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Posted on 03/31/2008 8:22:30 PM PDT by BurbankKarl
A Santa Clarita Valley woman apologized today as she was sentenced to probation for two years for unleashing two dogs, including a pit bull, on an Internal Revenue Service employee in October.
Lisa Hriczo Blechman, 47, had no comment other than "I'm sorry" at her sentencing hearing before U.S. District Judge Dean Pregerson.
Blechman pleaded guilty in January to one misdemeanor count of assaulting a federal officer.
She unleashed the dogs on IRS employee Ruth Seidman, who was attempting to post a summons on Blechman's home. At the time, the IRS was auditing the business of Blechman's husband, Gregg.
Seidman was frightened by the animals, even though they didn't run toward her, prosecutors said.
In court papers, Deputy Federal Public Defender Kimberly Savo argued the dogs were harmless and the pit bull was suffering from a bad case of arthritis.
Savo also wrote in a Nov. 28 letter to prosecutors that Seidman had no authority to be on the Blechmans' property since Gregg Blechman gave power of attorney to his accountants during the audit.
Her client's medical history of anxiety attacks and other ailments contributed to the assault, Savo said.
With her bank accounts most likely tied up, she probably wasn't able to pay any large legal fees.
What do you think of this?
This seems to be a classic case of the feds sending the message to the peasants of, “Pay up and comply or else”.
Is this fedgov speak? This clearly implies she set the dogs upon the federal tax collector. Yet further down the article it states, "They didn't run toward her, prosecutors said." Which is it? What crime was committed?
Attempted assault.
"Attempted" is the key word.
Claiming that there was no crime because the dogs did not carry out the intended attack is like claiming that there was no crime when you took a swing at the IRS employee because your intended punch missed his jaw.
No, the key word here is "Read".
Did you read the article?
"Blechman pleaded guilty in January to one misdemeanor count of assaulting a federal officer."
Since no "assault" took place, what specifically was the crime here?
Take your time.
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As long as they are in season and you have the proper permit.
My guess is that the feds were throwing every charge in the book at her, and she was looking at some serious, SERIOUS time. She made the smart move and didn’t risk a decade or two in jail.
Personally I hate the idea of prosecutors bringing every trumped up charge they can think of just to get someone to plead. Its disgusting.
I wonder how hard it is to get tags for those... Is there a lottery or something?
I can't say, but I have a 125 lb German Shepherd who almost all black and people walking by find him terrifying even if he is just sitting in the yard minding his own business.
Professional courtesy.
Ummm... how about anything done to IRS agents short of leaving the dismembered bodies of tax collectors on the doorstep of the local church is NOT a crime? How about we, the People, start dealing with these slugs the way our ancestors did? Tar, feathers, boiling oil... How about anything less than utter contempt for these slimy life forms is going too easy on them?
In other words, it should not be a crime to eliminate tax collectors from the world. They are a waste of good air.
Yeah, gotta say, my first reaction was heck, give that woman a medal--don't prosecute her.
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