United States v. Richard O. Kelly

Richard 0. Kelly appeals from a conviction on one count of perjury. We affirm.

In February, 1968, Kelly was introduced to William J. Cudd, who appeared to be a man of means. Cudd represented that he possessed considerable wealth in the form of promissory notes issued by the Baptist Foundation of America. Cudd told Kelly he wished to buy a yacht, using some of the promissory notes as purchase money. Kelly set out to acquire a yacht for Cudd on some basis that would be profitable to Kelly. Kelly associated Dan Manning in the venture. Either Manning or Kelly contacted James Powell , a salesman employed by the Kona Marina in San Diego. Powell eventually located Ralph Kappler, an Oregon resident, who agreed to sell his yacht, the Gannett, II, for $330,000 in BFA notes. Under the agreement, the sale was to be made to Manning’s wholly owned corporation, M-K Enterprises. Kelly’s plan was that M-K Enterprises would convey the yacht to him and he would convey it at a profit to Cudd. The initial seller, Kappler, was not made aware of the involvement of either Kelly or Cudd in the transaction.

After the agreement was reached, Kelly informed Cudd that he had located a suitable vessel. Kelly…