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White Collar Offenses Don't Necessarily Stay White Collar

October 20, 2014 11:48 AM | Posted by Bill Otis | 0 Comments
We often hear that non-violent offenses, of which white collar offenses are a significant part, should seldom or never earn jail time.

I have previously argued that non-violent offenses can be terribly harmful and often merit imprisonment.  Swindling an elderly couple out of their life savings or selling heroin to a teenage addict are among numerous examples.

Today, I saw a story in the ABA Journal about a white collar offense  -- insurance fraud  --  in which the defendant had additional things in mind to see to it that he'd become one of the "exonerated":

Already facing a 50-count indictment, a jailed defendant in a California insurance fraud prosecution is now facing 10 new charges concerning nine witnesses he is accused of targeting for murder in the Contra Costa County case.

District Attorney Mark Peterson said a witness "hit list" found by investigators not only lists the nine witnesses allegedly targeted by Charles Waldo, 37, but specifies the order in which they were to be killed and the methods by which they were to be slain, the Bay Area News Group and KTVU report.

The methods included fatal drug overdoses and staged car accidents, as well as slayings during robberies "gone bad," the DA said.

The Journal story noted that the articles don't include any comment from the defendant or his counsel.  I have no trouble believing that.

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