United States v. Jack Gordon, United States of America v. Joseph Daly

The present appeals follow appellants’ convictions for violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371 , conspiracy to violate the Travel Act.

On August 8, 1978, a federal grand jury sitting in Las Vegas, Nevada, returned a three-count indictment against appellants herein, and a co-defendant, charging them with two counts of Travel Act bribery and one count of conspiracy.

' The Travel Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1952 , provides felony sanctions for

Subsection (b) of § 1952 defines “unlawful activity” as including “extortion, bribery, or arson in violation of the laws of the State in which committed or of the United States.”

Counts I and II of appellants’ indictment charged them with placing an interstate phone call and with engaging in interstate travel with intent to “promote, manage, establish, carry on and facilitate the promotion, management, establishment and carrying on of an unlawful activity, namely: Bribery of a Public Officer, in violation of Nevada Revised Statutes, Section 197.020,” and with thereafter performing certain other acts for the same purpose. The public officers in question were identified as Nevada Gaming Commissioners.

Count III, the conspiracy count, covered the same facts…