United States v. Cincotta

689 F.2d 238 (1st Cir. 1982)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

Mystic Fuel Corporation (Mystic (D)) engaged in the business of delivering heating oil to oil consumers. It did not own or rent oil storage tanks, but it did own several trucks for transporting oil. It used those trucks to earn money. Mystic (D) entered delivery contracts with oil suppliers without trucks to pay Mystic (D) a commission to deliver oil and it entered supply contracts whereby oil consumers would buy oil directly from Mystic (D), and Mystic (D) would then acquire it from suppliers and deliver it. Cincotta (D) was a major stockholder in Mystic (D) and its Treasurer. He signed all the company's checks, bids, and contracts. Together with Zero (D), he made all the major decisions of the company, as well as the rules governing its daily operation. Zero (D) was also a major stockholder in Mystic (D) and its dispatcher. He hired the truck drivers and supervised Mystic's (D) billing and accounting. Mystic (D) had a delivery contract from the Union Petroleum Corporation to Fort Devens in Ayer, Massachusetts. Mystic (D) picked up a shipment of oil at Union, representing that the oil was for delivery to Fort Devens. Then, Mystic (D) would sell the shipment to its consumer clients. It would tell the Fort Devens authorities that it had delivered the shipment to Fort Devens, inducing the Department of Defense to pay Union for the shipment. Fort Devens paid for shipments it never received, and Mystic (D) was able to sell oil that it had never paid for. All three defendants were found guilty. Cincotta (D) appealed.