Strawberry’s Deal Looks Like a Steal

Not that I would hire either one of them to handle the funds of an orphanage, but:

--Art Schlichter, convicted of stealing $170,000, is sentenced to two years in federal prison, followed by five years’ probation and complete monetary restitution. He wasn’t even allowed to visit with his family before being taken away.

--Darryl Strawberry, charged with evading taxes on more than $500,000, reportedly has brokered a plea bargain to remain free until the end of the 1995 baseball season, then serve three months in probably one of those “country club” detention facilities. After that “hard time,” he is allowed to keep more than half of the amount he cheated on, since the maximum he can be fined under federal guidelines is $250,000.

Is it any wonder that disgust and cynicism toward our “justice” system are so prevalent?

ARTHUR LEON

West Hollywood

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I am getting sick and tired of hearing about professional sports figures getting preferential treatment by our legal system. This time it’s Darryl Strawberry. How many people do you know of who can commit a crime, be found guilty, then work out a deal for their own punishment--a punishment that will allow them to earn hundreds of thousands of dollars?

Any other slob on the street would be thrown in the slammer without taking his job into consideration. I could just imagine the courts allowing John Q. Citizen to begin his sentence during his vacation.

JIM QUEZADA

Irvine

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Not to worry. Darryl Strawberry has signed a replacement player to serve his prison term.

BILL STEIN

Cambria