Petition for Writ of Certiorari — Gustav Kloszewski, Petitioner v. United States

18c:~)89(02 ORUNAI

No:

In the

'upreme Court of the Oniteb %tate

fl FILED

APR 092019

I OFFICE OF THE CLERK

LPFME COUPT U.S.

GUSTAV KLOSZEWSKI,

Petitioner,

vs.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Respondent.

ON PETITION FOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI

TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT

PETITION FOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI

Gustav W. Kloszewski

Register Number: 34390-019

West TN Detention Facility

P.O. Box 509

Mason, TN 38049

I

QUESTIONS PRESENTED FOR REVIEW

Did the lower court fail to follow this Court's precedent in Crawford v.

Washington, 541 U.S. 36 (2004).

11

PARTIES TO THE PROCEEDINGS

IN THE COURT BELOW

In addition to the parties named in the caption of the case, the following

individuals were parties to the case. The United States Court of Appeal for the

Second Circuit and the United States District Court for the Southern District of

New York.

None of the parties is a company, corporation, or subsidiary of any company

or corporation.

111

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I

Cover Page

Questions Presented for Review ...........................................................Ii

Parties to the Proceedings in the Court Below .....................................Iii

Tableof Contents ..................................................................................Iv

Table of Authorities ..............................................................................V

OpinionBelow ......................................................................................2

Statement of Jurisdiction ......................................................................2

Constitutional Provisions, Treaties, Statutes and Rules Involved

2

Statement of the Facts ...........................................................................4

Statement of the Case .........................................................

5

The Alleged Burglary in Florida .....................................

5

Kloszewski's Motion to Dismiss the Indictment ...................

5

Trial and Jury Verdict .................................................

5

Reasons for Granting the Writ.................................................9

Did the lower court fail to follow this Court's precedent in Crawford

v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36 (2004) ..........................................10

Conclusion.....................................................................

iv

13

TABLE OF AUTHORITIES

Barber v. Page,

390 U.S. 719 (1968) ..........................................................................................11

Bruton v. United States,

391 U.S. 123 (1968) ..........................................................................................11

California v. Green,

399 U.S. 149 (1970) ..........................................................................................11

Crawford v. Washington,

541 U.S. 36 (2004) ............................................................................................ 10

Douglas v. Alabama,

380 U.S. 415 (1965) ..........................................................................................11

Kirby v. United States,

174 U.S. 47 (1899) ............................................................................................11

Mancusi v. Stubbs,

408 U.S. 204 (1972) ..........................................................................................11

Michigan v. Bryant,

562 U.S. 344 (2011) .....................................................................................11-12

Motes v. United States,

178 U.S. 458 (1900) .......................................................................................... 11

Roberts v. Russell,

392 U.S. 293 (1968) .......................................................................................... 11

United States v. Burden,

600 F.3d 204 (2d Cir. 2010) .............................................................................12

United States v. Kloszewski,

2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 1338 (2dCir. Jan. 14,2019) .........................................2

United States v. Saget,

377 F.3d 223 (2d Cir. 2004) .............................................................................12

United States v. Singh,

2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 5523 (2dCir. March 5, 2018) .....................................13

wil

Im

3lii the

'upreme Court of the Eniteb 'tate

GUSTAV KLOSZEWSKI,

Petitioner,

VS.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Respondent.

ON PETITION FOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI

TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT

PETITION FOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI

I, Gustav Kloszewski, the Petitioner herein, respectfully prays that a Writ

of Certiorari is issued to review the judgment of the United States Court of

Appeals for the Second Circuit, entered in the above-entitled cause.

OPINION BELOW

The opinion of the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, whose judgment is

herein sought to be reviewed, is an unpublished opinion in United States v.

Kloszewski, No. 17-4054, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 1338 (2d Cir. Jan. 14, 2019) and

is reprinted as Appendix A to this petition.

STATEMENT OF JURISDICTION

The Eleventh Circuit's denial of Kloszewski's direct appeal was entered on

January 14, 2019.

The Jurisdiction of this Court is invoked pursuant to Title 28 U.S.C. § 1254(1).

CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS, TREATIES,

STATUTES AND RULES INVOLVED

The Fifth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States provides:

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous

crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury, except in

cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the militia, when in actual

service in time of war or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for

the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be

compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be

deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall

private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

Id. Fifth Amendment U.S. Constitution

The Sixth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States provides:

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy

and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and District wherein the

crime shall have been committed, which District shall have been previously

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ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the

accusation, to be confronted with the witness against him; to have

compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the

Assistance of Counsel for his defense.

Id. Sixth Amendment U.S. Constitution

STATEMENT OF THE FACTS

A superseding Indictment S5 16 Cr. 200 (AKH) ("Indictment") was filed on

May 23, 2017, in four counts charging Kloszewski with conspiracy to traffic in

firearms without a license, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 371 and 922(a)(1)(A).

