Thread by @RectorSun

I'll be at the courthouse today along with @justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA and others.

Prosecutors want nearly 5 years. Pugh's attorneys asked that she get 1 year & 1 day. Her friends have requested leniency.

But it's all up to the judge.

https://twitter.com/baltimoresun/status/1233005132150976515

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA I'm in a media room which will have audio from the courtroom where Pugh is being sentenced, and where we can use electronics (but not record). I will try to relay information quickly. Colleagues are in the courtroom, where they cannot use their devices unless they step outside.

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA Pugh arrives this morning, with attorney Steve Silverman, right, and her friend Paul Coates, publisher of Black Classic Press and father of Ta-Nehisi Coates.

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA More from @lightforall:

https://twitter.com/lightforall/status/1233042428011175938?s=20

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall "All rise."

Judge is in the courtroom. We've begun.

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall Judge and attorneys are going through what papers, sentencing memorandums have been filed already. Pugh's team notes that they submitted today hard copies of many documents, including copies for the judge of each of the four "Healthy Holly" books.

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall Judge says she has received victim impact statements from two entities, UMMS and Maryland Auto Insurance Fund (MAIF).

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall Prosecutors are up first. They are describing a "shocking" degree of criminality by Pugh over a long period of time to maintain her fraudulent scheme.

Pugh "orchestrated all of these acts."

They say Gary Brown Jr. was just Pugh's "minion."

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall "Ms. Pugh did not have a momentary lapse of judgement as many of her supporters have argued to the court in their letters."

She conspired and schemed "secretly over the course of several years," prosecutor says.

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall "The scheme that Ms. Pugh conjured and executed wasn’t singular. It evolved. It changed over time."

Prosecutors say Pugh used different tactics. UMMS didn't have a distribution center, so left books w/ her. So she took those books and resold them to Kaiser, which had a center.

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall Prosecutor describing Pugh's "cashing out scheme" for book proceeds:

"This was a complex, multi-step procedure with calls to the bank, dealing with the teller, leaving, and going around town and finding the straw donors."

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall Prosecutor describes how Pugh laundered money through various businesses, including her 2 Chic Boutique, which she owned with Comptroller Joan Pratt.

She created fake documents and invoices to hide her activity. She coordinated with Brown to file false taxes.

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall The prosecution is hammering home one of their key arguments for why Pugh should be sentenced at the top end of the guidelines: This was no accident, no lapse, but a long, orchestrated, concerted effort to defraud customers and the IRS.

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall Prosecutor describing Pugh's "misrepresentation of acting on behalf of" @BaltCitySchools.

"Ms. Pugh used a philanthropic message to defraud purchasers" and "capitalized on the needs of city school children" while pocketing 80-100% profit on every book, prosecutor says.

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall @BaltCitySchools "She shamelessly hawked these books & teamed up w/ ABC & other community outreach organizations as part of the way to make money & promote herself & her political situation. She spoke the language of these.. groups. She bantered w/ them. She presented it as a nonprofit effort..."

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall @BaltCitySchools Prosecutors going through how Pugh used scheme to bolster her political career, including through illegal campaign contributions to boost cash.

"She believed she had to get the numbers up, and the way she was going to do that was to use the Healthy Holly illegal proceeds…."

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall @BaltCitySchools It was "something right out of a mobster movie," prosecutor says - describing Pugh directing Gary Brown to run all around town dolling out money to straw donors and then through 2 Chic Boutique.

"Ms. Pugh had no qualms to use any means necessary to win the mayoral election."

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall @BaltCitySchools Pugh relied on "brazen lies and conduct to keep it quiet," including after Brown was charged with campaign violations, prosecutor says.

"She paid Mr. Brown’s attorney fees to keep him from cooperating with the authorities."

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall @BaltCitySchools "The citizens of the state of Maryland, the citizens of Baltimore, trusted her to do what they are routinely required to do under the law, which is to obey the law and pay taxes. But she didn’t," prosecutor says.

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall @BaltCitySchools In 2019 Pugh started lying to press about her no-bid book deal w/ UMMS, prosecutor says.

"She scolded the public and press for conducting a 'witch hunt,'" he says, citing comments Pugh made to me in a @baltimoresun interview.

"She said she paid her taxes, which was a lie."

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall @BaltCitySchools @baltimoresun Prosecutor describes federal agents raiding Pugh's home, and her lying about the location of her personal cellphone. She said it wasn't there. They called it. It was.

"Agents had to wrestle it away from her after she recovered it from some bed linens," prosecutor says.

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall @BaltCitySchools @baltimoresun Prosecutor is describing Pugh using the "Healthy Holly" books as her "calling card" all around town, making her look like she cared about kids, when behind the scenes she was using them to enrich herself and boost her political career through fraud, theft and deception.

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall @BaltCitySchools @baltimoresun As others around her got into trouble, for other corruption scandals and Brown for campaign violations, Pugh just kept going, prosecutor says.

"These weren’t even speed bumps. She just kept going."

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall @BaltCitySchools @baltimoresun Prosecutor blasts the "highly polished, well edited" video Pugh put out apologizing yesterday.

