## Facts

- A group conspired to kidnap Edward George Bremer in Minnesota, transport him across state lines, and obtain ransom.
- Bremer was seized in St. Paul, Minnesota on January 17, 1934, transported to Illinois, and held about two weeks while ransom negotiations occurred.
- Bremer was released near Rochester, Minnesota on February 6, 1934 after payment of $200,000 in cash; the bills were “marked” by recorded identifying information.
- McDonald, a professional gambler operating in Miami and Havana, was not present for the abduction or detention.
- Evidence first connected McDonald to the scheme in late June 1934, when conspirators discussed using him for a 25% commission to exchange ransom money for “clean” (unmarked) currency in Cuba.
- In early September 1934, McDonald exchanged approximately $92,000 of the marked ransom money for unmarked currency through transactions in Miami, Florida and Havana, Cuba.
- McDonald was indicted with others for conspiracy to kidnap under 18 U.S.C. § 408c, tried with co-defendants, convicted, and sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment.

## Issues

1. Whether the kidnapping-for-ransom conspiracy terminated upon payment of ransom and release of the victim, so that later exchange of ransom funds could not be an act in furtherance of the charged conspiracy.
2. Whether the evidence was sufficient to prove McDonald knowingly joined the kidnapping conspiracy and committed overt acts to further it.
3. Whether a person who did not participate in the abduction or detention may be convicted of the kidnapping conspiracy based on later conduct directed at converting or disposing of the ransom proceeds.

## Decision

- The Eighth Circuit affirmed the conviction.
- The court held the conspiracy continued beyond Bremer’s release and ransom payment through efforts to dispose of and make usable the ransom money.
- The court held the evidence permitted the jury to find McDonald knowingly joined the ongoing conspiracy and committed overt acts by exchanging marked ransom bills for unmarked currency.

## Legal Principles

- A conspiracy continues until its agreed objectives are achieved or abandoned; it does not necessarily end when an associated substantive act (such as release of the victim) has occurred.
- Where the conspiratorial objective includes obtaining and realizing the benefit of ransom, steps to convert, secure, or dispose of the ransom may be treated as acts in furtherance of the same conspiracy.
- A defendant may join an existing conspiracy after initial acts have occurred and may be convicted if he knowingly agrees to further the unlawful plan and commits an overt act in aid of it.
- Under the federal kidnapping conspiracy statute, proof of a knowing agreement plus an overt act suffices; direct participation in every phase of the venture is unnecessary.

## Conclusion

The court upheld McDonald’s kidnapping-conspiracy conviction because the agreement’s objective extended to converting the ransom into usable funds, and the jury could find that McDonald knowingly entered that ongoing scheme by exchanging marked ransom money for unmarked currency.


McDonald v. United States, 89 F.2d 128 (8th Cir. 1937)