Disbarred NY Lawyer, 82, Gets 45 Days for Hiding $26M in Swiss Bank
A disbarred New York lawyer was sentenced today to only 45 days for tax evasion by a federal judge in Manhattan, apparently because of his advanced age and failing health.
Kenneth Heller, 82, had faced a maximum 15 years in prison, and sentencing guidelines called for 30 to 37 months. However, prosecutors agreed to a lesser term, Bloomberg reports.
Heller previously had agreed to pay a fine of nearly $10 million for hiding $26 million in a secret account at Swiss bank UBS AG.
He has physical and mental problems including cancer and memory loss and was described by defense lawyers as “an elderly man at the end of his life who is in almost constant pain and is faced with ever-mounting physical disability.”
As detailed in earlier ABAJournal.com posts, Heller had previously been sentenced to almost as much state time for contempt:
Ousted for Bad Mouth, NY Lawyer Doesn’t Zip It
NY Appeals Court Affirms Jailing of State’s ‘Most Obnoxious Lawyer’