Count Two charged Kloszewski with aiding and abetting the trafficking of firearms

without a license, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(a)(1)(A) and 2. Count Three

charged Kloszewski with Hobbs Act robbery conspiracy, in violation of 18 U.S.C.

§ 1951. Count Four charged Kloszewski with conspiracy to distribute and possess

with intent to distribute marijuana and five kilograms or more of cocaine, in

violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 846, 841(b)(1)(A) and 841(b)(1)(D).

Trial commenced on June 12, 2017, and ended on June 21, 2017, when the jury

found Kloszewski guilty of all four counts of the Indictment. On December 1,

2017, Judge Hellerstein sentenced Kloszewski principally to a total term of 30

years' imprisonment: 60 months on each of Counts One and Two, 240 months on

Count Three, and 360 months on Count Four, all running concurrently.

3

STATEMENT OF THE CASE

The government alleged that on or about February 2016, Kloszewski agreed

with others, including Sian Stafford and Blake Hann, none of whom were licensed

firearms dealers, to sell firearms that they had obtained during a burglary' of a

residence in Melbourne, Florida (the "Burglary"). Stafford and Hann carried out

the sales, aided and abetted by Kloszewski and ultimately, allegedly tried to sell

the firearms to a confidential informant in the Southern District of New York.

Kloszewski had not been to the Southern District of New York prior to his arrest.

1. The Alleged Burglary in Florida

The government alleged that on or about February 7 and 8, 2016, Kloszewski

and several co-conspirators, including Stafford, Hann, Carlos, and an individual

known as "D" or "D-boy" stole firearms and other valuable items from a residence

in Melbourne, Florida. Allegedly, the co-conspirators, drove the guns,

ammunition, and other items back to the Miami area and temporarily stashed the

firearms in a storage locker. They divided up the items they had stolen, and

Stafford and Hann took their share and Kloszewski's share of the firearms to New

York, where they attempted to sell them for a higher price than they would be able

to obtain in Florida.

In the first indictment, it was alleged that Kloszewski was involved in a robbery. As the case developed and a

superseding indictment was returned, the facts were then alleged that he was involved in a burglary. Regardless of

the charged offense, (robbery or burglary or theft), no victim has ever come forth alleging that a crime has occurred.

4

-

Ultimately, the buyer that Stafford found for those firearms was a Drug

Enforcement Administration ("DEA") confidential source who testified at trial

using the alias "Miguel Sanchez." The first sale occurred on occurred on February

17, 2016, in the Bronx, New York. The day before the sale, Stafford texted a

photograph that depicted the guns to Kloszewski. After that sale, Stafford and CI

Sanchez maintained contact by phone regarding the sale. Stafford and CI Sanchez

then proceeded to arrange a second sale, which occurred on February 24, 2016, in

New York. During this second sale, Stafford sold two firearms and

other firearm accessories to another DEA confidential source, who had

accompanied CI Sanchez. Again, phone records showed that Stafford spoke to

Kloszewski by phone before the deal. The phone was a critical aspect of this case.

Immediately following the February 24 sale, Stafford and Hann were arrested and

began cooperating with the DEA. Law enforcement

agents searched the storage unit and recovered additional firearms and firearm

accessories. In total, approximately 13 firearms were seized from Stafford and

Hann in New York.

2. Kloszewski's Motion to Dismiss the Indictment

On or about September 20, 2016, Appellant's counsel wrote a letter to the

Government, specifically requesting the contents of Stafford's cell phone,

specifically videos and audio messages. This information was crucial for the

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defense since Stafford was a co-conspirator in the offense. On or about October

28, 2016, the Government submitted a brief response, wherein they simply stated

the cell phone was not in their "possession, custody, or control."

November 18, 2016, Kloszewski moved to dismiss the indictment on the basis

that the Government had either destroyed or failed to preserve exculpatory

evidence. On or about March 2, 2017, an evidentiary hearing was held to

determine how the cell phone was lost or destroyed and whether there was any bad

faith on the part of the Government. The District Court concluded, in a written

decision, that the cell phone contained only potentially exculpatory evidence and

that Kloszewski had failed to establish bad faith on the part of the Government.

The data on the cell phone was not presented at the hearing. During the hearing,

the government produced one witness, Agent Cunningham. Cunningham testified

that he was present when Stafford and Hann were arrested on February 24, 2016,

and that Stafford immediately began to cooperate upon arrest. Cunningham sought

consent from Stafford to search the storage unit, which he immediately received.

