Monday, November 14, 2016

How much time is appropriate for a lawyer who laundered money for criminals?

 Judge Dimitrouleas sentenced Alan Koslow to a year and a day in federal prison, taking into account his cooperation and other good works.  Seems like the appropriate result.  Hopefully other judges will see that lengthy sentences for first-time non-violent offenders isn't the solution.  From Paula McMahon:
Koslow admitted in August that he accepted $8,500 from undercover agents as payment for laundering cash, which he thought was linked to drug dealing and illegal gambling, through his friend Susan Mohr's bank account in 2012 and 2013.
Mohr, 57, of Delray Beach, pleaded guilty to a related charge and is scheduled for sentencing next month.
Prosecutor Neil Karadbil told the judge that Koslow had two personas — one was the high-powered successful attorney who raised money for charities and advised clients on legal matters.
"But the other Alan Koslow is the one who got him here," Karadbil said. "The other Alan Koslow is the one who likes to take short-cuts, likes to party, is kind of hedonistic."
Karadbil said Koslow discussed laundering $50,000 per month for two years in exchange for a 5 percent commission. Koslow said the money "was peanuts" but he wanted extra spending money to party with his friends, agents said.
Agents said he told them: "I do favors for clients" and he "liked to be cool."

10 comments:

  1. Anonymous9:34 AM

    Two comments:

    1) This story sounds familiar, and the same question stands out from the first time I heard this story when he was indicted - how did he launder money? He didn't actually accept money associated with a criminal act. He helped conceal a "crime" that never actually happened. Keep in mind that I am exclusively a civil litigator/transactional lawyer, so I get that I may be missing something that is obvious to those of you in criminal law. But from a purely logical perspective, I don't see a crime.

    If this is a crime, is the following also a crime:

    I dream that my brother killed a man. I wake up believing the dream to be true (although it was only a dream). I run to my brother's house, find his gun (the one that he used in my dream), and throw the gun in the ocean so that the cops can't find it. I am somehow an accomplice to murder - a murder that I believe happened, but didn't actually happen?


    2) Is anyone else having trouble getting on South Florida Lawyers Blog?

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  2. Anonymous1:35 PM

    Good to be a white man.

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  3. Anonymous3:25 PM

    Please, nobody tell 9:34 about fake stash house robbery prosecutions and the sentences associated with them. I don't think he could handle it.

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  4. Anonymous4:03 PM

    Forget about fake stash house robberies, this guy got half than a single 1028A charge. This is the progressive Obama admin.

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  5. Anonymous7:31 AM

    I also can't access South Florida Lawyers blog. The notice says I haven't been invited to join (I've followed it for years), then advises seeking an invitation from the blog boss but without providing a link/e-mail address.

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  6. Anonymous9:10 AM

    Looks like SFL has either retired (which would be a damn shame) or been hacked.

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  7. Literati9:48 AM

    South Florida Lawyers blog looks like it got hacked or something. Tuna casserole month? What's going on?

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  8. Anonymous10:13 AM

    Why of course 4:03! You are so right! Because we all know that before President Obama took office, white, middle-aged, white-collar criminals NEVER got a break and NEVER got a sentence that was substantially lower than your run-of-the-mill street-level drug dealer who, in federal court, was most likely a person of color. That darned ol' Obama! I am sure all of that will change with President Trump!

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  9. Anonymous7:11 PM

    How much time? First tell me if the Defendant is white or black. Next tell me who the ausa and judge are.

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  10. Anonymous5:44 PM

    He had success, name branding, affability and loads of confidence.
    Some parties hated that, and are glad to learn he'd been sentenced to a yr and a day.
    After his incarceration, he will persevere, and resume a path in life ..in which,he will get down to it and regenerate himself.
    His abilities to establish a path of business, and become known for it, was due to hard work, creativity, his ability to create business relationships.,all the while driving charitable efforts for various institutions throughout South Florida.
    This guy got sidetracked....call it what you will, but there are those of us who see are light at the end of the tunnel for him..

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