Larry Weitzman sentenced to prison

Democrat staff writer

Placerville attorney and Mountain Democrat columnist Larry Weitzman was sentenced to federal prison for his role in laundering nearly $3 million of drug money, the IRS announced Friday.

Weitzman, 66, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to launder money and structure transactions on Sept. 22, 2008, and was sentenced to 27 months in prison for his involvement in laundering $2.96 million in drug proceeds for four-time convicted drug trafficker Gregory Sperow, 58, of Los Angeles.

He was also fined $25,000 in addition to asset forfeitures totaling $175,000, according to an IRS press release.

Weitzman was sentenced Aug. 31 by Chief U.S. District Court Judge B. Lynn Winmill.

The original indictment was returned by a federal grand jury in Boise, Idaho, in June 2006. Weitzman was added as a defendant in a superseding indictment filed in January 2007.

ÒWeitzmanÕs sentencing marks the end of one of the most significant drug investigations and prosecutions in the history of IdahoÕs U.S. AttorneyÕs Office,Ó said Idaho U.S. Attorney Wendy Olson. ÒThanks to the tireless work of federal and state law enforcement agencies … those responsible for decades of drug trafficking have been brought to justice. They have been imprisoned and stripped of their assets through forfeiture proceedings. These cases demonstrate our resolve and commitment to protect our communities.Ó

WeitzmanÕs sentencing came at the end of approximately five days of testimony, the press release states.

In its ruling, the District Court found that there was overwhelming evidence that Weitzman either knew or became willfully blind of the source of SperowÕs funds by 1996, that he continued to launder the drug funds while his client was a fugitive for eight years and that, even after Sperow was sent to prison for the fourth time in 2005, Weitzman continued to launder the money.

Jeff Finer, WeitzmanÕs attorney, said his clientÕs sentencing came after a great deal of Òsoul searchingÓ by the court. Ultimately, said Finer, the judge decided Weitzman should have stopped representing Sperow.

ÒWith the red flags that were there, the judge thought Mr. Weitzman should have pulled out sooner,Ó he said.

Thanks to character letters from friends and family, Finer said the court went with a lesser sentence than what the government sought.

Finer said Weitzman would be disbarred and that it was unlikely he would ever practice law again.

Weitzman is set to report to prison in mid-November, said Finer.

The attorney said WeitzmanÕs recent sentencing teaches a tough lesson for litigators across the country.

ÒLawyers must be careful not to be too trusting of clients,Ó he said. ÒThatÕs a hard message because itÕs not a lawyerÕs responsibility to investigate their clients.Ó

E-mail Jim Ratajczak at jratajczak@mtdemocrat.net or call 530-344-5071.

Short URL: http://www.mtdemocrat.com/?p=15614

Posted by Jim Ratajczak on Oct 5 2010
Last Login: Fri Feb 3 23:51:20 2012
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