A White-Collar Sentence of 330 Years
A federal judge sentenced 72-year-old Norman Schmidt last week to a mind-bending 330-year prison sentence after he was found guilty last May of a laundry list of conspiracy and fraud charges. Barring a scientific breakthrough in cryogenic technology, Schmidt will spend the rest of his days behind bars.
"When I first saw the headline, I said, 'Is that right—years? They must mean months,' " says Douglas Berman, a sentencing expert and law professor at Ohio State University. Berman, who has written about the sentence on his blog, calls it the longest he has seen since the Supreme Court ruled that federal sentencing guidelines were advisory—rather than mandatory—in 2005.
Prison terms for white-collar offenders have trended higher in recent years. The increase is rooted in the implementation of federal sentencing guidelines intended to establish parity between "crime in the streets and crime in the suites," Berman says, and the Department of Justice has pushed for tougher sentences in the aftermath of Enron and other recent white-collar scandals.
Judges now focus more on the offense—and less on the offender—when sentencing white-collar convicts. As a result, they effectively tally up the amount of losses and number of victims to calculate a punishment, Berman says.
The math did not work out well for Schmidt.
According to the Department of Justice, hundreds of investors gave Schmidt tens of millions of dollars. Schmidt and others said they would invest the money and promised monthly returns of between 2 and 200 percent.
But instead, Schmidt and others used the money for different purposes. During the course of the investigation, federal agents seized cash in roughly 60 bank accounts, property, eight NASCAR racecars, and one racing truck.
Under the terms of the sentence, Schmidt would be released from prison in 2338. "Then again," Berman says in his blog post, "with 15 percent good-time credit, Schmidt may be able to get out as early as the year 2289."
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330 years
"He should have just killed a few folks instead."
Yep, next person in his shoes will see that there's essentially no incremental penalty for killing a few dozen witnesses to the fraud. It's sad that the mandatory sentencing crowd doesn't see how they're encouraging violent crime, by insisting on its parity with nonviolent.
330 years
I think the judge has it right. If it was murder he was interested in, he'd have already done it. The damage he's done to others is extreme and the actions some may take because of their losses may amount to murder by this criminal. Work hard, save, then lose it all to this poor excuse for a human...
His age isn't a consideration in the sentencing; better to make sure he's punished and never has any opportunity to enjoy a retirement when he's destroyed the life's work of so many others.
330 years
I guess stealing millions of dollars is worse than taking someone's life. On the other hand, many folks wouldn't or couldn't see the differnce between the two. Bottom line, I think it is good white collar crimes are being taken more seriously. You have to figure at 72 this guy has probably been at the game for quite a while.
Good Riddance to Bad Rubbish
Men like this are entrusted with the fruits of mens labor; it's a sacred trust.
When you willfully steal or destroy the savings and investments of others; the product of their lifes work, you are stealing their years.
Those who violate this trust are scum and deserve no less than a gunshot between the eyes.
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330 Years
He should have just killed a few folks instead.
Or sold a few tons of crack.
Would have been given a lighter sentence.
Stupid judges.
May 08, 2008 13:40:42 PM [permalink] [report comment]