Plugged In at the Earle Cabell, Awaiting Sentencing in City Hall Corruption Case

By Jim Schutze Fri., Feb. 26 2010 at 9:04 AM

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Danny Fulgencio

Well, we'll see what happens today here at the federal courthouse, where we await the first round of sentencings in the Dallas City Hall corruption trial. I am upstairs from the courtroom in the "overflow room" set up for media by Judge Barbara Lynn -- what we would have called the press room in the old days, but now I guess now everybody would think that must be a place to get your suit pressed. You know. What press?

So far the crowd up here is sparse. The only person here when I came in at about 20 minutes before 9 was Jason Trahan, the Morning News guy who is always here ahead of time and sticks around after everybody else vamooses. He was explaining to me that these sentencing hearings can run long. Witnesses testify to the character of the defendants, good, bad or iffy.

The logic running beneath all of this is a point system that is supposed to determine where the sentences fall within a spectrum of possible sentences already determined by the judge. That guideline has been sealed -- a secret -- until this morning. So I guess we will at least learn what the lows and highs are in terms of possible sentences.

Federal sentences are serious. State court sentences you to 120 years, you might serve six.

Federal court sentences you to 20, you serve a good 15 anyway.

I wonder if Dallas will make The New York Times today.

(As usual, running updates in the comments.)

