1341

Drafting Indictments—Theft from Interstate Shipment -- Election Required Between Theft and Possession

The literal terms of 18 U.S.C. § 659 proscribe as separate offenses theft and possession or receipt of stolen goods. Judicial construction of similar offenses under the federal bank robbery and theft of government property statutes prohibits conviction of both theft and receipt or possession of the same goods. See Gaddis v. United States, 424 U.S. 544 (1976); Milanovich v. United States, 365 U.S. 551 (1961). It is the Department's view that the rationale of these cases is equally applicable to 18 U.S.C. §  659, thus requiring an election between theft and receipt or possession under the statute. [cited in USAM 9-61.300]