## Facts

- Federal prosecutors charged Milan Bagaric, Mile Markich, Ante Ljubas, Vinko Logarusic, Ranko Primorac, and Drago Sudar as participants in a Croatian nationalist organization operating in multiple U.S. cities and abroad.
- Beginning in 1977, members of the group stockpiled dynamite in the United States, arranged for its transport for use in various cities, and directed acts of violence against supporters of Yugoslavia.
- The government also proved an extensive international extortion scheme carried out through threats and the use of U.S. and foreign mails.
- After Logarusic’s arrest, agents conducted a consensual search of his home and found a letter addressed to him.
- The letter was postmarked from Asunción, Paraguay, where unindicted associate Miro “Toni” Baresic lived.
- The letter’s contents referred to Logarusic personally and to persons tied to the group, including “our people in Chicago,” “Mercedes” (described at trial as a friend/landlord of Logarusic), and “Crni” (identified as co-defendant Ljubas’s nickname).
- The letter closed with “your Miro Baresic… your Miro Toni,” and trial evidence linked “Toni Saric” as an alias used by Baresic.
- The government offered the letter to connect Logarusic to the enterprise and to Baresic as an unindicted co-racketeer.
- A jury in the Southern District of New York convicted all defendants on multiple counts, including RICO violations.

## Issues

1. Whether RICO could be applied to this organization, or whether a prior circuit decision required dismissal where the enterprise was allegedly political rather than economic.
2. Whether the letter attributed to Baresic was sufficiently authenticated for admission under Federal Rule of Evidence 901 based on circumstantial proof.

## Decision

- The Second Circuit affirmed the convictions.
- The court held RICO applied because the proof showed a substantial economic component, including an extensive extortion scheme using the mails.
- The court held the letter was properly authenticated and admitted because the surrounding circumstances supported a finding that it was what the government claimed: a letter from Baresic to Logarusic.

## Legal Principles

- Under Fed. R. Evid. 901(a), authentication is satisfied by evidence sufficient to support a finding that the item is what the proponent claims.
- A writing may be authenticated through circumstantial evidence, including distinctive characteristics and the circumstances of discovery and transmission.
- The trial judge determines whether a reasonable juror could find authenticity; once that threshold is met, disputes about authorship generally affect weight, not admissibility.
- RICO may reach an organization with political aims when the government proves an enterprise engaged in economically motivated racketeering activity such as extortion.

## Conclusion

The court upheld RICO convictions where the enterprise’s activities included a significant extortion scheme and upheld admission of a letter based on circumstantial authentication, emphasizing Rule 901’s low threshold and the role of the jury in assessing ultimate authorship and weight.


United States v. Bagaric, 706 F.2d 42 (2d Cir. 1983)