LaRouche Gets 15-Year Term, Is Denied Bail

A federal judge, bluntly rejecting claims that the government’s prosecution was politically motivated, sentenced political extremist Lyndon H. LaRouche Jr. to 15 years in prison on mail and tax fraud convictions Friday and refused to release him on bail while he appeals.

District Judge Albert V. Bryan Jr. imposed prison terms and fines on six LaRouche associates and ordered their immediate incarceration also.

In a courtroom exchange before sentencing, Bryan dismissed as “arrant nonsense” a charge by LaRouche legal coordinator Edward Spannaus that politically motivated prosecutors were seeking to “crush LaRouche’s organization.”

The notion that LaRouche’s organization posed a sufficient threat to warrant prosecution “just defies human experience,” the judge said.

LaRouche and his aides were convicted by a jury on Dec. 16 of bilking numerous supporters out of more than $30 million by deliberately defaulting on loans from them.

The four-time independent candidate for President was also found guilty of evading federal income taxes since at least 1979. He was accused of fraudulently having all of his personal expenses paid by various corporations that he controls and then contending that he has no taxable income.

LaRouche, a former Marxist, now embraces a number of causes on the far right and is noted for espousing bizarre conspiracy theories, such as one linking Queen Elizabeth II and Henry A. Kissinger to drug traffickers.

LaRouche had no visible reaction when the sentence was imposed. He and the other defendants were handcuffed and led from the courthouse to a van, which took them to the Alexandria city jail, where they will remain until they can be assigned to a federal prison.

At the same time LaRouche was being sentenced, federal prosecutors dropped all charges in a related case against LaRouche, six associates and five political organizations in U.S. District Court in Boston.

That case, involving charges that LaRouche’s 1984 presidential campaign had raised more than $2 million through credit card and loan fraud, ended in a mistrial last May. A new trial had been scheduled to begin on Feb. 23. But the U.S. attorney’s office said that, in view of LaRouche’s conviction in Virginia, further prosecution was not warranted.

In a rambling statement before he was sentenced, LaRouche declared that he was “innocent of any wrongdoing.” He said that a high-ranking British intelligence official had told him that he could influence the outcome of his trial by responding to certain “unknown conditions.” However, LaRouche added, he refused to bargain for justice.

LaRouche said also that his case “already has done great damage to the United States” and that “it is time for this evil and reckless prosecution to be brought to a halt before further damage is done.”

Assistant U.S. Atty. Kent Robinson shot back: “This is not a political case. This was a case of theft.”

LaRouche, 66, could have received 65 years in prison and fines totaling $3.25 million for his conviction on 13 counts of tax and mail fraud conspiracy. He will have to serve about 10 years of his 15-year sentence before he is eligible for parole, according to a spokesman for the U.S. Parole Commission.

After the sentencing, about 60 LaRouche supporters gathered outside the federal courthouse here and paraded with a bed sheet banner reading “Pardon LaRouche--Kill Satan,” the Associated Press reported.

One demonstrator wore a large mask of Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev and carried a Soviet flag, symbolizing LaRouche’s belief that he is the victim of a Soviet secret police frame-up.

Supporters had sought a pardon for LaRouche from President Ronald Reagan before he left office and said that they would continue their efforts with President Bush.

LaRouche spokeswoman Dana Scanlon said that supporters planned to hold a round-the-clock vigil in Lafayette Park, across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House, until LaRouche is released from prison.

Until a few years ago, it would have been highly unusual for people convicted of white-collar crimes, such as LaRouche, to be denied bail while they awaited the outcome of their appeals.

However, several defense attorneys said the practice has become relatively common of late for two reasons.

One is a 1984 change in federal sentencing law that permits immediate jailing unless there is reasonable chance of success on appeal. The other is a growing sentiment among judges that white-collar criminals should be treated the same as others.

LaRouche asked that his incarceration be postponed for 60 days so that he could undergo eye surgery, but Bryan denied the request.

After the jury found him guilty on all counts last month, LaRouche called his conviction “a wrong, gross, disgusting, obscene miscarriage of justice” that was the result of a long “campaign of hate” by the news media and friends of the Soviet Union within the federal government.

He said that he expected to be killed in prison.

Bryan sentenced chief LaRouche fund-raiser William Wertz to five years in prison and an $11,000 fine. He gave Spannaus a five-year term and a $10,000 fine.

Each of four other fund-raisers--Michael Billington, Dennis Small, Paul Greenberg and Joyce Rubinstein--were sentenced to three years in prison and received lesser fines.