Taubman gets VIP allies in bid for leniency

["Charles Brown" <CharlesB@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Taubman gets VIP allies in bid for leniency
U.S. Probation Office joins Gerald Ford, Henry Kissinger in opposing prison term

By Francis X. Donnelly / The Detroit News
http://www.detroitnews.com/2002/business/0204/19/a01-469409.htm

Taubman sentence
Citing his age and declining health, the U.S. Probation Office has recommended probation for A. Alfred Taubman, 74, who was convicted of price-fixing at Sotheby's. Prosecutors are urging a three-year prison sentence, saying allowing Taubman to avoid prison time would send the wrong message to other would-be white-collar criminals. What's your opinion?
 Probation
Prison


  NEW YORK -- The U.S. Probation Office has recommended probation rather than a prison sentence for Bloomfield Hills mall pioneer A. Alfred Taubman, who was convicted last year of price-fixing at Sotheby's Holdings Inc.

Taubman
   A federal probation official cited Taubman's advanced age, 78, his declining health and his lifetime of generous charitable contributions. Taubman is controlling shareholder of Sotheby's, the prominent art auction house.
   Taubman is to be sentenced Monday in Manhattan by U.S. District Judge George Daniels, who presided over the three-week trial last year. He could send Taubman to prison for as long as three years. Taubman was convicted of colluding with Sotheby's chief rival, Christie's International Plc.
   To back its argument in favor of the more lenient sentence, Taubman's defense submitted a 2-inch thick volume of supportive letters from 89 high-powered friends, including former President Gerald Ford, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and television newswoman Barbara Walters.
   "If there were ever a case where a departure (from sentencing guidelines) on the grounds of age and infirm health were warranted, this is it," defense attorneys wrote in a brief.
   Prosecutors are urging a three-year prison sentence, which would match sentencing guidelines. They said Taubman is still healthy enough to travel frequently around the world and that his charity wasn't extraordinary given his net worth of $640 million.
   The prosecution argued in its brief that allowing Taubman to avoid prison time would send the wrong message to other would-be white-collar criminals.
   "Only a sentence imposing substantial imprisonment and a punitive fine will be sufficient to reflect the seriousness of the offense," prosecutors argued.