United States v. Barone

CARDAMONE, Circuit Judge Renard Barone appeals from a September 25, 1989 judgment of conviction entered after a four-day trial in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York before Chief Judge Brieant and a jury. Barone was convicted on one count of tax evasion, in violation of 26 U.S.C. § 7201 (1988), and two counts of perjury before a federal grand jury, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1623 (1988). On this appeal appellant challenges his conviction on the grounds that the district court erred in allowing the government to admit into evidence a tape recording of a conversation between him and a government informant without presenting the informant as a witness at trial. Barone also contends that the district court erred in adding two points for two groups of offenses under § 3D1.4 of the sentencing guidelines and abused its discretion in departing upwards from the applicable guidelines' range. FACTS