United States v. Lloyd K. Graham

Lloyd K. Graham, a Seattle politician, was convicted of violating the Travel Act ( 18 U.S.C. § 1952 ) for receiving $5,000 in $100 bills at a Washington, D. C., hotel as prearranged in an extortion scheme. The appeal raises a number of points, none of which justifies reversal.

Graham either had, or appeared to have, enough political influence to derail a “fixed” engineering contract which had been improperly negotiated by others who are not party to this case.

In exchange for Graham’s agreement not to cause the cancellation of the contract, the engineer’s representative agreed to pay Graham $5,000 “the next time Graham came to Washington”. An opportunity to visit Washington on official business soon presented itself. Graham went, performed his official business, and collected the $5,000. He now claims that since his corrupt purpose was not the only reason for his trip, he should be immune from prosecution under the Travel Act. Nothing in the legislative purpose or history suggests that Congress intended any such result. This court will not read such a limitation into the law.

Graham next argues that the government failed to prove that his extortion of money from the engineering…