It's possible. Let me put it this way -- if such a connection is discovered, I wouldn't be surprised. But, personally, I don't think their light punishment is anything but a coincidence.
"Can he convince the woman to drop the charges? Nope."
I don't think there's any other way out. A) He can't just decide on his own not to prosecute -- not now. And B) He certainly can't proceed to trial with what little he's got. It's a joke, approaching prosecutorial misconduct.
She (the AV) has been quoted as saying that she's afraid to proceed, she's getting threatening phone calls, etc., leaving a way out for her (and Nifong). That's what will end up happening. That's the only way this can end. Not that I like it.
Lil' Kim embezzles 25k, gets a slap on the wrist. AV gets 3 weekends in jail for grand auto theft, eluding police, and damn near running over a cop. If I were a criminal, I'd love to live there! Maybe if someone had access to random criminal records dealing with these types of crimes, we'd get a clearer picture of sentencing guidelines.
It's definately prosecutorial misconduct. They're all guilty of it these days. He needs to be run out of town on a rail, to serve warning on the rest of them. Threatening phone calls, my ass. She's already been quoted as saying that she moves from house to house. Probably because her pimp is after her.
I hope it doesn't end like you say, but in this day and age, nothing would surprise me.
I'd like to see evidence that see received special consideration in her prior sentencing. I've yet to see that.
It shouldn't be too terribly difficult for a dogged researcher to establish.
Until then, it's just speculation.