What a holiday treat for assorted crooks. President Bush on Thursday issued the pardons -- and a commutation of sentence -- for crimes involving drugs, bank fraud, kickbacks and conspiracy. According to
The Associated Press:
Seven of the 16 received no prison or jail time, instead getting probation or a reduction in their military pensions.
The longest sentence was nine years, for aiding cocaine distribution, followed by a six-year term for conspiracy to possess marijuana.
With this batch, Bush has issued 113 pardons and commuted three sentences in his nearly six years in the White House, according to spokesman Tony Fratto.
Who got lucky? The AP reports:
•Charles James Allen of Winchester, Virginia, conspiracy to defraud the United States. A former federal employee, Allen was convicted in 1979 for approving payments to James Hilles Associates Inc., a Virginia firm, for office supplies that were never delivered. In return, Allen received car parts, a radio, a freezer and other gifts from the firm. He was sentenced to a year of custody to be served by 30 days in jail, 90 days in a work-release program, and the remaining period on parole.
•William Sidney Baldwin Sr. of Green Pond, South Carolina, conspiracy to possess marijuana. Sentenced October 27, 1981, to six years' imprisonment.
•Timothy Evans Barfield of Cary, North Carolina, aiding and abetting false statements on a Small Business Administration loan application. Sentenced July 17, 1989, to three years' probation, including 96 hours of community service.
•Clyde Philip Boudreaux of Thibodaux, Louisiana, borrowing money from enlisted men, accepting a non-interest-bearing loan from a government contractor and signing and swearing to a false affidavit. Sentenced December 2, 1975, to a Navy reprimand, loss of numbers on the promotion list and a $1,000 fine.
•Marie Georgette Ginette Briere of Gatineau, Quebec, possession of cocaine with intent to distribute. Sentenced July 9, 1982, to three years' imprisonment and three years' special parole.
•Dale C. Critz Jr., Savannah, Georgia, making a false statement. Sentenced July 13, 1989, to three years' probation.
•Mark Alan Eberwine of San Antonio, Texas, conspiracy to defraud the United States by impeding, impairing and obstructing the assessment of taxes by the Internal Revenue Service and making false declarations to the grand jury. Sentenced February 1, 1985, as amended April 23, 1986, to two years' imprisonment.
•Colin Earl Francis of Naugatuck, Connecticut, accepting a kickback. Sentenced May 7, 1993, to two years' probation and a $2,500 fine.
•George Thomas Harley of Albuquerque, New Mexico, aiding and abetting the distribution of cocaine. Sentenced November 30, 1984, to nine years' imprisonment and five years' special parole.
•Patricia Ann Hultman, of Kane, Pennsylvania, conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute cocaine and other controlled substances. Sentenced October 28, 1985, to one year of imprisonment.
•Eric William Olson of Ojai, California, conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, possession with intent to distribute, possession, and use of hashish. Sentenced February 21, 1984, by an Army general court-martial to confinement at hard labor for one year, reduction in pay grade, forfeiture of all pay and allowances and a bad conduct discharge.
•Thomas R. Reece of Cumming, Georgia, violating the Internal Revenue Code pertaining to alcohol. Sentenced May 2, 1969, to one year of imprisonment.
•Larry Gene Ross of Indio, California, making false statements in a bank loan application. Sentenced August 15, 1989, to four years' probation and $7,654.20 in restitution.
•Jearld David Swanner of Lexington, Oklahoma, making false statements in a bank loan application. Sentenced December 6, 1991, to three years' probation.
•James Walter Taylor of McCrory, Arkansas, bank fraud. Sentenced October 18, 1991, to 90 days in jail, followed by two years and nine months' probation.
•Janet Theone Upton of Salinas, California, mail fraud. Sentenced May 23, 1975, to two years' unsupervised probation.
Bush also commuted the sentence of Phillip Anthony Emmert of Washington, Iowa, whose case involved conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
Emmert was sentenced December 23, 1992, to 262 months' imprisonment (reduced on February 21, 1996) and five years' supervised release.
Presidential prerogative.
6 comments:
Your last line says it all, but remember when Bill announced his pardons? The R's were all bent outta shape over those, especially the drug cases.
Do you think the same people will cry foul over these names? Not bloody likely.
GDub better save the best one for the lyin' eyes looking straight at him from the mirror.
I agree that the Republicans that throw a fit over President Clinton's pardons should also be upset with these. If they are not then they are being hypocritical. The Democrats that held the banner of the Presidential Prerogative for President Clinton also should proudly display it for President Bush. Hypocrisy can run both ways.
By the way, I do not think Ron is being at all hypocritical. He is simply stating what happened. He simply calls it Presidential Prerogative.
It appears that the second name on the list, Dale Critz, has also contributed money to the Republican National Committee.
Campaign Contributor Pardoned
Both sides should be offended, by Bush's pardons and Clinton's.
That's called "bipartisanship". I learned that watching Sesame Street. Hey, I was off work and had a couple of adult beverages, and wanted to get some of my PBS tax dollar investment...
By the way: Merry Christmas.
I am sure that presidential pardons and commutations are used for political purposes,and, like everything else, are abused. Certainly, I have no warm and fuzzy feelings for this corrupt administration. But the notion that a "criminal is a criminal" and deserves whatever punishment some appointed judge dealt out is just wrong. Eligibility for a presidential pardon is actually quite difficult; you can't just be a contributor or a party member to meet it. It might be helpful to remember that federal prosecutors seek indictments in all kinds of weird cases -- for acts that you voters might not agree are worthy of having your tax dollars spent on prosecuting. And federal sentences for drug offenses are ridiculously high.
Before you condemn the process, you ought at least to know about the individual circumstances of each case. Then you can make a judgment. But pardons/commutations are not, in and of themselves, bad things.
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