United States v. Robert D. Pollack, United States of America v. Kenneth N. Dellamater

Before CHAMBERS and CARTER, Circuit Judges, and SCHWARTZ, District Judge.

This is an appeal from the judgment of conviction on one count of conspiracy to violate and two counts of counselling and inducing a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1005 , which proscribes making, drawing, issuing, putting forth, or assigning any banking document or obligation without authority. We reverse.

I. PACTS

Defendants Robert D. Pollack (“Pollack”) and Kenneth N. Dellamater (“Dellamater”) agreed to engage in a business venture to salvage abandoned communication cables from the ocean floor off the coast of California, and the Pacific and Gulf of Mexico coasts of Panama in Central America. Together, they formed the Oceanographic Geophysical Corporation (“OGC”) to conduct the California salvage operations, and Oceantech Panama, Inc. (“Oceantech”) to conduct salvage operations off the Panamanian Coast.

Pollack had an extensive background in oceanographic and marine engineering and was to be in charge of the salvage operations. Dellamater was an attorney and was therefore to perform the legal work for the corporations. They hired Marvin Hopkins, a former ship captain for the University of…