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LEE SENTENCED!!! http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/2010/02/judge_sentences_dangelo_lee_to.php
I meant "me."
Y'all are makin' be hungry.
Sam, Dominoes delivers, and they have an I-app
Lynn: �It was agonizing to hear what went on.�
You can't just have Spicoli deliver you a pizza up there to enjoy during "our time"?
Lynn: �I don�t think that this case, horrible as it is, justifies a life sentence.�
Robert, tell that imaginary intern, which apparently is me, to bring a sleeping bag with that dinner.
"Money and Corruption Are ruining the land. Crooked politicians Betray the working man, Pocketing the profits And treating us like sheep, And we're tired of hearing promises That we know they'll never keep."
Not sure what the hell Chad Meacham is talking about, but he just mentioned that juries didn�t leave courtrooms on 9/11. Very. Weird. Stuff.
Now what the heck is that supposed to mean, Shultz?
Greene: �The only net he got caught in is what ever ethics they had going on.� �This is a one time blip on the radar for Mr. Lee.� Now, the government.
I thought Sam was an intern.
The words �former chief of Enron� just came out of Greene�s mouth, prompting Lynn to say, �Let me stop you right there.� Translation: Don�t waste my time with that bullshit, buddy.
Tarry a little, there is something else. This bond doth give thee here no jot of blood; The words expressly are "a pound of flesh."
Sales of The Accomodation expected to double in coming days to two. At Half-Price. Now, Jim, if only you could get the book back from John Wiley Price. http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/2009/12/behind_the_constables_investig.php And, no, Sam. But do tell the judge to wrap it up. I'm hungry too.
Hey, Robert, is there an intern available to bring me dinner?
Truly sad.
Doug Greene: �A life sentence in this case is simply unwarranted.�
Well, at least he hasn't said he was just running with the wrong crowd.
He seems not to be embarassed that he did damnable things--only that you can read about them on the Internet. He's not sorry he did what he did--he's only sorry that he got caught. How many times do you think a Federal Judge has heard that line?
Lee wraps up: �I am broken. I am contrite about all that has happened in my life.�
�I made intentional efforts not to find myself in this place.� Yet he offers no explanation as to how he got here. Uh, oh. He just said he refused becoming a plan commissioner for nine months after reading Schutze�s The Accomodation. But he got pulled in by a respectable lawyer and politician (Hill, of course), along with a group of pastors urging him to take the position. Is Lynn supposed to feel sorry for him?
�Every damnable thing you can know about me is on the Internet.� That's probably true for many of us.
�Every damnable thing you can know about me is on the Internet.� Not sure how sorry Lynn feels for him on that one.
"The law of the wise is a fountain of life" "The welfare of the people is supreme" "Right lives by law and law subsists by power" "Poise the cause in justice equal scales" "Moses gave unto the people the laws of God" "London shall have all its ancient rights"
Lee is pulling himself together, talking about how his friends have been �shot down like dogs in the streets,� yet he stayed away from gangs and drugs. �I never had a drink until I was in college.�
Lee is breaking down, sniffling.
�I thought I got all my tears out,� Lee says. �I don�t know how I got in this place.� �I don�t have a criminal bone in my body.�
Lynn to Lee, who�s crying: �I know you�re having a hard day. I can appreciate that. If you need to pause at any time, let me know.�
Programming note: Once Lee is sentenced, we'll be moving on to a new blog entry. I'll letcha know when that happens.
Five-minute break. Then Lee takes the stand.
Toska Medlock Lee, Lee�s wife, read a statement, in which she referred to him as �a man who made a mistake� and asked for a fair sentence. �The absence of their father has greatly affected all of us,� she says of Lee�s time in jail thus far.
Jim, you miss it here! Admit it! C'mon down. I'm sure we've got at least another hour to go. Brett promises to let you try on his cowboy boots, and Sandra has something wet in her bag with your name on it.
Randolph: �I saw him take time to help other men and women. It didn�t matter what color they were. It didn�t matter how much money they had.�
Darwin Randolph, who�s known Lee for over 20 years, says he�s known Lee as an honest, loving person. �I wrestled for a while with coming and saying anything today.�
Sounds like a lot of folks in denial.
max all their bottoms and call it a day. It is time for judge LYNN to stop pretending this idiot is worthy of one more min. of the courts time.
Lee�s mother: �D�Angelo is a man of integrity.� Something weird about the stars and the ground. �Young people would always look up to D�Angelo.� �Whatever happened, I know he�s sorry about it.�
Something about press rooms always reminds me of Dickens and the Old Bailey.
Moffitt to Lynn: �Do what Jesus did and simply say, �I�m going to give him a second chance.��
Everyone in the overflow room is laughing at Moffitt talking about �the character and the heart� of Lee.
Cathy Moffitt of Heartfelt International Ministries is testifying for Lee. http://www.heartfeltintlministries.com/
Lying in Federal Court only get you 4 years?
Lynn agrees to add enhancements for Don Hill being a �organizer� and Lee being a �leader� of the conspiracy, dismissing my reporting, which revealed that a juror (Nedra Frazier) didn�t believe that Hill in fact was the mastermind. This puts the years for both Hill and Lee at the maximum of 43, with Sheila at 36. Again, she has yet to sentence anyone.
Lynn says she�ll add obstruction (and four years to the 38 for the dough) to Don Hill�s sentence, claiming he made statements on the stand that were �false and knowingly so.�
