Lesly Cohen v. United States

Appellant was convicted on two counts of an indictment charging knowing utilization of interstate telephone facilities for the transmission of wagers and wagering information in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1084 (a) (1964).

The first count alleged that during the period September 16, 1962, to December 15, 1962, appellant knowingly used interstate telephone facilities to transmit information from Las Vegas, Nevada, to San Francisco, California, for the purpose of assisting in placement of a wager on a San Francisco Forty Niner’s football game. A bill of particulars specified that this count involved a number of telephone calls between appellant and two bettors, Raymond Syufy and Adolph Schuman.

The second count, as amplified by the bill of particulars, alleged a telephone call by Syufy to appellant on September 25, 1962, placing a wager on the Sonny Liston-Floyd Patterson heavyweight boxing match.

I

Appellant contends that the first count is duplicitous because the bill of particulars alleges that more than one telephone call and more than one bettor were involved. He argues that he was prejudiced by the form of the charge because the bettor Syufy was unable to identify the person…