John Rogers Sentenced

[Snapolit1]

Got his azz handed to him. Hopefully it serves as a warning to others.

[calvindog]

Fantastic sentence for another hobby scumbag. It may take time but eventually the Feds get their man.

Of the three main hobbyists who have been charged and convicted (Mastro, Allen and Rogers), naturally all three cooperated with the Feds. Of the three, two screwed the government with double dealing afterward. This sort of phenomenon with cooperators going bad rarely happens. But as I've long maintained, the fraudsters in this hobby are more duplicitous than nearly any Ponzi schemer I've ever run across.

[Bobmc]

I wish somehow the George Brace Photos archive could somehow be returned to Mary Brace. But, it has likely been broken up in bits 'n pieces and distributed all across the country, if not the globe. Crying shame. Sad.

[SMPEP]

Originally Posted by Bobmc

I wish somehow the George Brace Photos archive could somehow be returned to Mary Brace. But, it has likely been broken up in bits 'n pieces and distributed all across the country, if not the globe. Crying shame. Sad.

So could Net54 do something about it?

Could we set up a fund to buy the photos when they come to auction, and then send them to her?

Would members here being willing to send her any original Brace photos they had purchased? (I would personally, but have never bought any brace photos before).

While every advanced collector in the country isn't on this site ... a lot are.
Over a period of several years, it might start adding up. And I'd have to think that while the sting wouldn't be completely gone ... she'd LOVE going to her mailbox and every once in a while finding one of the original photos with a note saying from Net54.

Cheers,
Patrick

[Leon]

My understanding is that John's 40'ish minutes on the stand didn't help his cause. The biggest sad part was his oldest son was there and finding out more about his Dad that he didn't know about. The sentence seems about right, to me, for what he did. A lot of people will end up defrauded out of millions and millions of dollars. He will have plenty of time to think about it.

[Jay Wolt]

The Judge's quote says it all
"Society needs to be protected from you."

[Michael B]

Kudos to Judge Durkin

From the article:

[COLOR="Blue"]Rogers is expected to admit wrongdoing at his sentencing hearing today. His attorney also has cited a drug problem and bipolar disorder in explaining Rogers' past actions.

U.S. District Judge Thomas Durkin said he usually doesn't see the need for additional deterrence in a case like this where a nonviolent, first-time offender stands before him who had reached a plea agreement and cooperated with the government.

"I see it here," Durkin said, pointing out that Rogers committed his crime over years, violated his plea agreement and engaged in even more fraud. "Society needs to be protected from you."

The judge also noted, "I don't believe the crimes were based on addiction or mental condition. There was no other reason but greed."[/COLOR]

[Forever Young]

Originally Posted by Jay Wolt

The Judge's quote says it all
"Society needs to be protected from you."

^^^^^^^^^
Yep

[Snapolit1]

Originally Posted by Leon

My understanding is that John's 40'ish minutes on the stand didn't help his cause. The biggest sad part was his oldest son was there and finding out more about his Dad that he didn't know about. The sentence seems about right, to me, for what he did. A lot of people will end up defrauded out of millions and millions of dollars. He will have plenty of time to think about it.

Yeah, I think many of us have gotten to a point in our lives where our kids realize we are not superman and are not the greatest human being who ever lived. . . .but to sit at a criminal trial and hear this stuff your father did and what a scumbag he was. . . . I sympathize a great deal for his son. That has to be horrific. Your father is (hopefully) the first person you ever idolized and always your hero.

[vintagewhitesox]

I was in the courtroom.

Roger's allocution did not help. The judge is a tough one, and was especially upset about the double dealing after he agreed to flip. As Jeff said, that rarely happens.
My heart broke for the kid. the whole thing was very awkward.

side note, this is the same judge that sentenced Dennis Hastert. He's got some bite to him.
12 seems kind of high. I think if he didn't go continue to commit fraud he would have gotten between 5-7

[samosa4u]

His attorney also has cited a drug problem and bipolar disorder in explaining Rogers' past actions.

You gotta' love these f***ing criminal lawyers.