SDNY COURTHOUSE, Jan 17 – When former Congressman Chris Collins came up for sentencing on January 17, he and his lawyers were ready with arguments about the Boy Scouts.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Judge Vernon S. Broderick was ready with a statement that he had no considered Collins' political views in imposing sentence on him, ultimately 26 months in a prison camp in Pensacola, Florida, to begin on March 17.
The US Attorney's Office wanted to appear (almost) as tough on white collar crime as it is on more physical crimes by poorer defendants.
With all three sides having something to prove, it was going to take a while. And it did take hours. Inner City Press live tweeted the proceeding, here. More on Patreon here.
Much of the debate concerned whether Collins, when he told his son Cameron about the setback for Innate Immunotherapeutics, could or should have told him, "You can't trade on this."
Another concerned whether Collins recklessly harmed his constituents by actively running for office when he knew or should have known he likely could not serve out the term.
What made that issue complex is that a defendant has a right to proclaim his innocence and should not be punished for it. But to attack the opposing candidate?
Collins said he did not want to return to Buffalo. Judge Broderick after imposing sentence urged him to do so.
Collins' son Cameron will soon be sentenced. It seems Chris Collins will not be there. But Inner City Press will. Watch this site -a and the @InnerCityPress Twitter feed, and Patreon site. In fact, more on this Chris Collins story on Patreon, here.
