Wittig receives 18 years; Lake gets 15

[MuseRider]

http://cjonline.com/stories/040306/bre_wittiglake.shtml

*David Wittig, former Westar Energy executive convicted of stealing millions of dollars from the Kansas utility, was sentenced to 18 years in prison today in U.S. District Court and ordered to pay nearly $15 million in fines and restitution.*

Well it isn't life but it is something.

[Mabus]

1. Had enough points for a Life Sentence

A presentence report indicated Wittig and Lake each had sufficient points under federal sentencing guidelines to be sentenced to life in prison. However, (Judge) Robinson indicated this morning that she would depart downward in the sentencings.

To aid a judge in a sentencing, a probation office official writes a presentence report that includes information about the defendant's criminal background, employment history and other data. The presentence report includes a calculation of points tied to such criteria as the amount of loss attributed to a defendant, the number of victims and other factors. The points are applied to a sentencing grid suggesting how long a defendant's sentence could be.

If Wittig or Lake were sentenced to life, it would be the first time a white-collar offender would receive such a term in connection with prosecutions by the federal Corporate Fraud Task Force, a Wittig court filing said.

To date, the 25-year term of former WorldCom Inc. chief executive officer Bernard Ebbers is the longest sentence for a white-collar criminal.

So much for sentencing guidelines, at least as they are applied to white collar criminals.

Now the next question, which federal penitentiary will Wittig serve his sentence? Since he's a white collar offender he'll probably do time at one of the Club Feds. I'd much rather he go to, as they say in Office Space, a "federal POUND ME IN THE ASS prison."

[MuseRider]

2. He is asking to be held

in the Medical Facility in Mass. ??? Something like that.

I was actually surprised that he got anything, I always figured with his connections he just might pull it off but I see Delay is pulling out so perhaps he did not have the pull he used to have.

[Mabus]

3. Federal Medical Center (FMC) Devens

The Federal Medical Center (FMC) Devens is an administrative facility housing male offenders requiring specialized or long-term medical or mental health care. FMC Devens also has a satellite camp housing minimum security male inmates.

FMC Devens is located in north central Massachusetts, approximately 39 miles west of Boston and 20 miles north of Worcester, on the decommissioned military base of Fort Devens. http://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/dev/index.jsp

Looks like he might try to claim he has a mental illness. I wonder if he's trying to claim he has a mental illness or defect which caused him to commit these crimes? Or maybe he got gold poisoning from the on his corporate jet. :shrug:


on edit: oh, I get it. He's going for the satellite minimum security prison for men. Leavenworth has a satellite for minimum security prisoners located next to the "Hot House" of the main facility.

[MuseRider]

4. Ahhh, I see.

I was a little surprised he would head back East. I guess this means Beth and the boys will be moving. I wonder how they plan to unload a multi million dollar mansion in Topeka in this economic climate? LOL.

[Mabus]

5. They are counting on appeals process right now

$4 million in renovations and the place is appraised at less than $2 million. I remember reading that there were catered breaks for the workers. :eyes:

Published Thursday, January 5, 2006

Wittig can keep home
But judge rules against $4 million in renovations

By Steve Fry
The Capital-Journal

David Wittig won't have to give up the Alf Landon Mansion or hundreds of thousands of dollars in art and furnishings prosecutors say he bought with ill-gotten gains, a federal judge has ruled.

Instead, U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson said in a ruling filed Tuesday that Wittig will have to forfeit $4 million -- the value of renovations Wittig made to the mansion with a line of credit that used Westar Energy stock and other collateral tied to Wittig's fraud of Westar. The mansion itself has been appraised at less than $2 million.

******

The judge this week also approved an "occupancy order" allowing the Wittig family to live in the Landon Mansion for a year or until Wittig's appeals on this case are finished, whichever is later. That could be years. The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has yet to rule on Wittig's federal convictions in July 2003 linked to a bank loan conspiracy.

The occupancy order agreement between prosecutors and Wittig's attorneys specifies that the family must maintain the property, make loan payments, pay utility bills, insure the mansion at the appraised value, allow U.S. marshals to inspect the property and not to alter it.

I wonder why he didn't ask about the minimum security facility at Leavenworth. It would be closer to home. Most prisoners want to be incarcerated close to home in hopes that it will be easier for family to visit. When I worked with prisoners in Leavenworth I met a number of their family members who moved to be closer to their loved one. Unless this is part of some strategy to allow him to remain free and at home for his appeals rather than being shipped halfway across the country to begin serving his sentence.

I saw from the Bureau of Prisons website that Devens currently has 129 inmates. According to some one of the sources I found (link in next sentence) the capacity of Devens is 120. These links give you an idea of what Wittig can expect when he finally makes it to prison: http://www.prisontalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=92195&highlight=devens and http://www.prisontalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=49061&highlight=FMC+Devens

I also found this on the Bureau of Prison's legal guide website (PDF document):

Most BOP institutions employ at least one full-time psychiatrist or psychologist to provide mental health screenings and treatment to inmates. Many inmates can be treated on an outpatient basis. Male inmates who need inpatient treatment are referred to one of several psychiatric referral centers, located in Rochester, Minnesota; Springfield, Missouri; Butner, North Carolina; Devens, Massachusetts; and Carswell Air Force Base, Texas. The Federal Medical Center in Carswell, Texas, treats only female inmates.

Several important principles govern the care and treatment of inmates who suffer from mental disease or defect. For example, patients are medicated only after less restrictive alternatives have been considered. When medication is necessary, the lowest effective dose is administered. Except in emergency situations, psychiatric medicine is not given against the will of the patient unless the patient has been involuntarily committed pursuant to a court order or is subject to a court order specifically allowing involuntary treatment.

Psychiatric medication may be administered involuntarily in emergency situations (i.e., when an inmate becomes an immediate threat to himself and/or others because of a psychiatric illness or mental defect). This may be done only if psychiatric medication is the appropriate treatment for the illness and if less restrictive alternatives (such as seclusion, physical restraint, and minor tranquilizers) would not be effective. Inmates who are given emergency treatment of this type will be immediately referred to a
psychiatric referral center.

Seclusion and medical restraints may be used solely for medical reasons — never for behavior modification or punishment. They may be used only in the most extreme situations, and all restraint and seclusion orders must be renewed at least every 24 hours. http://www.bop.gov/news/PDFs/legal_guide.pdf

[Scout1071]

6. YES! What a prick.

He was a totally asshole to me once upon a time.