Lowery

A jury found appellant Larry Edward Lowery guilty of the following offenses:

Lowery was sentenced to a term of six years and eight months in the state prison. On appeal he contends (1) that his convictions were based solely upon uncorroborated testimony supplied by accomplices, and (2) that his constitutional right to counsel was violated when a conversation between himself and a codefendant was surreptitiously recorded.

We find no merit in either contention, and we therefore affirm the judgment.

I. Background

A. Prologue

This case involves intricate and large-scale traffic in stolen integrated circuits, sometimes referred to as computer “chips.” These electronic components were in great demand in 1980 and 1981, and a “gray market” developed for them. Thieves stole integrated circuits from companies that manufactured them, delivered the parts to a broker, and were paid for their services. The broker would then resell the stolen circuits at a profit to legitimate computer manufacturers.

What follows is a summary of the evidence presented at Lowery’s trial.

B. Brut Electronics

In 1980 Lowery was the president of a company known as Brut Electronics, located in San…