True, Sam. Sure will be interesting to see how much she varies from the guidelines.How much can they get for the perjury enhancements if imposed?
Ray Jackson is scrambling to convince Lynn that Hill didn�t perjure himself, but given her statement about Bush impeaching the heck out of his client, it appears to be a lost cause.
Remember, Bubba, these are just estimates based on the dollar amounts. Lynn was using federal sentencing guidelines to come up with those numbers. I doubt they'll be sentenced to that much time.
Lynn says the relationship between Don and Sheila is material because some people may have been giving Sheila business because of her relationship with Don. �Not to put to fine a point on it, but Mr. Busch impeached the heck out of Mr. Hill on it,� she says.
38 years? That'll keep 'em busy for awhile.
Lynn mentions Don Hill�s testimony about not knowing that Darren Reagan would be at Friendship-West as an example of statements that belie material facts in the case, which in this case was a wiretap between Hill and Reagan in which they agreed to meet at the church.
Now Sarah Saldana is arguing about perjury enhancements.
Holy crap. I�m getting massive tired head with all the additions and subtractions to the dollar figures. Somehow Don Hill is on the hook for $4,821,950, but I can�t explain how she came up with that number. Lynn also said she�s got Don calculated for 38 years regarding that dough. Lee: $4,826,950 and 38 years. Sheila: $1,731,950 and 20 years.
What kind of engagement could possibly be more important than your sentencing in federal court? Over-seas flight?
What kind of engagement could possibly be more important than your sentencing in federal court?
I assumed as much from your reports. I followed the investigation and trial closely too. From my perspective, between the physical evidence and wire taps, and with Potashnik pleading guilty and turning, the outcome could only have been different if the defense managed to seat at least one "OJ" type of juror. A few hung juries and a mountain becomes a mole hill.
Lots of dollar amounts related to each count being discussed by Lynn at this point, which she'll use in her her sentencing.
This case wasn't close. I disagree. As someone who covered the trial closely, I thought everyone except Lee had a chance of being found not guilty.
With the exception of Lee, they will probably report to the clink at a future date.
If they get sentenced today, does that mean they will get hauled off to the clink right after the sentence is read? Or do they get to go home and kiss their wives and have a nice breakfast and a fire sale on all their expensive suits first?
60 for Hill, 40 for Farrington, 50 for Lee
I answer to anything but Schlitz, because I think that one is unfair.
Lynn says she'll sentence Lee first because he's got someplace to be. Bad day to have something else scheduled, D'Angelo.
He actually said "whatever his name is" in court, in front of the judge??? Stunning!
Sam, its often said by attorneys that only close cases actually go to trial. This case wasn't close. The fact that these defendants went to trial instead of plea bargaining is a reflection on their attorneys....so I'm not surprised they can't recall party names after all this time.
Lynn explains to Doug Greene, D�Angelo Lee�s attorney, how to pronounce the last names of Rickey Robertson and Jibreel Rashad. Then Greene proceeded to refer to Robertson as �Robinson, Robertson or whatever his name is.� After a three month trial, you�d think the guy could remember the names of the co-defendants. Geez.
8 for Sheila, 10 for Don- care to wager some money Warren?
I say 20 years for Don, 15 for Sheila. 20 for D'Angelo too if you want to go for the trifecta.
Mureen gets Sherman to say that only $5,000 paid to BSEAT flowed into Sheila�s bank account. And the only two documents connecting Sheila to BSEAT found at her apartment were brought there by Don Hill. �One would infer that, yes.� Sherman said. Mureen asks: What was her role in the conspiracy? Sherman pauses and then says she served as Don�s mistress and laundered money. Yet Mureen corners him by saying if she served as a money launderer for BSEAT, how come only $5,000 went through her bank account? Sherman looks uneasy.
Thanks Jean...I skipped that story thinking it was about surplus DISD property.
Lynn: �I�m going to announce my sentencing today.�
@Wanna Know: http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/2010/02/so_now_you_can_yell_scoreboard.php
40 for Hill, 8 for Sheila.
So....what's the over/under action on the sentences?
@Wanna Know: I think a long time ago Jim gave up trying to convince people that his name is acutally pronounced "Shoots," so he pretty much just lets people take their best shot and goes along with it. I can identify with it as many folks think my last name is "Martin" or "Burton," but I am no Schutze.
Lots of rehashing of old info regarding BSEAT, contracts, etc. It seems unlikely that Lynn will decide anything today.
Sam Merten says: "Sandra Crenshaw...referred to Jim as "Shultz." Sam...is she disenfranchising Jim...or merely disrespecting him?
You mean it's NOT "Shultz"?
Jon Mureen, Sheila�s other attorney, just asked Sherman if Fisher or Rashad ever mentioned Sheila�s name. �No.� Any documents or anything else proving that she was involved with RA-MILL? �No.�
Sandra Crenshaw just moved her working station right next to me and referred to Jim as "Shultz." Jim, please, for the love of God, let her know how to say your name!
FBI Agent Don Sherman is back on the stand, and he and Assistant U.S. Attorney Chad Meacham are talking about the �surprise� birthday party donations for Hill and how it will be calculated in the sentencing. Ray Jackson, Don Hill�s attorney, is arguing that the birthday party wasn�t part of any extortion scheme because Bill Fisher didn�t donate to the birthday party, yet some of his projects were ultimately approved. Lynn says the government will argue that Fisher�s projects were delayed and only were approved when he paid money in other forms.
