Report Urges Prison Time for Gionis in Wayne Attack : Courts: No ‘room for leniency,’ probation officer says of Newport Beach assault on the physician’s ex-wife and her boyfriend in 1988.

A deputy probation officer has determined that there is no “room for leniency” in sentencing Dr. Thomas A. Gionis for masterminding the 1988 attack on his ex-wife, Aissa Wayne, and her companion.

“The brutality of the crime speaks for itself,” Deputy Probation Officer Laura L. Vorie wrote in her probation report. “It is therefore recommended that he be referred to the Department of Corrections for the term prescribed by law.”

Vorie’s recommendations, however, will have to wait because Gionis’ sentencing, scheduled for today, was postponed Thursday by the state appellate court.

The emergency stay was granted because one of Gionis’ three attorneys had to undergo emergency surgery. Orange County Superior Court Judge Theodore A. Millard had ordered that the sentencing go on as scheduled, but the 4th District Court of Appeal overturned his ruling. The sentencing is now scheduled June 26.

Gionis, 38, of Pomona faces a maximum sentence of eight years in prison for organizing the attack on Wayne and her then-boyfriend Roger W. Luby, prosecutors said.

They were attacked at gunpoint by two men on Oct. 3, 1988, at Luby’s Newport Beach estate. Wayne’s head was slammed against the concrete floor of the garage and both of Luby’s legs were slashed.

Prosecutors alleged Gionis was behind the attack and that a bitter custody battle between Gionis and Wayne was the motive. He was convicted in May.

The two men who carried out the assault received eight-year prison sentences for their involvement.

According to probation report, Gionis still maintains his innocence and “has shown no remorse for the crime” for which he was the “most active participant.”

In her report, Vorie states: “What remains most disturbing about this crime is the deliberate manner in which it was perpetrated. It was planned with great care and calculation with the apparent motive being to inflict pain and terror upon the victims.”

She added that Gionis “has not come to terms with the degree of his internalized rage and obsessive need to control, which may again manifest in a threatening or lethal manner.”

Also included in the report were interviews from the two victims. Luby said he “continues to have nightmares about the assault. . . . He says that the anxiety and fear will always be there.”

Wayne said she, too, suffers from the “emotional scars” of the incident and has difficulty sleeping as a result. Vorie reported that Wayne “believes that (Gionis) is a sociopath who became completely obsessed with having total control of their daughter after their separation.”

Nonetheless, Wayne recently agreed to allow the 5-year-old child to live with Gionis five days a week so she could attend school.

“She concedes that the defendant’s family is able to meet (the child’s) needs more effectively at the present time, given that she is single and is attending school,” according to Vorie.