## Facts

- A $434,188.80 United States Treasury check payable to Land O’Frost was diverted and came into the possession of Thaddeus Adonis Long or Edward Larry Jackson.
- Jackson recruited Dennis Mentzos to help cash the check, paying him $100 initially and later additional money.
- Jackson obtained a “Land O’Frost” endorsement stamp and arranged false identification for “John D. Turner” tied to a fictitious business, “Thermo-Dynamics,” including a telephone answering service.
- Mentzos opened a Norwest Bank account under the Thermo-Dynamics name, provided the answering-service number and a reference bank, and signed bank documents as John D. Turner.
- Mentzos refused to endorse the Treasury check; he signed a blank paper, and Jackson copied that signature onto the check and applied the Land O’Frost stamp.
- An associate deposited the Treasury check, and Norwest credited the Thermo-Dynamics account for the full amount.
- Long traveled from Chicago to Minnesota, registered at a hotel under an alias, and used false identification supplied by Jackson.
- Long, posing as “Anthony Smith,” purchased a Porsche using a $28,000 Thermo-Dynamics check, signed a bank signature card as “Anthony Smith,” obtained starter checks, and cashed a $16,000 Thermo-Dynamics check payable to another assumed name.
- Long used temporary office space to facilitate additional check use, including having a receptionist type the false name on checks.
- Long and Jackson were indicted in federal court on multiple counts arising from the forged-check and bank-fraud scheme and were convicted by a jury.

## Issues

1. Whether the district court’s handling of the government witness’s prior convictions during trial required reversal.
2. Whether the evidence was sufficient to support the convictions of Long and Jackson for the charged fraud-related offenses.
3. Whether Jackson was denied effective assistance of counsel where counsel raised ethical concerns about potential perjury and Jackson ultimately did not testify.

## Decision

- The Eighth Circuit affirmed both defendants’ convictions on all counts.
- Any error related to the presentation or treatment of Mentzos’s prior convictions was harmless in light of prompt corrective action and the overall strength of the evidence.
- The evidence was sufficient to permit a rational jury to find both defendants guilty based on their respective roles in creating, funding, and exploiting the Thermo-Dynamics account and negotiating proceeds from the Treasury check.
- The court declined to resolve Jackson’s ineffective-assistance claim on direct appeal and indicated it should be raised, if at all, in collateral proceedings under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 where a fuller factual record could be developed.

## Legal Principles

- Trial-court management of impeachment by prior convictions is reviewed for abuse of discretion; non-prejudicial missteps may be treated as harmless error when promptly corrected and not likely to have affected the verdict.
- Evidence is sufficient if, viewing the record in the light most favorable to the verdict, a rational jury could find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
- Ineffective-assistance claims are commonly not decided on direct appeal when the record is inadequate to assess counsel’s strategy, client communications, or underlying facts; collateral review is the usual vehicle.
- A defendant has a constitutional right to testify, but defense counsel may not knowingly present testimony counsel believes is false; a trial court may address this tension outside the jury’s presence and permit narrative testimony as a procedural option.

## Conclusion

The court upheld the convictions arising from a large Treasury-check fraud scheme, finding no reversible error in the witness-impeachment episode and concluding the evidence showed each defendant’s substantial participation; it reserved Jackson’s ineffective-assistance allegations for possible post-conviction litigation on a developed record.


United States v. Long, 857 F.2d 436 (8th Cir. 1988)