United States v. Russell B. Schultz

Following trial to the court Schultz was convicted on two counts of illegal possession of checks stolen from the mails, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1708 . The district court sentenced him to 42 months of imprisonment on each count, the sentences to run concurrently.

Schultz argues that the evidence failed to demonstrate his knowledge that the checks had been stolen. The argument has two thrusts. He first contends that the government must prove that he knew the checks had been taken from the mails, not merely that they had been stolen from some unspecified source. We have recently rejected this interpretation of the statute. United States v. Gardner, 454 F.2d 534, 535 (9th Cir. 1972).

It is next claimed that the evidence did not suffice to demonstrate any knowledge that the checks had been stolen at all. They were mailed from post offices in New York to a Mr. Schatz in Los Angeles on August 31, 1970. Appellant and Mr. Schatz, then deceased, had been living in the same hotel in Los An-geles. On September 2, 1970 Schultz deposited the cheeks to his own account in a Los Angeles bank, forging an endorsement by Schatz.

Schultz’ possession of recently stolen checks supports an…