Ex-Sen. Carpenter to Be Jailed Until Dec. 19 Sentencing

Former state Sen. Paul Carpenter, who fled to Costa Rica in February to avoid sentencing on corruption charges, was ordered jailed Wednesday pending his Dec. 19 sentencing.

Wearing a jail sweat shirt, pants and slip-on tennis shoes, Carpenter, 66, appeared before U.S. District Judge Edward J. Garcia. The bearded, white-haired Carpenter was flanked by marshals during the brief proceedings.

Garcia ordered a medical evaluation for Carpenter, who has prostate cancer. Prosecutors agree with Carpenter’s lawyer, Charles Bloodgood, that Carpenter has prostate cancer but they are unsure whether the disease is immediately life-threatening.

Garcia ordered Carpenter to undergo medical tests at UC Davis Medical Center.

Carpenter, once the head of the Senate Democratic caucus and chairman of the State Board of Equalization, is one of several state legislators who were snared by federal agents in an undercover sting of the Capitol. He was found guilty last year of participating in an elaborate money-laundering scheme.

In February, a few days before he was to be sentenced, Carpenter fled to Costa Rica, saying that he was seeking non-traditional treatment for his cancer.

Carpenter was arrested several months later in a suburb of San Jose, Costa Rica, where American officials had tracked him. He was taken into custody by Costa Rican authorities and unsuccessfully fought extradition.

Before Carpenter fled, probation officials had recommended a term of seven years, three months.