He sought consent from Hann to search her cell phone, which she consented to. It

was a standard law enforcement procedure to seek consent to search cell phones

upon arrest. He knew Stafford's cell phone contained evidence of the firearms

transactions. Stafford informed Cunningham the firearms had originated from a

robbery in Florida, and that Kloszewski participated in the robbery. Cunningham

was also told that the phone contained video surveillance depicting the offense.

She omitted that the firearms were stolen from an individual she had previously

had a relation with "Justin."

Eventually, the government refused to prosecute Stafford or Hann and the cell

phones were returned to them. Cunningham testified that he did not attempt to

search Stafford's cell phone between the date of her arrest, February 24, 2016, and

the subsequent trip down to Florida on February 26, 2016. On February 26, 2016,

Cunningham outfitted Stafford with a recording device prior to her meeting with

Kloszewski. Stafford consented to being outfitted with money and the recording

device. The device was not live and law enforcement would not be able to listen in

to the recording in real time. After the meeting, Stafford returned with the

recording device, a storage locker key, and a few money orders. Cunningham

communicated regularly with Stafford after Kloszewski's arrest. Stafford

eventually became a confidential source of the DEA. She assisted Cunningham on

other matters separate from this case. As such, Cunningham decided not to seek

consent to search Stafford's cell phone due to her cooperation. The District Court

interjected and stated it did not find this testimony credible.

On May 10, 2016, Cunningham learned Stafford had lost her cell phone while

traveling internationally to Colombia. He was informed via a text message from

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Hann. After this incident, Stafford ceased all cooperation. After Kloszewski

requested the contents of Stafford's cell phone, Cunningham sought a search

warrant for Stafford's iCloud account. The search warrant stated that he is seeking

"footage of a security camera maintained by the victim depicting CC-3 and other

committing a burglary." The video was secured and is showed footage from a

man named Justin's home and the video depicted Stafford inside Justin's home.

All the firearms sold in New York by Stafford were from Justin's home. Later

that same year, Cunningham was aware that a man named Justin had reached out to

Stafford via text messages, and that these text messages were on her cell phone;

however, he was not aware of this on February 24, 2016, when he arrested

Stafford. Cunningham was also aware of the video surveillance footage from

Justin's home as a result of the February 26, 2016 meeting Stafford recorded.

3. Trial and Jury Verdict

Kloszewski testified at trial and admitted that he had participated in the

Burglary, but claimed not to know that the firearms and other items were being

taken without the victim's permission. He also claimed that the firearms that

Stafford sold in New York did not contain his share of the firearms that had been

stolen. The money that Stafford gave to him during the February 26 meeting was

not his share of the proceeds from the firearms sales, but a partial repayment of a

$2,300 loan he had made to Stafford a month earlier. Kloszewski claimed that he

l

had never in fact planned to rob the Miami drug dealer and that his discussions

with Stafford, Hann, and Carlos regarding the planned robbery were part of an

elaborate ruse to lure Stafford to Miami so that she would repay the loan. The jury

found Kloszewski guilty of all four charges in the Indictment.

REASONS FOR GRANTING THE WRIT

THIS COURT SHOULD ISSUE A WRIT OF CERTIORARI BECAUSE

THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ELEVENTH

CIRCUIT HAS INTERPRETED A FEDERAL STATUTES IN A WAY

THAT CONFLICTS WITH APPLICABLE DECISIONS OF THIS COURT

Supreme Court Rule 10 provides in relevant part as follows:

Rule 10

CONSIDERATIONS GOVERNING REVIEW

ON WRIT OF CERTIORARI

(1) A review on writ of certiorari is not a matter of right, but of judicial

discretion. A petition for a writ of certiorari will be granted only when

there are special and important reasons, therefore. The following, while

neither controlling nor fully measuring the Court's discretion, indicate

the character of reasons that will be considered:

(a) When a United States court of appeals has rendered a

decision in conflict with the decision of another United States

Court of Appeals on the same matter; or has decided a federal

question in a way in conflict with a state court of last resort; or has

so far departed from the accepted and usual course of judicial

proceedings, or sanctioned such a departure by a lower court, as to

call for an exercise of this Court's power of supervision.

(b)When a United States court of appeals has decided an

important question of federal law which has not been, but should

be, settled by this Court, or has decided a federal question in a way

that conflicts with applicable decision of this Court.... Id.

...

Id. Supreme Court Rule 10.1(a), (c)

QUESTIONS PRESENTED

I. Did the lower court fail to follow this Court's precedent in Crawford v.

Washington, 541 U.S. 36 (2004).

In Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S. 36 (2004), this court determined that an

accused has a right to be confronted with witnesses who are giving testimony

against him unless the witness is unavailable to appear at trial, and the accused had

a prior opportunity to cross-examine the witness. However, is Crawford violated

when the government choses to make the witness unavailable at trial. Here, the

Government failed (actually refused), to call Stafford as a witness at trial. This is

despite the fact that the entirety of the evidence consisted of her recordings.

