United States v. Ralph Vega and James Leonis

81 F.3d 171 NOTICE: Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3 provides that dispositions other than opinions or orders designated for publication are not precedential and should not be cited except when relevant under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, or collateral estoppel. UNITED STATES, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Ralph Vega and James Leonis, Defendants-Appellants. Nos. 94-10521, 94-10522. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted Feb. 12, 1996. Decided March 29, 1996. Before: REINHARDT, THOMPSON, O'SCANNLAIN, Circuit Judges. 1 MEMORANDUM * 2 Appellants appeal their convictions arising from a reverse sting operation conducted by the government. For the reasons set forth below, we affirm the convictions as to both Vega and Leonis. However, with respect to the forfeiture we remand for a factual finding on the question of whether Leonis received proper notice from the government before his money was administratively forfeited. 3 I. Did the District Court err in admitting statements by Anthony Leonis against appellants under the coconspirator exception to the hearsay rule [FRE 801(d)(2)(E) ]? 4 Appellants are incorrect when they assert that the district court erred…