United States v. A. Gordon Eldred

Eldred appeals his conviction for intentional misapplication of funds belonging to the Navajo Housing Authority ( 18 U.S.C. § 1163 ), conspiracy to defraud the United States ( 18 U.S.C. § 371 ), transportation in interstate commerce of securities valued in excess of $5,000 knowing them to have been obtained by fraud ( 18 U.S.C. § 2314 ), and aiding and abetting ( 18 U.S.C. § 2 ). He contends that multiple errors in the course of his jury trial denied him a fair trial. We affirm.

In 1974, Eldred, representing the American Funding Corporation (AFC), entered into an oral agreement with Pat Chee Miller, executive director of the Navajo Housing Authority (NHA), and Leslie Joel Had-den, Vice President and General Manager of Window Rock Constructors, Inc., a company that had completed several construction contracts on the Navajo Reservation. Under the agreement, Eldred offered to invest excess NHA funds in certificates of deposit at a higher rate than that offered by local banks. In return, Hadden and Miller were to split kickbacks in the form of “finders’ fees” of 1% of the funds invested. Mervin Schaffer, head of the AFC, was to receive another 1%. During the remainder of 1974, Miller…