U.S. v. Digilio

Citation
United States v. Digilio, 538 F.2d 972 (3d Cir. 1976) (full-text).

Appellate Court Proceedings
The defendants were a conviction of conspiracy to defraud the United States and to convert to the defendant's own use the records of the United States, particularly photocopies of official files of the FBI. Defendants contended that 18 U.S.C. §641 was inapplicable because the government was not deprived of the use of the information contained in the records. They contended that unauthorized copies of government records were not themselves records and that the unauthorized transmission of the information was not proscribed by Section 641.

The government had based its argument for Section 641 applicability on United States v. Bottone, which held that microfilming of scientific processes with the thief's own equipment and asportation of those copies were proscribed as theft of "goods."

The court in agreeing with the government's position, noted that, in this case, there was no memorization of the information nor copying by the use of the thief's own equipment. One of the criminals actually used goverrunent time, equipment, and supplies to make the copies.

Finally, the court stressed that a duplicate copy is a record for purposes of the statute and duplicate copies belonging to the government were stolen.