INSURANCE
From Times Staff and Wire Reports
Insurance Swindle Nets Stiff Prison Terms: Alan Teale and Charlotte C. Rentz, husband-and-wife insurance swindlers believed to have cheated consumers--mostly Californians--out of more than $100 million, got stiff prison sentences Thursday from a federal judge in Mobile, Ala., who rejected a lighter plea agreement. “This court is in the business of justice, not forgiveness,” U.S. District Judge Richard Vollmer said as he ordered Teale, 63, to serve 17 years in prison and repay $50 million to his victims. Vollmer gave Rentz, 53, a 13-year sentence. Victims ranged from pro football quarterbacks Joe Montana and Jim Kelly to small-business owners whose gas stations and markets burned in the Los Angeles riots.
