Full title: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, v. VINCENT BASCIANO and PATRICK DEFILIPPO…
Court: United States District Court, E.D. New York
Date published: Apr 20, 2006
Facts
Basciano seeks to call Ms. Cicale as a witness to impeach the testimony of cooperating witness Dominick Cicale (Ms. Cicale’s grandson). The purpose of the testimony is to provide evidence in direct contradiction to testimony on direct and cross-examination that Dominick Cicale provided as to financial matters involving his grandmother’s home, including whether he paid property taxes and whether he had her consent to take out a mortgage. (Trial Transcript at 8948-50). Within the Second Circuit, “extrinsic evidence offered for impeachment on a collateral issue is properly excluded.” United States v. Purdy, 144 F.3d 241, 245-46 (2d Cir. 1998). Nonetheless, at trial, Basciano’s counsel cited an evidence horn book for an exception to the bar on extrinsic evidence when the factual predicate for the extrinsic evidence is a crime of dishonesty or false statement that could lead to conviction under Rule 609(a)(2). (Trial Transcript at 8983-84.) The court gave both parties until 9:00 a.m. this morning to brief this issue. (Id. at 8982-83.) Only the Government filed a letter.
Issue
Decision
The Government also requests the opportunity to cross-examine agents as to non-hearsay facts that do not involve the content of the meetings. (Id. at 1.) Although Basciano has not had an opportunity to respond to this particular issue, I note that the two questions the Government seeks to ask (that notes and FBI-302s were generated, and that materials were turned over to the defense) appear not to be barred on hearsay grounds. To the extent that the questions are improper for other reasons, I will entertain non-speaking objections during the cross-examination.
SO ORDERED.