Given she intends to speak today, he said, what purpose did the video have "other than to continue using her skills to manipulate the message and to try to change the narrative."

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall @BaltCitySchools @baltimoresun The prosecution just concluded. Defense asked for a 5 minute recess before they begin. Recess granted.

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall @BaltCitySchools @baltimoresun We're back. Pugh's attorney Steve Silverman says Pugh has attempted, since the criminal scheme began to unravel, to take responsibility swiftly.

"She was completely incapacitated. But as soon as she was able in late April, she made the decision to resign."

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall @BaltCitySchools @baltimoresun "Now she stands before your honor a broken women - broken by her own doing, but nonetheless a broken woman," Silverman says.

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall @BaltCitySchools @baltimoresun Silverman now is recounting Pugh's accomplishments in life, starting out many years ago when she first arrived in Baltimore.

"She never seemed to sleep and always got things done at a very young age."

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall @BaltCitySchools @baltimoresun He said her life since has been "dedicated to the empowerment of the black community and youth" and her aim to "elevate minorities to a level playing field and promote racial harmony."

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall @BaltCitySchools @baltimoresun Speaking of Pugh's co-founding of Baltimore Design School, Silverman says, "This is amazing that she was able to accomplish this. And this is what matters your honor - is changing the trajectory of thousands of lives. She’s had an enormous impact on these children."

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall @BaltCitySchools @baltimoresun "This lady has done more in one lifetime than other people could accomplish in 100 lifetimes. I don’t know how that is not taken into consideration today," Silverman says.

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall @BaltCitySchools @baltimoresun "This is not a crime of physical violence, this is not a case that involves firearms, narcotics or danger to the community..."

"This case did not begin with a malicious intent or design to hurt others," but "borne out of altruism," Silverman says.

"This is a one-off."

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall @BaltCitySchools @baltimoresun "In this case, I ask rhetorically: Where are the victims?" Silverman says.

He says none of Pugh's corporate victims are in the courtroom, only 2 requested restitution.

He's now going through how many UMMS leaders "resigned or were fired" & some aren't cooperating w/ reviews.

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall @BaltCitySchools @baltimoresun "Catherine Pugh was wrong, she should have known better, she was better than this. But she got sucked into the culture of what was going on with the UMMS board - that everyone had an opportunity to do business," Silverman says.

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall @BaltCitySchools @baltimoresun This is closest we've come to Pugh & attorneys pointing finger back at UMMS - the suggestion seeming to be Pugh's sincere interest in kids' health was corrupted as she became entangled in the board's culture.

But "she accepts full responsibility for her role," Silverman says.

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall @BaltCitySchools @baltimoresun Silverman said media hounded Pugh, with "FM shock jocks" screaming "Come out!" outside and TV lights coming in her windows.

"She deserved it, she earned it, but it also broke her. It absolutely broke her."

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall @BaltCitySchools @baltimoresun "She was confined to her bedroom, sobbing inconsolably for hours at a time, leaving no doubt she understood the harm that she did," Silverman said.

"She was curled up in a ball, never leaving her bed, in total despair."

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall @BaltCitySchools @baltimoresun "For the past year she has been a self imposed prisoner in her own home, under siege daily," Silverman said - and "too ashamed to walk about the same community that she undeniably positively impacted for decades before."

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall @BaltCitySchools @baltimoresun Silverman says that in his "core," he believes that prosecutors' suggestion that she should be sentenced to nearly five years in prison, at the top end of the guidelines, to be "cruel and unnecessary."

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall @BaltCitySchools @baltimoresun Silverman says regardless of the sentence the judge hands down, Pugh already has been left with "no money, no home, her pension has already been stripped from her, and no spouse or no children to fall back on."

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall @BaltCitySchools @baltimoresun Silverman has finished. Now we are going to hear from people who are here to speak in support of Pugh.

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall @BaltCitySchools @baltimoresun "She is a humanitarian. She is a person who gives, reaches out and includes people in making change. She is about education and learning," says Argentine S. Craig, who says she has known Pugh for 50 years "as her high school teacher and as her current mentor."

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall @BaltCitySchools @baltimoresun Garrick Williams, a Park Heights leader and coach, said he knows Pugh as "a public figure that would come to a community and really change so many lives."

"I thought it would be unspeakable for me to not be here today," he said.

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall @BaltCitySchools @baltimoresun During unrest around the death of Freddie Gray, Pugh "was down in the crowd, no cameras or nothing, running down to try to deal with these children not one day but several days," Williams said.

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall @BaltCitySchools @baltimoresun Williams says Pugh would be "better off in the community," not prison.

"We love her. We care about her. She can come share with these young people about humility and how you can come back."

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall @BaltCitySchools @baltimoresun Karla May, an out-of-state legislator, says Pugh was a mentor and an example of a lawmaker who really cared.

"I found a woman whose character and standards were above reproach," she says.

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall @BaltCitySchools @baltimoresun Bishop Dennis Proctor of AME Zion Church:

"Most of us have resumes that have two sides to them, and most of us would not like to be defined by the worst of our activities."

