THE GIUDICE SENTENCE: In the 1990s, I filmed some segments for EXTRA on NBC called Crimes and Misdemeanors where I gave my professional opinion as to sentences that celebrities received in criminal cases. Well, its 2014 and no one has asked my opinion as to the Teresa GIUDICE sentence, so I will just volunteer my opinion. Teresa and her husband, Joe, began their life of crime in 2004 when they began applying for a series of loans by falsely stating their jobs, incomes and assets. Succinctly, between 2004 and 2009, Joe and Teresa claimed to be the owners/manager of various construction companies and obtained approximately 13 million dollars in fraudulent loans and home equity lines of credit, using false and doctored un-filed income tax returns and other false financial documentation. When they could no longer keep up the charade, they filed for bankruptcy in October 2009. A smart bankruptcy trustee (a lawyer, of course) uncovered all their criminal schemes and they were indicted and subsequently plead guilty). If they went to trial and were convicted their guideline sentence would be up to 20 years. By pleading guilty, Joes guideline sentence was 37-45 months and Teresas was 12-24 months. (These were federal crimes and there are Guidelines sentences that federal judges must follow, absent a downward departure, which is rare. There are no such guidelines in most state courts, including New York and New Jersey. The judge went right down the middle for Joe who got 41 months. Teresa fared better. She got 15 months. This means that Joe will serve 33 months and Teresa will serve 12 months in jail. (In the federal system, you generally do 80% of the sentence before you are paroled. In most states, you do only 67%). This sentence was not easy. It was not harsh. It was very fair and right on the money. The only part of the sentence that is not fair is that the sentences are staggered so as to allow either Joe or Teresa to be home with their four children. Why? If they werent celebrities (if thats what they are) it is my opinion that they would both be in jail TOGETHER. But other than that, one cannot find fault with the sentences. Kudos to the judge for not allowing the circus like atmosphere to influence the sentence. Its the same sentence anyone else would have received The restitution was very minimal. $414,000 for Joe and $50,000 for Teresa. But thats fair since their bankruptcy was denied and they will lose everything they have anyway since they still owe the creditors 13 million dollars. And Joe still faces deportation which will be dealt with when he comes up for parole. My prediction? Again, no one asked, so I will volunteer my opinion. No deportation since it wasnt a violent crime or a crime of moral turpitude.
Posted on: Sat, 04 Oct 2014 01:31:56 +0000
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