The convictions of two men who pocketed hundreds of thousands of dollars in life insurance payments after having the policyholders killed have been upheld by a federal appeals panel that had struggled with the application of unsettled and hazy confrontation clause jurisprudence.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit yesterday affirmed the convictions of Ronald Mallay and Richard James, who are serving mandatory life terms for orchestrating the murders of four individuals so they could collect on fraudulent life policies. Both men were convicted of numerous charges, including murder in aid of racketeering and conspiracy.
