| People v Dicks |
| 2012 NY Slip Op 07878 [100 AD3d 528] |
| November 20, 2012 |
| Appellate Division, First Department |
| The People of the State of New York,Respondent, v Randy Dicks, Appellant. |
—[*1] Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., District Attorney, New York (Britta Gilmore of counsel), forrespondent.
Judgment, Supreme Court, New York County (Roger S. Hayes, J.), rendered April 29, 2011,convicting defendant, after a jury trial, of bribery in the third degree, and sentencing him to aterm of six months of intermittent imprisonment to be served on weekends, unanimouslyaffirmed.
Recordings of incriminating conversations between defendant and other persons wereproperly authenticated by participants' testimony that the recordings were accurate, complete andunaltered (see People v Ely, 68 NY2d 520, 527 [1986]; People v Agudelo, 96 AD3d 611[1st Dept 2012]). Defendant's identity as a participant in the conversations was sufficientlyestablished by the testimony of another participant, as well as the surrounding circumstances,including several face-to-face meetings that followed up on the recorded conversations. Nochain-of-custody evidence was required (see People v Ely, 68 NY2d at 528), and sincethe contents of the tapes were not in dispute, the best evidence rule did not apply (see Schozerv William Penn Life Ins. Co. of N.Y., 84 NY2d 639, 643 [1994]). Concur—Tom, J.P.,Andrias, Saxe, Acosta and Freedman, JJ.