United States v. Paul Werner Tobeler, AKA Tom Thomas, AKA Paul La Palma, Aka, Dale La Palma

311 F.3d 1201 UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Paul Werner TOBELER, aka Tom Thomas, aka Paul La Palma, aka, Dale La Palma, Defendant-Appellant. No. 00-50702. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Submitted November 8, 2002. * Filed December 6, 2002. William S. Harris, Stewart & Harris, South Pasadena, CA, for the appellant. Debra W. Yang, John S. Gordon, & Ronald L. Cheng, United States Attorney's Office, Los Angeles, CA, for the appellee. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of California; Robert M. Takasugi, District Judge, Presiding. D.C. No. CR-96-00087-RMT-1. Before HALL, THOMPSON and WARDLAW, Circuit Judges. OPINION WARDLAW, Circuit Judge. 1 Paul Werner Tobeler appeals his convictions for interstate transportation of stolen motor vehicles, engagement in monetary transactions involving the proceeds of the sale of those vehicles, and conspiracy to commit those crimes. We must decide whether the definition of "motor vehicle" in the Dyer Act, 18 U.S.C. §§ 2311 , 2312, encompasses the backhoes, loaders, graders, trenchers, and scrapers Tobeler was convicted of stealing, transporting, and reselling.…