United States of America v. Shirley Colletti

* This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.
NOT FOR PUBLICATION
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
v.
SHIRLEY COLLETTI,
Defendant - Appellant.
No. 09-10279
D.C. No. 3:95-cr-00049-HDM-
NA-5
MEMORANDUM*
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the District of Nevada
Howard D. McKibben, Senior District Judge, Presiding
Argued and Submitted April 19, 2012
San Francisco, California
Before: SCHROEDER, THOMAS, and GRABER, Circuit Judges.
Shirley Colletti was convicted in 1999 for wire fraud and RICO offenses in
connection with a scheme to hide taxable income from a Nevada brothel. In 2001,
a $220,000 forfeiture order was entered against her for those crimes. In 2008, the
district court allowed the government to substitute Colletti’s newly acquired
FILED
MAY 18 2012
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS

-- 1 of 2 --

2
money in satisfaction of the forfeiture. Colletti appeals that substitution, and we
affirm.
The government diligently asserted its rights, filing its motion to substitute
within two years after Colletti’s acquisition of the money. The government was
not guilty of laches. See Huseman v. Icicle Seafoods, Inc., 471 F.3d 1116, 1126
(9th Cir. 2006).
Colletti also argues that the substitution of her newly acquired money
unconstitutionally deprives her of her livelihood in violation of the Eighth
Amendment. The authority on which she relies, United States v. Levesque, 546
F.3d 78 (1st Cir. 2008), involved the amount of the original forfeiture order.
Colletti offers no authority to support her position that a change of circumstances
can affect the constitutional validity of a forfeiture that was not excessive at the
time it was ordered. Assuming it could, however, the district court provided
adequate protection by ensuring that the substitution order did not touch her social
security or pension.
The order of the district court is AFFIRMED.

-- 2 of 2 --