Letter: Serra’s sentence far too lenient

Friday, Aug. 12, 2005 | 9:13 a.m.

I am outraged to hear that attorney Tony Serra, defender of Rick Tabish, has been given a very minimal sentence for tax evasion. Mr. Serra owes the government more than half a million dollars in back taxes. Interestingly enough, this is the third time Serra has been convicted of tax evasion. His first offense earned him five years of probation, and on the second he was given a four-month sentence.

Many bleeding hearts feel he deserves leniency for the latest transgression because of his age and alleged charitable good deeds during his law career. How many average citizens owing the government taxes, and found guilty of tax evasion, would be afforded such consideration? And remember, Redd Foxx and Willie Nelson owed for back taxes and were never granted leniency or credit for their charitable work.

I am certain that if I were found guilty of tax evasion of even $10, all my property -- house, bank accounts and other earthly possessions -- would be confiscated without remorse. At age 69 I would be sentenced, outfitted with an orange jump suit and transported to a stark prison.

In America, justice is not equal for all, otherwise Mr. Serra would have served real time for his past offenses and would be looking at harsh punishment for his current offense. He would be sentenced to a real prison for many years and not to 10 months at Lompoc, Calif. The Lompoc federal facility is a pseudo-prison, a Mickey Mouse camp for white-collar criminals.

VIRGIL A. SESTINI