"Her character is more than the act which we have heard portrayed in this court today."

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall @BaltCitySchools @baltimoresun Former Mayor Kurt Schmoke, a former prosecutor, says this is a case that calls for "minimum incarceration and maximum community service."

He said Pugh's supporters hope Pugh's "last chapter does not end with what happens in this courtroom today."

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall @BaltCitySchools @baltimoresun Pugh is about to speak for herself.

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall @BaltCitySchools @baltimoresun She begins w/ apologies. I cannot see into courtroom but she sounds very upset.

"I want to apologize to anyone I have offended or hurt through my actions..."

She apologizes for overlooking some actions, participating in others, not responding to things the way she was taught.

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall @BaltCitySchools @baltimoresun Pugh: "I did not want to take my city through any more shame as a result of my own actions, because I wanted to make a contribution to the betterment of my city and this world."

She sounds to be crying. Again, I cannot see her, but lots of sniffling and stumbling on words.

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall @BaltCitySchools @baltimoresun "No one is more disappointed than me," Pugh said. "I did turn a blind eye. I did and sanctioned many things I should not have."

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall @BaltCitySchools @baltimoresun Pugh says she was always the "fixer" of her family, always "solutions oriented."

"I stand here today because I am guilty and I did not apply those same values to the actions that occurred and led me here."

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall @BaltCitySchools @baltimoresun "I can and I will get up," Pugh says. "I do know that I can make contributions and to help those never come the way I have."

She asks the judge for mercy "as I have asked God for mercy and salvation."

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall @BaltCitySchools @baltimoresun Pugh has just concluded her comments.

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall @BaltCitySchools @baltimoresun Judge Chasanow has begun speaking. She says she decides sentences only after hearing presentations, and says she will now talk through her thought process in open court before issuing sentence.

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall @BaltCitySchools @baltimoresun Chasanow says it is "ironic" that people are lauding Pugh's past good works, as "it was precisely that reputation for good work that allowed her to commit these offenses and continue the fraud for as long as she did."

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall @BaltCitySchools @baltimoresun Chasanow says she thinks the upward enhancements of the guidelines for fraud being related to educational entities and a breach of public trust are "an insufficient recognition of the severity of these offenses" in Pugh's case.

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall @BaltCitySchools @baltimoresun "It is astounding and I have yet frankly to hear any explanation that makes sense. This was not a tiny mistake, lapse of judgment. This became a very large fraud. The nature and circumstances of this offense clearly I think are extremely, extremely serious," Judge Chasanow says.

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall @BaltCitySchools @baltimoresun "I disagree that the length of the sentence has no impact on others out there who might be thinking about using or abusing their positions of trust," Judge Chasanow says.

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall @BaltCitySchools @baltimoresun Judge Chasanow says that people at UMMS and other entities that did business with Pugh "need to be better public citizens themselves."

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall @BaltCitySchools @baltimoresun This case "could not have come at a worse time for the city" of Baltimore, and while the impact on Pugh has been heavy, "the impact on the city is also very great and very tragic," Judge Chasanow says.

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall @BaltCitySchools @baltimoresun BREAKING: Former Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh has been sentenced to 3 years in prison, followed by 3 years probation as a result of her pleading guilty to conspiracy and tax evasion in her “Healthy Holly” fraud scheme. baltimoresun.com/politics/bs-md…

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall @BaltCitySchools @baltimoresun Judge Chasanow orders immediate restitution of $400,000 to UMMS & $11,948 to MAIF; "some sort of payment schedule" will be determined.

Pugh also will forfeit $669,688, in whatever form that may take, but including her home on Ellamont Road and $17,800 in her campaign account.

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall @BaltCitySchools @baltimoresun Pugh has also agreed that all copies of "Healthy Holly" in government custody will be destroyed.

@justin_fenton @lukebroadwater @KRichardsonMMA @lightforall @BaltCitySchools @baltimoresun Pugh is not being taken into custody immediately, will be given time to get her affairs in order.

Judge Chasanow has told her to surrender "when notified when and where to report."

If she receives no such notification by April 13, she must report back to the courthouse.

I just spoke to Pugh’s attorney, Steve Silverman, who called the sentence — which came below the prosecutors’ recommendation — fair.

He said under First Step Act, he expects Pugh won’t serve more than 18 months, all of it at a minimum security facility.

“I think the judge considered both sides, I think she was very fair and reasonable and considered all the circumstances and came to a decision that was probably where it needed to be,” Silverman says.

“Of course she was hoping for less,” he says of Pugh. “The important thing is that from the moment this came to light and we understood the gravity of the situation, it was my goal to make sure that she does not die in prison, and I’m relieved that that’s not going to happen.”

Pugh just addressed the media outside. She apologized again, said “none of this was intentional,” and that she hopes to recover and regain her “zeal.”

“Nobody loves Baltimore more than I do,” she says.

While the federal court should allow reporters to utilize devices and bring cameras into the courtroom, especially for things like today's sentencing hearing for a fallen public official, I am appreciative that they provided a media room with court audio where I could live tweet!