Ms. Crenshaw's comments show why the southern sector has the leadership it does.
Miles of Sheila: �She�s a very outspoken person. A very generous person.� She agrees that Sheila has an extraordinary level of care and concern when asked by Vital.
Eva Miles is now testifying. She says she met Sheila in 2002 at City Hall. Miles runs a teen shelter called Texas Teen Summit. She says Sheila got people to donate computers, collected food and has worked very closely with the shelter, even when she was on trial. http://texasteensummit.com/
The young woman (Brianna?) says of Sheila: �She�s a good person. She cares. � Her heart is pure.�
Didn�t catch her name, but a young woman is testifying on behalf of Sheila, calling her a �caring and loving person,� who reached out to her at Concord Missionary Baptist Church after the woman had some troubles with the law.
I just spoke with Victor Vital, Sheila Hill�s attorney, who said he expects things to drag on until 5 p.m., and a decision by Lynn could be punted to a later date at this pace. I then spent about 15 minutes with Sheila, who said she hasn�t discussed a best-case scenario with Vital regarding her sentencing. She said she continues to focus on her appeal, which Vital has assured her that she has a good chance of winning, and her Christian faith has helped her through the months since her conviction.
Good grief, no one ran last election cycle against Terri when she was indicted. She had her free pass. Sandra, be mad at Terri for not vacating the seat before the filing period was over, if you are to be mad at anyone. Eric Johnson is a fine young man who will be a leader at the Capitol. He has courage and independence and integrity, which the folks in District 100 deserve. He could be in some NY big bucks law firm, but he came back home to serve! This need to kiss certain people's rings is so last century. There are actually people in front of District 100 polls with "reelect Terri" literature (or should I say litter?) Jim, will Judge Lynn be sentencing Terri too?
Why this? Judge Lynn is making a record that will go up on appeal of what factors she took into consideration when determining a sentence. As I recall an earlier report, she's not impressed with the Parole Officer report, they do interviews with defendants post-conviction, ask if they are properly contrite, want to admit their sins in public before her. Defendants who do actually get credit for groveling. PO's do the initial adding of points, those are circulated to all the lawyers. My guess is she has a pretty good idea of what she's gonna do, is keeping tabs as to how many, how few, she wants to add/deduct based on the testimony. She'll go over that in her comments about the sentence. Am reminded of the joke about the wino in the church, apologizing for the wicked life he's lead. "Do you reject Satan and all his false promises? "Well, not ALL of them." In addition to the actual sentence, news this afternoon will likely be what defendants said before she told 'em what they would be. And how much they'll reject their prior deeds.
Incidentally, let's move all comments concerning Sandra's comment here: http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/2010/02/from_the_comments_crenshaw_on.php Though I think we may have to start over anyway when Sam takes over to cover the afternoon session -- or the Minhah service, as we call it at synagogue. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_services#Mincha_.28afternoon_prayers.29
Sandra- If this is a political ploy then tell me why Terri's out sending Fed Ex'd letters to the precinct chairs asking them to STOP campaigning on her behalf? Or is that some sort of trick too?
Hey, I asked him last night: "Jim, you need the wireless card?" And he shrugged it off: "No." Said Sandra would provide all the wi-fi he needed.
Jim, you're being too hard on yourself, and I'll bet the ranch that it's not passive-aggressiveness. You've combined keen observation, perspicacious perception (heh), and to-the-second timeliness in all this live blogging, dealing with technical problems as well. Well done. Rob't, it's time to let Jim drive his own fancy wireless card - he's earned his wings. (Groundswell support starts NOW!)
I think Sam will get this thing rolling. He's been a player in this trial all along.
If Sandra Crenshaw and others feel disenfranchised, why don't they just put an independent candidate on the ballot in November?
wait a minute, the trial has already taken place and results are in. This is supposed to be for sentencing, so all the facts have already been laid out and the judge is aware of everything. Yet this thing starts at 9 a.m. today and they still have not announced the sentences. Talk about a waste of tax payer money. announce their sentence already!!!
Lynn recaps the day so far. She says the �birthday party issue� has not been covered but �I don�t know that I need to hear anything additional about the birthday party.� She counts up a whole bunch of money already tagged to the defendants. She asks Meachum: �Are you arguing that value of the benefit to be received is loss not gain? That�s a confusing question because this is confusing.� See why I�m reporting on what the reporters are wearing? Robert, have I damaged the dignity of Unfair Park? I will never forgive myself. Outta here, Sam will be back at 1:30pm and maybe there will be some real reporting done around this pop-stand. Unfair Park Forever.
Yeah, the "as" before "ring" was supposed to have a strikeout, implying just that, but I guess we don't do HTML any more.
Jim, I didn't kill any comments -- but do tell Sandra I am pretty sure I need to pull hers and make it a separate Unfair Park item. Because ... wow.