United States v. Raymond Derosa, Alfred Ponticelli, Danny Desantis, Phil Bertman

While conducting a two year undercover operation, Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) Special Agent Ruddy Bareng and DEA informant David Blinder participated in several narcotics transactions involving the defendants. After Bareng and Blinder testified before a grand jury, a nine count indictment was returned charging the defendants with racketeering under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act [RICO], 18 U.S.C. § 1962 (c) (1976) and with various narcotics violations under 21 U.S.C. §§ 2 , 841, 846 (1976).

After Dino D’Agostino, a fifth defendant, pleaded guilty, the remaining four-defendants proceeded to trial on the following counts. Count one (RICO) charged that Ponticelli and DeRosa’s association constituted a racketeering enterprise, as defined in 18 U.S.C. § 1961 (4) (1976), which engaged in a pattern of narcotics violations (counts two through nine) and which further engaged in attempts to collect payments in exchange for permission to deal narcotics in Los Angeles and for protection of those dealings in violation of § 846. Count one charged that DeSantis and Bert-man associated with the Ponticelli-DeRosa narcotics enterprise, and participated in the affairs of…