Cowboys and Cowgirls

[NovoMira]

I don't even want to know...it's prolly worthless now.

Speaking of crooks....

Ex-WorldCom CEO Seeks Lighter Sentence

NEW YORK — Former WorldCom Inc. Chief Executive Bernard Ebbers is asking a federal judge for a lighter sentence than the "draconian life sentence" recommended by the government.

In a brief filed Friday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, attorneys for Ebbers, who is 63 years old, cited his good character, age, poor health and low risk of a repeat offense as reasons for a lighter sentence.

He was convicted in March of nine counts of fraud, conspiracy and making false filings with regulators.

Ebbers' sentencing by Judge Barbara Jones is scheduled for July 13.

WorldCom, now known as MCI Inc., committed the biggest accounting fraud in U.S. history and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection shortly after the $11 billion fraud began to come to light in 2002. It has since re-emerged from bankruptcy protection. Five former executives, including former Chief Financial Officer Scott Sullivan, have pleaded guilty to fraud-related charges and are also awaiting sentencing.

Ebbers pleaded innocent, saying the fraud was committed by his underlings, particularly Sullivan, without his knowledge. Sullivan was the prosecution's lead witness against Ebbers. Under federal sentencing guidelines, Ebbers could be sentenced to as many as 85 years in jail and even a far lighter sentence would, in effect, be a life sentence. The Supreme Court has ruled that the guidelines are no longer mandatory, potentially giving judges much greater discretion in passing sentences.

"Although Mr. Ebbers stands by his testimony and is deeply disappointed by the jury's verdict, Mr. Ebbers is profoundly sorry that fraudulent activity took place at WorldCom during his tenure as the company's CEO and for all the harm suffered by WorldCom's investors," Ebbers' attorneys said in the filing.

The defense points out that Ebbers didn't derive personal gain from the fraud and in fact held on to company stock that constituted most of his personal wealth until it was worthless. The defense's filing was accompanied by 169 letters of support written on his behalf by friends and beneficiaries of his charitable giving.

The prosecution has until June 24 to respond to the defense's motion.