Posted on 08/05/2007 9:09:18 AM PDT by george76
Even though federal authorities say Bert Fingerhut cheated bank investors out of millions of dollars, many in the Aspen community have shown support for him.
Pitkin County Sheriff Bob Braudis is among them.
Braudis, who had never met Fingerhut until recently, wrote a letter to the federal judge who sentenced Fingerhut to two years in federal prison Friday. Braudis’ letter spoke highly of Fingerhut. It also surprised federal authorities.
“That struck us that a sheriff would write a letter supporting a criminal,” said Assistant U. S. Attorney Karl Buch. “And he wrote it on his professional letterhead.”
Fingerhut, 63, also must pay a $75,000 fine and serve four months in home confinement after his prison sentence, attorneys on both sides said.
Court documents show he also agreed to forfeit $11 million in illegal profits, in conjunction to a civil case by the federal government.
Fingerhut, who resigned from the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance earlier this year ...
(Excerpt) Read more at aspentimes.com ...
He is a former chairman of the governing council of the Wilderness Society and served on the board of trustees of the National Outdoor Leadership School until February.
Fingerhut served on SUWA’s board of directors for about 18 years before resigning suddenly in late February or early March, said the group’s executive director, Scott Groene.
Lol, he does look guilty but I couldn’t do much to make him look guiltier except stick a hundred dollar bill in his ear!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.