Record
Court opinion
1991-12-12
CourtListener (Free Law Project), text of the opinion
United States v. Riggi, 951 F.2d 1368 (3d Cir. 1991)
The Third Circuit reverses the Hobbs Act and Taft-Hartley convictions of John M. Riggi, Sr. and Salvatore Timpani for a Sixth Amendment error. The opinion records that Riggi was acquitted of RICO charges that he was the "acting boss" of the DeCavalcante crime family.
- Date
- 1991-12-12
- Kind
- court-opinion
- Retrieved
- 2026-10-12
- Docket
- Nos. 90-5974, 90-5975
- Rights
- Opinion of a United States court. Works of the federal judiciary are in the public domain in the United States. The text was read on CourtListener.
Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, Nos. 90-5974 and 90-5975, argued August 12, 1991 and decided December 12, 1991. Judge Cowen wrote the opinion; Judge Nygaard dissented in part. Rehearing was later denied.
“Riggi was charged in a thirty-three count indictment with racketeering and committing acts of extortion while serving as a labor union official and consultant. He was convicted on eight counts of the indictment, including violations of the Hobbs Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1951 (1988), and Taft-Hartley Act, 29 U.S.C. § 186(b) (1988). He was acquitted on the remaining counts, including charges under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act … that he was the ‘acting boss’ of the DeCavalcante crime family. Timpani was convicted on a single Hobbs Act extortion charge.” The convictions concerned four contractors, among them Crosby’s Heating Service.
The court found it necessary to decide only one issue: the trial court had restricted recross-examination after redirect in violation of the Sixth Amendment. The convictions were “reversed and a new trial ordered.”
The phrase “acting boss” appears here as a charge on which the jury acquitted. It is the indictment’s allegation as the court reports it, not a finding. Riggi is named on this site only as the court records name him.
