## Facts

- Russell J. Saadey, Jr., a former investigator in the Mahoning County Prosecutor’s Office, was implicated in a countywide criminal case-fixing operation involving justice-system participants from roughly 1992 to 1996.
- A federal grand jury indicted Saadey in 2000; a 21-count superseding indictment issued in 2001.
- Relevant charges included: RICO conspiracy (18 U.S.C. § 1962(d)); Hobbs Act conspiracy (18 U.S.C. § 1951); Hobbs Act attempted extortion/aiding and abetting under color of official right (18 U.S.C. §§ 1951, 2); filing false tax returns (26 U.S.C. § 7206(1)); and making false statements on credit applications (18 U.S.C. § 1014).
- The government’s theory for the attempted-extortion count was that Saadey sought money in exchange for promised favorable treatment in the criminal-justice system by trading on relationships with officials and prior status, despite not being a public official at the time.
- At trial, tax returns bearing Saadey’s admitted signatures were introduced; the court allowed the jury to compare those signatures to signatures on disputed credit applications to determine authenticity.
- A jury convicted Saadey on the RICO conspiracy count, the Hobbs Act conspiracy count, the Hobbs Act attempted extortion/aiding and abetting count, and the tax and credit-application counts.

## Issues

1. Whether a private individual, not holding public office at the time, may be convicted of Hobbs Act attempted extortion “under color of official right” based on influence-peddling or exploitation of relationships with officials.
2. Whether the evidence supported the RICO conspiracy conviction and whether the RICO conspiracy charge was timely under the statute of limitations.
3. Whether the district court erred in denying severance based on claimed prejudice from joinder with a co-defendant.
4. Whether the credit applications were properly authenticated by permitting jury comparison of disputed signatures with admitted signatures on tax returns.

## Decision

- The Sixth Circuit reversed Saadey’s conviction for Hobbs Act attempted extortion/aiding and abetting (Count 8), holding the statute did not reach the charged conduct.
- The court affirmed Saadey’s RICO conspiracy conviction (Count 1), finding sufficient evidence and no statute-of-limitations bar.
- The court affirmed the Hobbs Act conspiracy conviction and the convictions for false tax returns and false statements on credit applications.
- The court rejected the severance challenge, holding Saadey failed to show “compelling, specific, and actual prejudice.”
- The court upheld admission of the credit applications, approving authentication through jury comparison with known, admitted signatures.
- The court remanded for resentencing because reversal of one count could affect the overall sentencing package.

## Legal Principles

- Hobbs Act extortion “under color of official right” requires misuse (or attempted misuse) of actual official power; influence-peddling by a private person, without the requisite connection to exercising official authority, is insufficient.
- A RICO conspiracy conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 1962(d) may be sustained by proof that the defendant knowingly agreed to further the enterprise’s unlawful objectives and that the enterprise engaged in a pattern of racketeering activity.
- For RICO conspiracy limitations purposes, a continuing conspiracy is timely if it persisted into the limitations period and was not shown to have ended by accomplishment or abandonment before that period.
- Severance is unwarranted absent a showing of “compelling, specific, and actual prejudice” from a joint trial.
- Documents may be authenticated by comparison: a factfinder may compare signatures on disputed documents with signatures admitted to be genuine to infer authorship.

## Conclusion

The Sixth Circuit held that Hobbs Act “color of official right” attempted extortion does not extend to a private actor’s influence-peddling absent misuse of official authority, reversed that count, affirmed the RICO conspiracy and remaining convictions, and remanded for resentencing.


United States v. Saadey, 393 F.3d 669 (6th Cir. 2005)