A wheel conspiracy involves an individual (or small group) – the hub, who transacts illegal dealings with the various other individuals – the spokes. The most common evidentiary issue in a wheel conspiracy is whether the separate transactions between the hub and individual spokes can be merged to form a single conspiracy.
In contrast, the chain conspiracy usually involves several layers of personnel dealing with a single subject matter, as opposed to a specific person. . . . A single conspiracy can be proven if each link knew or must have known of the other links in the chain, and if each defendant intended to join and aid the larger enterprise.
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Perhaps a more accurate way to visualize a complex conspiracy case would be to view it as a three-dimensional organic chemistry molecule with each part interacting continuously with another thereby forming and adhering to the whole, for a common purpose.
People v. Macklowitz, 135 Misc. 2d 232, 236-237 (N.Y. Misc., 1987)
…and I thought I was done with three dimensional modeling…