U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill just doesn’t believe Kevin Coleman.
Coleman, the CEO who had pleaded guilty in February to looting Shelton-based Latex International of nearly $2 million between 2008 and 2010, told Underhill Tuesday that he is “extremely sorry and remorseful” for his actions.
But when it came time for Judge Underhill to hand down his sentence in U.S. District Court in Bridgeport, it wasn’t close to the 48 months Coleman had asked for — nor even the 41- to 51-month range called for by federal sentencing guidelines.
“I understand that you say that you are remorseful. I find that statement lacks some credibility,” Judge Underhill told Coleman, saying his crime was rooted in “self-centeredness and greed of a purity that I just haven’t seen before.”
He then sentenced the former executive to 70 months in federal prison.
Coleman, of Waseca, Minn., had pleaded guilty to single counts of wire fraud and tax evasion.
Federal prosecutors say he embezzled about $1.7 million from the company and evaded about $740,000 in taxes — money that Judge Underhill ordered Coleman to pay back at a rate of at least $1,000 per month after he gets out of prison.
The judge gave Coleman until September to surrender at a prison to be determined. Coleman declined to comment after Tuesday’s sentencing.
Earlier, he told Judge Underhill that his remorse over his crime consumes him.
“I live every second of every day with it on my heart and soul, and will for the rest of my life,” he said.
‘Out Of Control For Some Time’
His lawyer, Bob Frost, told the judge that his client was a ticking time bomb because of alcohol and drug abuse that began when Coleman was a teenager.
“Mr. Coleman had been rambling down the tracks out of control for some time,” he said, which resulted in the “blur of selfish and self-indulgent activity” that resulted in his guilty plea.
“The sad part about this case is that Mr. Coleman was able to overcome all that … and brought himself into the corporate world carrying that baggage,” Frost went on. “He was not a person of privilege for most of his life.”
Still, Frost asked Judge Underhill for a 48-month sentence, the same received by another executive at the company, Joanne Osmolik, who pleaded guilty to embezzling about the same amount as Coleman.
Frost also said Coleman has been sober for six months, a fact which has helped him bring his crime into focus.
“At some point in time he was at the top of the mountain,” Frost said, noting that Coleman sat beside him represented by a court-appointed attorney, has no job, and will soon lose his house in a divorce proceeding, in addition to the friends and reputation he’s already lost.
And in the past two days, Frost said, his sentencing was the subject of nationwide media reports after the Associated Press reported on it Monday.
“There’s been punishment up to this point,” Frost said. “Real punishment … He’s here alone. His family is back in Minnesota. He has been stripped down to the bare bones at this point.”
‘Grotesque’ Crimes
Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Glover didn’t seem to buy any of it.
He began his remarks Tuesday by noting Osmolik was Coleman’s subordinate.
“She was somebody who was not a leader,” Glover said. “She was a follower. And she followed Mr. Coleman … He clearly was the instigator in this looting of Latex.”
In addition, Glover said, even if Coleman had never stolen a dime from the company, he’d still have evaded his taxes and would be facing a stiff prison term for doing so.
And the reason for the national press coverage the case has gotten is simple, Glover said: the crimes were “grotesque.”
“It’s just so incredibly audacious and shocking, what he did,” the prosecutor said. “When you are spending the kind of money Mr. Coleman was, routinely … it is truly appalling.”
“He deserves punishment. Punishment that is imposed by the court,” Glover said, differentiating the prison sentence from what Coleman brought on himself in the loss of his marriage, home, and job. “Mr. Coleman deserves more than Ms. Osmolik, and substantially more.”
‘Tremendously Harmful’
Before handing down his sentence, Judge Underhill noted the 30 or so Latex International employees sitting behind Glover in the courtroom’s gallery, and the “tremendously harmful impact” of Coleman’s and Osmolik’s embezzlement on them.
The company had to shut down a plant in Harrowgate, Yorkshire, and 43 people in Connecticut lost jobs as a result of the scamming.
“The impact of your crime is not quantifiable in dollar terms,” the judge said.
He also said Coleman was in a position of trust at the company.
“The harm that you inflicted is I think more painful because of the position you attained at that company,” Judge Underhill said.
“You seemed to have no limit to your willingness to steal and spend,” the judge said later.
He also seemed to see through Coleman’s plea that his theft was spurred by drug and alcohol abuse, telling Coleman it’s not as if “you only bought fancy cars when you were drunk.”
‘Theft, Plain And Simple’
Outside court, the company’s current CEO, Dave Fisher, said he’s glad the whole thing is over.
“I think the judge was extremely good. He obviously understood what had really gone on,” he said.
Click the play button on the video below to see more of Fisher’s comments. Article continues after the video.
The company is “still struggling” but may be receiving a loan from the state soon.
“Hopefully we can now look forward to the future and not have to worry about this anymore,” he said.
Earlier, in court, Fisher had told Judge Underhill it was more difficult to speak Tuesday than at Osmolik’s sentencing because he and Coleman had once been close.
“Until December 2010, I considered Mr. Coleman to be a friend,” Fisher said. “His actions really broke that trust and friendship.”
Fisher went on to say he was angered Monday when he read court filings in which Coleman cited “an atmosphere within the company that overlooked the spending habits of its executives and directors.”
“That was a culture that he built,” Fisher said. “He made it that way.”
The CEO also drew a distinction between executives getting a nice hotel room or first-class flight here or there and buying jewelry and cars for a mistress in London.
“This is not about overspending,” Fisher told Judge Underhill. “This is theft, plain and simple.”