Stafford was available to testify as she was the Government's cooperating witness.

Her statements are deemed testimonial as she was a government agent actively

investigation Kloszewski, illicit incriminating statements from him for the purpose

of using those statements at trial. Those actions are the same actions that this

Court relied upon in determining the landmark Crawford decision. In fact,

Kloszewski requested the cell phones information in order to prepare for his cross

examination of Stafford during trial. Clearly, the contents of the cell phone and

Stafford's statements that were provided to Cunningham as part of her

cooperation/prosecution of Kloszewski fall within the parameters of Crawford and

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its progency. See Mancusi v. Stubbs, 408 U.S. 204,213-216, 33 L. Ed. 2d 293, 92

S. Ct. 2308 (1972); California v. Green, 399 U.S. 149, 165-168, 26 L. Ed. 2d 4899

90 S. Ct. 1930 (1970); Pointer v. Texas, 380 U.S., at 406-408, 13 L. Ed. 2d 923, 85

S. Ct. 1065; cf Kirby v. United States, 174 U.S. 47, 55-61, 43 L. Ed. 890, 19 S. Ct.

574 (1899). Even if Kloszewski where had such an opportunity to question

Stafford, this court has excluded the testimony where the government had not

established the unavailability of the witness. Barber v. Page, 390 U.S. 719, 722725, 20 L. Ed. 2d 255, 88 S. Ct. 1318 (1968); cf. Motes v. United States, 178 U.S.

458, 470-4711, 44 L. Ed. 1150, 20 S. Ct. 993 (1900). Here the government violated

Kloszewski's right to cross examine his main and quite honestly, the only accuser.

When the government realized that the contents of the cell phone exculpated

Kloszewski, they chose to eliminate not only the cell phone but the person who

recorded the cell phones recordings as well. In fact, even Hann was eliminated

from the picture. Roberts v. Russell, 392 U.S. 2931 294-295, 20 L. Ed. 2d 1100, 88

S. Ct. 1921 (1968) (excluded accomplice confessions where the defendant had no

opportunity to cross-examine); Bruton v. United States, 391 U.S. 123, 126-128, 20

L. Ed. 2d 476, 88 S. Ct. 1620 (1968); Douglas v. Alabama, 380 U.S. 4151,418-420513 L. Ed. 2d 934, 85 S. Ct. 1074 (1965).

All of Stafford's statements and recordings were made for the sole purpose of

prosecuting Kloszewski. Michigan v. Bryant, 562 U.S. 344, 358 (2011) (A

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statement is "testimonial" when the circumstances indicate that the statement was

"procured with a primary purpose of creating an out-of-court substitute for trial

testimony.") While the Second Circuit has held that typically a cooperating

witness's statements are not testimonial when trying to elicit inculpatory

statements from a target, the Court also held that "no court can say whether a

particular kind of statement is testimonial until it has considered that kind of

statement in an actual case." United States v. Burden, 600 F.3d 204, 224 (2d Cir.

2010). This was not the case in this situation. The government utilized Stafford

for one purpose only, to elicit evidence against Kloszewski. That is a clear

Crawford violation. A determining factor in deciding whether a statement is

testimonial is whether a "declarant's awareness or expectation that his or her

statements may later be used at a trial." United States v. Saget, 377 F.3d 223, 228

(2d Cir. 2004). Stafford was acting as an "agent" for the government at the time

she was eliciting testimony. The sole purpose of presenting the contents of her cell

phone was to call Stafford to the stand. Stafford, acting at the behest of and for

the benefit of the government, was an accuser under this Court's definition

Crawford and the confrontation clause protections. Crawford, 541 U.S. at 62

("Dispensing with confrontation because testimony is obviously reliable is akin to

dispensing with jury trial because a defendant is obviously guilty. This is not what

the Sixth Amendment prescribes.")

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Finally, Stafford's statements cannot be considered under the

"

out-of-court

statements not offered for their truth must satisfy Federal Rules of Evidence 401

and 403." United States v. Singh, 2018 U.S. App. LEXIS 5523 *3.4 (2d Cir.

March 5, 2018) (citing United States v. Paulino, 445 F.3d 211, 217 (2d Cir. 2006)).

This is because at the time the recordings were made, Stafford was already

cooperating and acting as an agent for the government. She was at their control,

receiving orders from Cunningham and recording Kloszewski for one ultimate

purpose, to prosecute Kloszewski at a subsequent trial.

CONCLUSION

Based on the foregoing, this Court should grant this request for a Writ of

Certiorari and remand order the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Done this

, day ofApril 2019.

Re

ly submitted,

Gustav W. Kloszewski

Register Number: 34390-019

West TN Detention Facility

P.O. Box 509

Mason, TN 38049

13