United States v. Rene Bloch and Hector Rivera

Appellants Bloch and Rivera appeal from convictions on one count of conspiracy in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371 (1966) and six counts of accepting unlawful payments in violation of 29 U.S.C. § 186 (b)(1) (1978). Appellants were convicted of demanding and accepting unlawful payments from promoters seeking visas for Latin American musicians to perform in the United States.

Appellants were both employed by the American Federation of Musicians (AFM), Local 47. Their duties included overseeing all nightclubs within a certain geographical area to insure that union rules with respect to musicians were being followed at those clubs.

In order to obtain visas for foreign musicians, promoters and employers must obtain AFM approval of all visa petitions. As a condition for such approval, AFM requires promoters and employers to agree to hire local union musicians on a “one to one” basis with the foreign musicians. AFM relied on Bloch and Rivera as field representatives to enforce and monitor compliance with these “one to one” agreements in the Local 47 area.

Philip Karlin was the head of Marcalan, Inc. (Marcalan), a company which arranged for Latin American musicians to perform in the United…