agent, testified as to the substance of those four interviews to a grand jury, which ultimately returned the su-perceding indictment against Meyer and the other defendants. The jury trial began on October 19, 2004. After Hellmer testified on November 10, the Government turned over his grand jury statements to Meyer pursuant to the Jencks Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3500. Meyer thereby learned that Hellmer had testified as to the substance of Meyer’s immunized statements before the grand jury. Meyer believed his statements were immune from direct use by the Government before the grand jury. On November 15, he filed a motion to dismiss the indictment or, alternatively, for a mistrial on the ground that the Government obtained the indictment in violation of his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. The court stayed consideration of the motion until the jury returned its verdict. On December 1, the jury found Meyer guilty of two counts of conspiracy and one count of money laundering. The court held a hearing on Meyer’s motion on February 16, and entered a written order denying it on March 14. The court found that the agreement was ambiguous as to whether Meyer’s proffer statements were immune from direct use by the Government before the grand jury. The court therefore construed the agreement in Meyer’s favor and found that the Government violated it by making direct use of Meyer’s statements before the grand jury. The court concluded that the error was harmless, though, because the statements in question were not admitted at trial and the jury still convicted him. Meyer appeals, arguing that the Government violated his immunity agreement, and thereby violated his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination. B. 1. first review the scope of his immunity agreement, which we interpret like a contract. See Taylor v. Singletary, 148 F.3d 1276, 1284 (11th Cir.1998). That agreement states: Meyer’s argument requires that we 1. The United States agrees that any statement made by [Meyer] during the proffer will not be used against him during the United States’ case in chief should [Meyer] proceed to trial in any matter being investigated in the Southern District of Florida. 2. Should [Meyer] proceed to trial in any case that may be indicted in the Southern District of Florida and testify on his behalf ... the United States may use any statements made by [Meyer] during the proffer to cross-examine [Meyer]. 3. The United States may make derivative use of the statements [Meyer] makes during the proffer and may pursue investigative leads therefrom, and would not be required to prove an independent source at any Kastigar or other hearing held thereon. By signing this agreement [Meyer] agrees to waive any right to a Kastigar hearing in the future. 4. Should [Meyer] intentionally provide any false, incomplete or misleading information or testimony, any statement made by [Meyer] during the proffer may be used in the prosecution’s direct case of any other criminal violations, including but not limited to the offenses of perjury, obstruction of justice and false statements to government agencies. In other words, the United States is extending [Meyer] only limited “use immunity” for nonviolent offenses during the course of the proffer; neither “derivative use immunity” nor “transactional immunity” is applicable to the proffer. Finally, Mr. Meyer should understand that there are no agreements as to the number or nature of any charges that may be brought, or sentences recommended in this or any other District in the United States. In other words, this agreement does not guarantee that he will not be charged with a crime; the agreement only guarantees that his statements will not be used against him in the government’s case in chief. 2. We note at the outset that Meyer’s immunity agreement does not directly address whether the Government may introduce his statements to a grand jury. The first paragraph provides that the Government may not use his statements directly against him in its case in chief at trial. The final paragraph likewise states that “the agreement only guarantees that his statements will not be used against him in the government’s case in chief.” Those assertions, standing alone, seem to allow the Government to use his statements in any way except as evidence in its case in chief. Paragraphs two, three, and four of the agreement, however, list specific ways that the Government may use Meyer’s statements. Absent from the list is direct use of the statements before a grand jury. Applying the doctrine of expressio unius est exclusio alterius, or “the expression of one excludes alternatives,” the district court concluded that the agreement was ambiguous as to that term. We think, however, that the parties’ intent as to the scope of immunity is expressed in the third paragraph. The first sentence of that paragraph provides that the Government may make “derivative use” of Meyer’s statements; that is, the Government may use his statements as a springboard to find evidence or other witnesses to testify against him. The second sentence in paragraph three provides that “[Meyer] agrees to waive any right to a Kastigar hearing in the future.” A “Kast-igar hearing” is a hearing to determine if the Government has introduced testimony before the grand jury, or plans to introduce testimony at trial, that violates the defendant’s immunity and Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination. United States v. Harvey, 869 F.2d 1439, 1441 (11th Cir.1989). Pursuant to Fed. R.Crim.P. 6(d)(1), a defendant is not present at his own grand jury hearing to object to the Government’s testimony during the proceedings. Thus, the only way for a criminal defendant to challenge an indictment on the ground that the Government obtained it in violation of his Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination is via a Kastigar hearing. See United States v. Schmidgall, 25 F.3d 1523, 1527-29 (11th Cir.1994). 3. Although the agreement does not state explicitly that the Government may use Meyer’s statement directly before the grand jury, we think it is nonetheless clear when read holistically. Meyer waived his right to a Kastigar hearing. Put differently, he waived his right to challenge the Government’s use of his statements before the grand jury. We cannot conclude that he left himself vulnerable to what he characterizes as a Fifth Amendment violation but voluntarily waived his right to learn about and seek a remedy for that violation. The only reasonable inference is that Meyer intended to waive his Fifth Amendment privilege against use of his statements before the grand jury. That inference is strengthened by an application of the interpretive doctrine of noscitur a sociis, or a phrase is “known by its associates.” In paragraph three of the agreement Meyer first voluntarily waives his Fifth A