U.S. v. Hallahan

Dist. Ct. did not err in sentencing defendants to 195-month and 270-month terms of incarceration on conspiracy to commit money laundering and failure to appear at sentencing charges stemming from scheme to defraud investors out of more than $1 million under circumstances where both defendants had failed to appear at sentencing on conspiracy charges and remained fugitives for 12-year period. Defendants waived right to appeal sentences on conspiracy charges based on appeal waiver contained in their plea agreements, and fact that prosecutor subsequently charged defendants with failure to appear at original sentencing or that prosecutor failed urge Dist. Ct. to sentence defendants at lower end of guideline range did not serve to void said waivers, where defendants had breached agreements by failing to appear at original sentencing hearing. However, Ct. of Appeals could still review propriety of defendants’ sentences, where defendants had not waived appeal of sentence for charge of failing to appear at original sentencing, and where said charge was grouped with conspiracy charges for purposes of sentencing. Also, although Dist. Ct. used wrong guideline for calculating sentence on conspiracy charges, where Dist. Ct. used guideline that was in force at time of sentencing, rather than at time of offense, no error occurred under “one-book rule,” which allowed Dist. Ct. to use (for all three grouped convictions) later guideline in effect at time when defendants were apprehended on charge for failure to appear at sentencing.