Warnock asked the Court to deviate from sentencing guidelines in a memorandum submitted Thursday. The defendant argued:
This case is not one involving diverted public funds. false invoices, or any misappropriation of taxpayer dollars. It is a gratuity case. And for that conduct, the Sentencing Guidelines-properly applied under controlling Fifth Circuit law-result in a substantially lower advisory range than that presented in the Presentence Report.
Yup. This is a gratuity case, not bribery. Warnock justifies his argument:
The gratuities at issue in this case occurred in the context of longstanding professional relationships. There were no allegations that Mr. Warnock inflated invoices, falsified documents, diverted public money, or enriched himself through fraudulent billing. His payments were limited to entertainment and meals-""gratuities"" in the classic sense, not kickbacks. Importantly, none of these items caused pecuniary loss to the CMU or deprived the public of services. There is no evidence that a single engineering decision was altered, corrupted, or improperly influenced. The government did not Identify-and could not identify-any public project that was tainted, delayed, overcharged, or mishandled because of these gratuities.
Warnock asked Judge Johnson to sentence him to serve no more than 21 months in prison. Letters of support are attached to the memorandum and are posted below.
The Justice Department said not so fast, my friend. Prosecutors claimed in their response the loss "attributable to Warnock under the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines is greater than $3.5 million but less than $9.5 million. The sentence range under those guidelines is 188 months to 235 months. The Justice Department asks Judge Johnson to sentence Warnock "at the top" of the guidelines."
Prosecutors Kim Purdie and David Fulcher gave Warnock's argument short shrift:
The Court does not have to speculate as to the appropriate loss amount attributable to Warnock. There was credible testimony and documentary evidence admitted at trial setting out the amount of the invoices paid to Warnock ($1,132,310.31); the amount demanded by Warnock for unpaid invoices ($6,675,374.87); bribes paid in the form of trips ($160,452.55); and monetary bribes ($29,200) totaling $7,997,337.73. The invoices submitted by "paid and unpaid, totaled $7,807,685.18. Warnock billed CMU approximately $6,675,374.87 with invoices dated between December 28, 2016, and January 24, 2017. In the civil suit against CMU, Warnock alleged that CMU owed him a total of $6,329,974.87 – the value Warnock would have received had he not been terminated as a result of his falling out with Anderson. By Warnock’s own admission, the value of the benefit to be received in exchange for his bribes was more than $6 million. Because this amount alone is more than $3.5 million but less than $9.5 million, an 18-level increase is applicable.
To the extent Warnock contends that some of the services performed were legitimate and should be credited to him, that argument falls flat. There may be evidence that Warnock provided some valuable services, but there is also evidence that his contracts were a sham and that much of the work did not need to be done by anyone. Furthermore, the fraud involved in obtaining the contracts by bribery was so extensive and pervasive that any underlying value should not offset the total value of the contracts paid.
Warnock's sentencing is Wednesday in U.S. District Court.
Posted below: DOJ response and Warnock sentencing memorandum.
29 comments:
He neglected to include that he stole money from every man, woman, and child in Madison county, Mississippi.
Why is he in a county jail on federal charges?
I hate to wish bad on someone, karma and all that, but I’ve know Rudy since around 1985 and he deserves every ounce of punishment he receives and then some… Lifetime of bad acts and of being a genuine asshole.
Try to keep up. There is no federal jail here, so the Justice Department contracts with Madison County.
Rudy, it's time to pay your dues. 20 years should do it.
Maybe he can get this thing moved to Oxfart Municipal Court for some "blessings"
Seems to me the elected officials should be getting the time. They betrayed the public trust and who knows, extorted Rudy. Put them all away for two years max. The feds should take a long look at CMU and their attorney.
To hear Colette tell it, this was all a big misunderstanding. Rudy's just a generous guy. Of course, the jury saw it differently.
And I still haven't heard much of a mea culpa from Rudy. Maybe he still thinks he can talk and manipulate his way out of it.
there's always a defense. whether or not dat defense will work is a whole other question.
There is a federal prison here. FCI Yazoo City. However, he has not been sentenced to federal prison,….yet. Therefore, he is housed in county lockup. And the feds won’t house him in Mississippi.
It serves no purpose in sentencing Warnock more than 1-2 years. And more beneficial using his engineering expertise assigned to work for a state or local government.
Rudy has no input or control any longer!
Off to prison he will go. Hate it - but it's the price one pays for the lies, deception and "deals" when they are caught. There are several folks who have worked for him who can confirm falsified documents, "favors done while being told don't you ever repeat this or tell this" and more.
A few Saints tickets here and there and may some tabs picked up at Penn's in Madison....No big deal. I'd say ankle bracelet for six weeks.
Now, the County boys who made him a multi-millionaire...that's another subject and a whole separate trial.
I’m a professional engineer and I would be embarrassed to attempt to write a letter on Rudy’s behalf! He screwed Madison County a lot worse than CMU.
Gratuities work the same way a bribe does.
I said jail, not prison.
WTF
U trust his “expertise”?
2:06 you keep up. He isnt in Madison County
He is in hattiesburg
There is no crying in Federal Bribery Charges!!
What a chaotic life.
Didn't Rudy file for bankruptcy? Where does that leave his wife and kids?
Yes! Great idea. Let's assign him to work with Steen, Griffin and Banks up in Cantone. That'll serve him right!
I’ve known Rudy and dealt with him for 25 years. He deserves a long sentence. These charges are maybe 5% of what he’s done illegal in his career. Being crooked is all he ever knew. The house, the cars, etc. were all bought with money earned the illegal way. He has never simply engineered a project and gotten paid with everything legal and clean. He’s a slimy crook.
There are two primary reasons for punishment in criminal matters. First, to remove the person from the environment in which he can commit further crimes, and secondly, to dissuade others from similar behavior. Trailing third and fourth reasons are restitution and rehabilitation, but they are simply not reachable options in most cases. Beyond that, any sentence becomes retribution, an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. For some reason, retribution plays a large factor in the motivations for criminal punishment in this country. It doesn't seem to work well as we have one of, if not the highest, incarceration rate of any developed nation and a crime rate surpassing all others. Incarceration is expensive, not just for the obvious cost of housing people in correctional facilities, but for the ancillary costs to family, friends, and the loss of what could be another productive citizen. Several have posted who seem to know the gentleman with no positive comments. He may well have gotten what he deserved, but retribution will still serve no meaningful purpose. At this point, it seems that the number one motivation should be to dissuade others in similar positions from abusing their status. Four to five years would seem to serve that purpose well. Perhaps the money spent on twenty years of incarceration would be better used investigating some other "public servants". There is an abundance of corruption in this state that needs to be addressed.
Agree! Well said.
8:08, Do you have any data to back up your assertion that 4-5 years in prison is sufficient to deter others from attempting to become multi-millionaires by criminal means?
Also, your analysis overlooks harm to society as a factor for consideration. I would argue that the corruption of public officials is especially harmful, as it erodes the public trust in the institutions on which civilized society is based.
And if rehabilitation is not realistic, as you state, then the “loss of what could be another productive citizen” is an illusion. This contradictory argument makes me wonder if you have a personal agenda.
As for me, I do believe in rehabilitation. I’ve experienced it firsthand, and know others who have as well. That’s why we have pre-trial diversion and parol (depending on when the defendant becomes willing to change).
There's just no way to spin this as innocent misunderstandings on Rudy's part.
Post a Comment