Edwards will fight secret sentence recommendation

Sunday, July 30, 2000 | 1:26 a.m.

Attorney Richard Crane declined to disclose the length of the proposed sentence, which is included in a sealed 50-page report written by probation officers in Baton Rouge.The report was released to the defendants and their attorneys Friday.

Crane told The Times-Picayune in an interview publishced Sunday that he is "disappointed" that federal probation officials included in their sentencing calculation some of the criminal counts that jurors determined the prosecution did not prove.

Edwards was convicted May 9 on 17 counts of racketeering, extortion, money laundering, fraud and conspiracy. He was acquitted on nine counts of extortion, conspiracy and fraud in the case dealing with extortion of applicants for riverboat casino licenses.

Crane said he hopes Edwards' sentence ultimately will be short enough to make the former governor eligible for the lowest-security prison, known as a federal camp. Prison camps typically do not have fences and sometimes have amenities such as tennis courts, music rooms and tree-lined gardens.

To qualify for a camp, an inmate must have 10 years or less remaining in his sentence. If prison officials anticipate Edwards earning the maxium time off for good behavior, he could be sentenced to 11 1/2 years and still qualify for a camp.