Judge gives crack dealer reduced sentence; says inner-city kids are "persecuted" and "scapegoated"
September 27, 2006News & Politics
Now he'll play golf for six years. Less with good behavior.
Nah. That would never happen.
Ex-Enron CFO Andrew Fastow Sentenced to 6 Years in Prison:
Andrew Fastow, Enron's former chief financial officer, received a 6-year prison sentence today for his role in the 2001 demise of the energy company.
Fastow's sentence had been limited to no more than 10 years in prison as part of his plea agreement to testify in the trial against Enron top executives Jeff Skilling and Ken Lay. US District Judge Kenneth Hoyt had the option to shorten that sentence.
Hoyt said he showed mercy for several reasons, including that Fastow had provided help to the shareholders; that Fastow was persecuted and scapegoated after Enron collapsed; and because of the suffering Fastow's family endured, specifically pointing to the fact that his wife went to jail.
[Fastow attorney John] Keker noted Fastow had brought humiliation and shame on his family, particularly his wife, and has been "dehumanized," the target of hatred and anti-Semitism.I'm sure he was quite contrite; one gets that way facing a 78-count indictment (he pled to two). Let's not forget that Fastow came up with the idea that if you sell notes backed by crappy loans you can take the loans off the balance sheet while raising cash, and that when he was with the Continental Illinois National Bank and Trust Company -- long before his days at Enron -- he helped bring about one of the great crashes in the S and L scandal, costing taxpayers and shareholders billions.
Now he'll play golf for six years. Less with good behavior.
