United States v. Ronald James Ciambrone
750 F.2d 1416 (1985)
Premium Feature
Subscribe to Lexplug to listen to the Case Podcast.
Rule of Law:
A truthful but partial disclosure of a known felony does not constitute an "affirmative step to conceal the crime" required for a conviction of misprision of felony. The failure to provide all known information, without an act of deception like providing a false statement, is insufficient to satisfy this element of the offense.
Facts:
- Ronald J. Ciambrone anonymously called Secret Service Agent Earl Devaney, identifying himself as 'Becker'.
- Ciambrone directed Devaney to a public library book return, where Devaney found a photocopy of a counterfeit $100 bill.
- The next day, Ciambrone met with Devaney and revealed he knew someone with counterfeit currency.
- Ciambrone refused to identify himself or the counterfeiters unless the Secret Service paid him $15,000.
- He proposed that if he wasn't paid, he would join the counterfeiters to make money.
- In a subsequent meeting, Ciambrone showed Devaney two actual sample counterfeit bills but again demanded payment for more information.
- It is undisputed that all information Ciambrone provided to the Secret Service was truthful.
Procedural Posture:
- The United States charged Ronald J. Ciambrone in a U.S. District Court with three counts, including misprision of felony.
- The trial court dismissed two of the counts against Ciambrone.
- A jury convicted Ciambrone on the remaining count of misprision of felony.
- Ciambrone (appellant) appealed his conviction from the U.S. District Court to the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Premium Content
Subscribe to Lexplug to view the complete brief
You're viewing a preview with Rule of Law, Facts, and Procedural Posture
Issue:
Does a person take an "affirmative step to conceal" a felony, as required for a misprision of felony conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 4, by making a truthful but partial disclosure of information to law enforcement while conditioning full disclosure on receiving payment?
Opinions:
Majority - Norris, Circuit Judge
No. A truthful but partial disclosure of information about a felony does not constitute an affirmative step to conceal the crime. The crime of misprision of felony requires four elements: (1) a felony was committed, (2) the defendant knew about it, (3) the defendant failed to notify authorities, and (4) the defendant took an affirmative step to conceal the crime. Mere silence is not an affirmative step. Ciambrone did not remain silent; he provided truthful, albeit partial, information that put the counterfeiters at a greater risk of detection than if he had said nothing at all. This distinguishes his case from precedents like United States v. Hodges, where the defendant's untruthful statements to the FBI constituted an affirmative act of concealment by misleading investigators. The court reasoned that criminalizing truthful partial disclosure would create a perverse incentive for witnesses to remain completely silent. Ciambrone's attempt to sell the information, while perhaps reprehensible, is not relevant to the specific element of concealment required by the misprision statute.
Analysis:
This decision significantly narrows the scope of the "affirmative step to conceal" element for the crime of misprision of felony. It establishes a clear distinction between passive non-disclosure (or partial disclosure) and active concealment. By holding that truthful partial disclosure is not a crime, the court prevents the statute from being used to punish individuals who are unwilling to be complete informants without a corresponding act of deceit. This precedent protects individuals who provide some, but not all, information to law enforcement, thereby encouraging at least partial cooperation over complete silence.
