One New York criminal defense lawyer did an excellent job in reducing the time that his client would have to spend behind bars. Rev. William Blasingame only has to serve five years probation for spending church money on his own luxuries. The NY Daily News reports that he spent "tens of thousands of dollars worth of plastic surgery and Botox treatments."
For this fraudulent crime, Blasingame could have faced 15 years in prison for larceny.
For the crime of grand larceny, the value has to exceed $1,000. As the price goes up, so does the punishment: $1,000 equals a class E felony; $3000 equals a class D felony; $50,000 equals a class C felony; and $1,000,000 equals a class B felony (New York Penal Code).
Since Blasingame is believed to have stolen $84,537 from St. Paul's Memorial Episcopal Church, he would fall into the class C felony; however, a catch to the second degree grand larceny charge is that the property has to be obtained by instilling fear that they will cause "physical injury," cause "damage to property," or "use or abuse his position" (Section 155.40).
In all, Blasingame has to pay back all of the money in addition to serving five years probation.
- Do you need a New York criminal defense lawyer? (FindLaw)
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