United States v. Rakow
United States v. Rakow
Opinion of the Court
MEMORANDUM
Ronald L. Rakow appeals his conviction for tax evasion. 26 U.S.C. § 7201. We affirm.
(1) Rakow asserts that because evidence of his failure to disclose loans to the Internal Revenue Service was admitted, there was constructive amendment of the indictment, or at least a variance. See United States v. Adamson, 291 F.3d 606, 614-15 (9th Cir. 2002). We disagree. There was no plain error.
(2) Rakow next asserts that his privilege against self incrimination and his due process rights were violated when testimony he gave at a bankruptcy examination was admitted against him. See U.S. Const, amend. V. Again, we disagree. The record makes it apparent that Rakow, who was represented by counsel, was well aware of the privilege and chose not to assert it in the bankruptcy proceeding. Thus, he waived it. See United States v. Kordel, 397 U.S. 1, 7-10, 90 S.Ct. 763, 767-68, 25 L.Ed.2d 1 (1970); United States v. Stringer, 521 F.3d 1189, 1196-97 (9th Cir. 2008); United States v. Unruh, 855 F.2d 1363, 1374 (9th Cir. 1988). Moreover, there was no outrageous government conduct or any conduct that deviated from the path of justice. See Kordel, 397 U.S. at 11-13, 90 S.Ct. at 769-70. The bankruptcy proceeding was not controlled by the government, and Rakow was not misled by the government into a belief that no criminal prosecution was or would be contemplated. See id.) Stringer, 521 F.3d at 1197-1200; Unruh, 855 F.2d at 1374.
(3) Finally, Rakow argues that his right of confrontation was violated when evidence of prior testimony by his codefendant, Denise Del Bianco, was admitted against her. See U.S. Const, amend. VI; Gray v. Maryland, 523 U.S. 185, 192, 118 S.Ct. 1151, 1155, 140 L.Ed.2d 294 (1998); Bruton v. United States, 391 U.S. 123, 135-37, 88 S.Ct. 1620, 1627-28, 20 L.Ed.2d 476 (1968). However, the statements admitted against her did not actually incriminate him, and if they had some slight tendency to do so when coupled with other evidence, they surely did not facially, or powerfully, or expressly, or clearly do so. See Richardson v. Marsh, 481 U.S. 200, 208-09, 107 S.Ct. 1702, 1707-08, 95 L.Ed.2d 176 (1987); United States v. Angwin, 271 F.3d 786, 796 (9th Cir. 2001), overruled on other grounds by United States v. Lopez, 484 F.3d 1186, 1200 n. 17 (9th Cir. 2007) (en banc); United States v. Olano, 62 F.3d 1180, 1195-96 (9th Cir. 1995); United States v. O’Connor, 737 F.2d 814, 820 (9th Cir. 1984). Moreover, any incriminatory effect was so mild in the face of the large volume of other evidence of tax evasion by Rakow, that any error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. See Angwin, 271 F.3d at 797.
Rakow also points to Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36, 68, 124 S.Ct. 1354, 1374, 158 L.Ed.2d 177 (2004), but absent Bruton error, Crawford has no work to do in this context. See United States v. Johnson, 297 F.3d 845, 856 n. 4 (9th Cir. 2002).
AFFIRMED.
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.
. Because this issue was not raised at the district court, plain error review applies. See United States v. Hartz, 458 F.3d 1011, 1019 (9th Cir. 2006).
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.