Former Council Member and Lawmaker Tamaya Dennard released from Federal Prison early
JUL 12, 2022 | REPUBLISHED BY LIT: JULY 14, 2022
CINCINNATI (WKRC) – Former Cincinnati City Council member Tamaya Dennard is now home after serving less than a year in federal prison.
Dennard is now beginning her three-year probation while living with her mother.
The FBI arrested Dennard in February 2020 for accepting $15,000 as part of a scheme to exchange her votes for money.
Later that year, she pleaded guilty to wire fraud and got an 18-month sentence.
She reported to Alderson Federal Prison in West Virginia last year with a release set for September 2022.
Earlier this year, Dennard applied for early release due to a foot infection.
Her attorney says she’s not sure whether the Bureau of Prisons ultimately released Dennard early due to the medical condition or because of COVID protocol.
Dennard’s was the first of three recent City Council corruption arrests.
Jeff Pastor and P.G. Sittenfeld both pleaded not guilty.
A jury convicted Sittenfeld last week. Pastor’s case is pending.
Only one year and a day in jailhttps://t.co/6gwIrlMdav
More like ankle bracelet and home confinement knowin’ what we’ve seen in the recent past:
Tax Preparer Pritesh ‘Tony’ Patel Was Sentenced to 72 Months Custody Per Court Order.
He Contests This Fact. https://t.co/DLiX6XiOrM— lawsinusa (@lawsinusa) July 12, 2022
Paige Carter-Smith out of federal prison, records show
JUL 13, 2022 | REPUBLISHED BY LIT: JULY 14, 2022
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – Paige Carter-Smith, who was indicted alongside a Tallahassee city commissioner in the FBI’s probe of city politics, has been released from federal prison less than a year after her sentencing.
The Bureau of Prisons website shows Carter-Smith is out of the Marianna federal prison where she has been since Nov. 2021.
She is now in a residential re-entry program based out of Orlando, the BOP website indicates.
Carter-Smith was at one point the city’s Downtown Improvement Authority Executive Director.
She was indicted on 44 counts, including racketeering, fraud, bribery and extortion, with former City Commissioner Scott Maddox in Dec. 2018.
The two pleaded guilty to honest services fraud and tax fraud conspiracy in Aug. 2019.
They both testified against JT Burnette, a developer who was also indicted in the FBI probe, in a trial that was delayed numerous times throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
Carter-Smith and Maddox were sentenced to two and five years, respectively, in Sept. 2021.
What’s the cost to BUY a federal judge position in Texas? Anywhere from $30k (Jim and Allyson Ho – cheap 2 for one deal) to $75k (Charles Eskridge) https://t.co/KLr09Y8qNC
@thesundaytimes @Pontifex @IrishTimes @joerogan @elonmusk @SamsungUS @10DowningStreet @NGRPresident #Texas pic.twitter.com/8232ZotZKP— lawsinusa (@lawsinusa) March 28, 2022
Ex-UAW execs convicted of corruption get out of prison early
JUL 21, 2022 | REPUBLISHED BY LIT: JULY 22, 2022
DETROIT — Two former presidents of the United Auto Workers, each convicted of corruption at the union, were released early from prison after less than a year in custody, a newspaper reported Wednesday.
Gary Jones, who was sentenced to 28 months, was released to home confinement in June after roughly nine months in prison, The Detroit News reported. He must wear an electronic tether in Corsicana, Texas.
His predecessor at the UAW, Dennis Williams of Corona, California, was released from prison in March after nine months. He had been sentenced to nearly two years in custody.
Jones and Williams acknowledged they had used union funds for golf trips, expensive meals and stays at California villas.
The U.S. Bureau of Prisons has discretion to release some people early under a 2018 law. Separately, Jones and Williams would have trimmed their sentences with good behavior.
“Gary Jones was treated the same way as any other federal inmate who met the requirements for release to home confinement under the First Step Act,” Jones attorney Bruce Maffeo said. “BOP made its decision based on a number of factors, including Jones’ age, general health, lack of any prior criminal record and his good behavior while incarcerated.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Detroit said it wasn’t told that Jones and Williams were going to be placed on home confinement.
UAW members from across the U.S. are meeting in Detroit next week to nominate candidates for union leadership. A national election will be held in the fall, a direct result of the government’s corruption investigation.
Texas Consumer Protection Laws Violated for Decades by Lawyers and their Entities in Texas. What’s Your Purpose Lawmakers @TexasHouse and Texas Govt @texasgov? Control citizens but not your fellow lawyers? It sure looks that way and the data is horrific. #txlege #appellatetwitter pic.twitter.com/bDsZxf0UHO
— lawsinusa (@lawsinusa) July 11, 2022
New U.S. Rule Lets Federal Inmates Earn Credits for Early Release
JAN 13, 2022 | REPUBLISHED BY LIT: JULY 14, 2022
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Federal inmates who successfully participate in recidivism-reduction programs will qualify for early release from prison under new rules unveiled on Thursday by the U.S. Justice Department.
The rules, mandated by Congress in a 2018 federal law called the First Step Act, allow inmates to earn 10 to 15 days of “time credits” shaved off their sentence for every 30 days of participation in certain programs or activities offered to them by the federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP).
By earning those credits, they can qualify to be released early into halfway houses or home confinement. In some cases, inmates can also earn up to 12 months of credit that would be applied toward supervised release.
The new rule will apply retroactively, allowing inmates to earn credits from prior participation in programs since Dec. 21, 2018, when the First Step Act became law.
The Justice Department faced criticism over its original proposal on how it would implement the federal time credits rule, with federal defenders saying the Bureau of Prisons’ menu of available programs was too limited and the number of hours required to complete them would make it too hard for inmates to earn credits.
“The math speaks for itself,” federal defenders wrote in a January 2021 letter to the bureau. “It would take 219 weeks, or over 4 years to earn a full year of credit under the BOP’s proposed rule.”
Criminal justice advocates who lobbied for the First Step Act’s passage lauded the new finalized rule on Thursday, saying it is now in line with what Congress intended.
“Today’s announcement is relief for thousands of people who have done the hard work to turn their lives around, and rejoin their families and communities as productive, law-abiding citizens,” Holly Harris, the president of Justice Action Network, said in a statement.
Tax Preparer Pritesh ‘Tony’ Patel Was Sentenced to 72 Months Custody Per Court Order. He Contests This Fact.
Federal Prison Sentences and Home Confinement. Maverick felon Pritesh Patel states I have NEVER been to jail as your caption suggests.
The Story of Former Nashville Judge Casey Moreland Jailed, Disbarred and Stripped of Pension
Casey Moreland resigned from the General Sessions bench in 2017, after federal authorities arrested him on an array of corruption charges.
Elder Abuse: Finchin’ in Lynchburg Gets Former Elder Law Lawyer 2 Years in the Pen.
Thieving, Lying Virginia Lawyer Cherie Washburn pleaded guilty wire fraud and making a false statement to a mortgage lender.
