Ex-Jabil exec won't go to prison

[DoYouEverWonder]

November 21, 2006

TAMPA - Patrick Henry Stewart, a Tampa executive who blamed the antidepressant Paxil for his embezzling, won't be going to prison after all.

Stewart, who methodically stole $1.8-million from ex-employer Jabil Circuit over a two-year period before a subordinate caught on, was sentenced Monday to 12 months of home confinement and five years' probation. The U.S. Attorney's Office had recommended he spend 41 to 51 months behind bars.

U.S. District Court Judge James Moody Jr. said it served no one's interest to send Stewart, a father of two young girls and an older stepdaughter, to prison. He also said he believed the 42-year-old's last-ditch medical claim that he was not wholly responsible for his crime. Studies show that Paxil can cause people with bipolar disorder - Stewart's case was recently diagnosed - to behave in bizarre, arrogant and uncontrollable ways.

<snip>

In August, Stewart agreed to plead guilty to wire fraud charges in exchange for the U.S. attorney's recommendation of a reduced sentence. Last week, however, attorney Kevin Darken requested a further reduction based on the Paxil defense. The argument was bolstered by testimony from three psychiatrists, including the psychiatric research director of the University of South Florida medical school, that Stewart probably knew his actions were wrong but was unable to control them. Family members and a neighbor said Stewart changed significantly after taking Paxil.

http://www.sptimes.com/2006/11/21/Business/Ex_Jabil_exec_won_t_g.shtml

Give me a break!

[DoYouEverWonder]

1. This is the same judge on the Sami Al-Arian case

Al-Arian still sits in jail despite a plea deal that was to allow him to leave the county, yet this guy walks.

[badgervan]

2. Wow

Looks like we have a new designer "disease" to excuse criminal acts. So this guy essentially walks, while some poor nobody ( actually, many nobodies )with no connection(s) is probably doing 5 to 10 for possession. Unbelievable. Once again, money and connections talk.

[DoYouEverWonder]

3. If you're a Muslim - you're a liar and a master manipulator

if you're white and rich, you walk.

A federal judge yesterday lambasted a former Florida college professor, Sami Al-Arian, as a liar and "master manipulator," before sentencing him to nearly five years in prison for providing support to a Middle Eastern terrorist group, Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Under a plea deal finalized last month, Al-Arian, 48, agreed to admit guilt and accept a possible sentence of 46 to 57 months and eventual deportation from America. Prosecutors agreed to join defense attorneys in recommending a sentence at the low end of the range, but the judge, James Moody Jr., ignored those suggestions and imposed the maximum sentence allowed by the plea bargain.

http://powerlineblog.com/archives/013947.php