Posted on 09/03/2008 11:26:25 AM PDT by abb
The nine people convicted in the Newsday circulation scandal were each sentenced Friday to 5 years' probation and up to $125,000 in fines, escaping potential restitution totaling $5.9 million and up to 20 years in prison.
Those sentenced - in what federal prosecutors said was the end of their investigation - included Louis Sito, a former top Newsday executive who ran the newspaper's day-to-day business operations, and Robert Brennan, former vice president of circulation.
Sito also served as vice president of Hispanic media at Tribune Co., which owned Newsday and the Spanish language Hoy, also implicated in the scandal.
The nine, who were convicted of mail fraud, potentially faced up to 20 years in prison because it cost advertisers of Newsday and Hoy more than $100 million for falsified circulation. Between 2000 and 2004, Newsday inflated its circulation by as much as 100,000 copies per day and Hoy by 45,000.
But U.S. District Judge Jack Weinstein previously had said he was not going to sentence any of the nine to prison because he felt higher-ups at Newsday, including Sito's boss, former publisher Raymond A. Jansen, and other Tribune executives, probably also should have been held responsible.
Federal prosecutors have said they charged only those officials that they had evidence against.
Weinstein also rejected a federal magistrate's recommendation that the nine be required to pay a total of $5.9 million to advertisers who had not already settled claims with Newsday and Hoy. The judge said those advertisers had three years to come forward and had not done so or were apparently too difficult to locate.
Tribune previously settled with advertisers for a total of $96.6 million.
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(Excerpt) Read more at newsday.com ...
ping
The Honorable MSM.
I wonder how many "readers" US magazine claims for every copy they print?
Has anyone called their advertisers to find out if they understand the terms?
I wonder how many "readers" US magazine claims for every copy they print?
Has anyone called their advertisers to find out if they understand the terms?
I once saw a US Editor being eaten by a shark.I feel sorry that the shark had to eat floating dung in order to survive.
You can be sure the advertisers got a refund, but we’ll never hear about it.
Was that the same shark they jumped with this issue?
A veritable culture of corruption. All so they could line their pockets with more cash.
It’s so hard to distinguish journalism from organized crime these days...
There are some things organized crime won’t do?
They can’t do that! These people have a right to freedom of press!
I smell a Bushco plot to undermine our media.
(/sarcasm)
circulation scandal
again
Between 2000 and 2004, Newsday inflated its circulation by as much as 100,000 copies per day and Hoy by 45,000.
this scam at newsday is the tip of the iceberg.
worse part is they probably print the newspapers to fool the auditors and throw them in a landfill.
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