United States v. Cole, 463 F.2d 163 (2d Cir. 1972)

United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, Nos. 817-819, Dockets 72-1075 to 72-1077, argued May 12, 1972, decided June 6, 1972, with certiorari denied October 16, 1972, before Chief Judge Friendly and Judges McGowan and Timbers, with the opinion by Judge Friendly. Cole, Fischer & Rogow, Inc., an advertising agency, and two officers were convicted in the Southern District of New York of conspiracy and tax evasion. The case is about their taxes. Stacher is not a party.

Part III of the opinion says: “The Government concedes that from May 5, 1961 until August 29, 1962, the FBI illegally maintained electronic eavesdropping devices in Cole’s offices at CFR and in various hotel and motel rooms which he occupied. The original purpose of placing these ‘bugs’ apparently was to assist in a full-scale investigation of Stacher, who was believed to hold a high position in organized crime and to own undisclosed interests in Las Vegas gambling establishments, with a view to a prosecution for tax evasion on a large scale.” The opinion adds that a Justice Department letter of 1962 tied Cole to the Sands Hotel, saying Cole “acted as Stacher’s representative in connection with an undisclosed interest in gambling at the Sands Hotel.” The court rejected the argument that the convictions were tainted by that eavesdropping.

The sentences about Stacher are the court’s account of what the Government believed and said in 1961 and 1962. They are not findings that he held any interest. They are filed here beside the FBI’s 1963 Los Angeles reports on Stacher.