§ 659. — Interstate or foreign shipments by carrier; State prosecutions.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 18USC659]
TITLE 18--CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
PART I--CRIMES
CHAPTER 31--EMBEZZLEMENT AND THEFT
Sec. 659. Interstate or foreign shipments by carrier; State
prosecutions
Whoever embezzles, steals, or unlawfully takes, carries away, or
conceals, or by fraud or deception obtains from any pipeline system,
railroad car, wagon, motortruck, or other vehicle, or from any tank or
storage facility, station, station house, platform or depot or from any
steamboat, vessel, or wharf, or from any aircraft, air terminal,
airport, aircraft terminal or air navigation facility with intent to
convert to his own use any goods or chattels moving as or which are a
part of or which constitute an interstate or foreign shipment of
freight, express, or other property; or
Whoever buys or receives or has in his possession any such goods or
chattels, knowing the same to have been embezzled or stolen; or
Whoever embezzles, steals, or unlawfully takes, carries away, or by
fraud or deception obtains with intent to convert to his own use any
baggage which shall have come into the possession of any common carrier
for transportation in interstate or foreign commerce or breaks into,
steals, takes, carries away, or conceals any of the contents of such
baggage, or buys, receives, or has in his possession any such baggage or
any article therefrom of whatever nature, knowing the same to have been
embezzled or stolen; or
Whoever embezzles, steals, or unlawfully takes by any fraudulent
device, scheme, or game, from any railroad car, bus, vehicle, steamboat,
vessel, or aircraft operated by any common carrier moving in interstate
or foreign commerce or from any passenger thereon any money, baggage,
goods, or chattels, or whoever buys, receives, or has in his possession
any such money, baggage, goods, or chattels, knowing the same to have
been embezzled or stolen--
Shall in each case be fined under this title or imprisoned not more
than ten years, or both; but if the amount or value of such money,
baggage, goods or chattels does not exceed $1,000, he shall be fined
under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.
The offense shall be deemed to have been committed not only in the
district where the violation first occurred, but also in any district in
which the defendant may have taken or been in possession of the said
money, baggage, goods, or chattels.
The carrying or transporting of any such money, freight, express,
baggage, goods, or chattels in interstate or foreign commerce, knowing
the same to have been stolen, shall constitute a separate offense and
subject the offender to the penalties under this section for unlawful
taking, and the offense shall be deemed to have been committed in any
district into which such money, freight, express, baggage, goods, or
chattels shall have been removed or into which the same shall have been
brought by such offender.
To establish the interstate or foreign commerce character of any
shipment in any prosecution under this section the waybill or other
shipping document of such shipment shall be prima facie evidence of the
place from which and to which such shipment was made. The removal of
property from a pipeline system which extends interstate shall be prima
facie evidence of the interstate character of the shipment of the
property.
A judgment of conviction or acquittal on the merits under the laws
of any State shall be a bar to any prosecution under this section for
the same act or acts. Nothing contained in this section shall be
construed as indicating an intent on the part of Congress to occupy the
field in which provisions of this section operate to the exclusion of
State laws on the same subject matter, nor shall any provision of this
section be construed as invalidating any provision of State law unless
such provision is inconsistent with any of the purposes of this section
or any provision thereof.
(June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 729; May 24, 1949, ch. 139, Sec. 13,
63 Stat. 91; Pub. L. 89-654, Sec. 1(a)-(d), Oct. 14, 1966, 80 Stat. 904;
Pub. L. 103-322, title XXXIII, Sec. 330016(1)(H), (K), Sept. 13, 1994,
108 Stat. 2147; Pub. L. 104-294, title VI, Sec. 606(a), Oct. 11, 1996,
110 Stat. 3511.)
Historical and Revision Notes
1948 Act
Based on title 18, U.S.C., 1940 ed., Secs. 409, 410, 411 (Feb. 13,
1913, ch. 50, Secs. 1, 2, 37 Stat. 670; Feb. 13, 1913, ch. 50, Sec. 3,
as added Jan. 28, 1925, ch. 102, 43 Stat. 794; Jan. 28, 1925, ch. 102,
43 Stat. 793, 794; Jan. 21, 1933, ch. 16, 47 Stat. 773, 774; July 24,
1946, ch. 606, 60 Stat. 656.)
This section consolidates sections 409, 410, and 411 of title 18,
U.S.C., 1940 ed. First clause of said section 409 was incorporated in
section 2117 of this title.
In the paragraph immediately preceding the last paragraph the words
``and to which'' were added to obviate an inadvertent and incongruous
omission in the enactment of act July 24, 1946, ch. 606, Sec. 3, 60
Stat. 657. This is in harmony with corrective legislation pending before
the Eightieth Congress.
The definitions of ``station house'', ``depot'', ``wagon'',
``automobile'', ``truck'', or ``other vehicle'', contained in said
section 409 of title 18, are omitted as unnecessary.
The smaller punishment for an offense involving $100 or less was
added. (See reviser's notes under sections 641 and 645 of this title.)
This improvement was suggested by United States Attorney P. F. Herrick,
of Puerto Rico. (See reviser's note under section 641 of this title.)
Minor changes were made in phraseology.
1949 Act
This section [section 13] inserts the word, ``embezzled'' preceding
``or stolen'' near the ends of the second and fourth paragraphs of
section 659 of title 18, U.S.C., to restore the language of the original
law from which such section was derived. Also, for clarity, substitutes,
``whoever'' for ``who'' preceding ``buys'' in said fourth paragraph of
section 659.
Senate Revision Amendment
The ``corrective legislation'', referred to in this paragraph,
became Act April 16, 1947, ch. 39, 61 Stat. 52, and, as it amended
section 411 of title 18, U.S.C., such act was an additional source of
this section.
Amendments
1996--Pub. L. 104-294 substituted ``$1,000'' for ``$100'' in fifth
par.
1994--Pub. L. 103-322, in fifth par., substituted ``fined under this
title'' for ``fined not more than $5,000'' after ``Shall in each case
be'' and for ``fined not more than $1,000'' after ``he shall be''.
1966--Pub. L. 89-654 substituted ``shipments by carrier'' for
``baggage, express, or freight'' in section catchline, inserted
``pipeline system'' and ``tank or storage facility'' and substituted
``freight, express, or other property'' for ``freight or express'' in
par. 1, provided in par. 8 that the removal of property from a pipeline
system which extends interstate shall be prima facie evidence of the
interstate character of the shipment of the property, and, in par. 9,
prohibited any construction which indicated an intent on the part of
Congress to occupy the field to the exclusion of State laws or to
invalidate inconsistent State provisions.
1949--Act May 24, 1949, inserted ``embezzled or'' before ``stolen''
in second par., and substituted ``whoever'' for ``who'' before ``buys''
in fourth par.
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in sections 1961, 2516 of this title.
