D.Mass.: “Business records, as a class, are repositories of historical facts and, therefore, are largely immune from claims of staleness.”

In an ongoing drug conspiracy with money laundering, a broader time period is permitted in the business records to be seized by a warrant. “Business records, as a class, are repositories of historical facts and, therefore, are largely immune from claims of staleness.” United States v. Sliwa, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 75131 (D.Mass. June 10, 2015):

Finally, Sliwa’s suggestion that the affidavit was stale fails because the warrant sought business records, and because several of the alleged activities were long-term or ongoing. The timeliness and endurance of sought-after information depends on several factors, including the nature of the information, the nature and characteristics of the alleged criminal activity, the nature of the place to be searched, and the nature of the items delineated in the warrant. United States v. Schaefer, 87 F.3d 562, 568 (1st Cir. 1996). Where, as here, the warrant sought business records, the information is timely because “[b]usiness records, as a class, are repositories of historical facts and, therefore, are largely immune from claims of staleness.” United States v. Floyd, 740 F.3d 22, 34 (1st Cir. 2014) (citations omitted). The nature of Sliwa’s alleged activity argues against Staleness as well: Tax evasion, money laundering, and drug conspiracies “tend to be ongoing operations, rendering timely information that might, in other contexts, be regarded as stale.” Schaefer, 87 F.3d at 568.