Get Out of Jail, Not Quite Free

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Faced with a federal prison population that has more than doubled nationwide in the past decade and incarceration costs that average $20,000 a person each year, judges often welcome the alternatives to imprisonment that consultants are paid to contrive. Recent efforts to loosen federal sentencing guidelines, which restrict a judge's discretion in letting convicted offenders avoid prison, could further this trend. Attorney General Janet Reno has announced she will review and possibly dispense with sentencing guidelines for minor drug offenses, and U.S. District Judge Harold Greene declared guidelines unconstitutional in a variety of cases. A change in the federal procedure could allow judges greater leeway to find creative alternatives to prison terms, and thus give consultants a larger role. "There's a lot of very talented people in prison mowing lawns and doing laundry," says Herbert Hoelter, an adviser to Helmsley and other well-known offenders. "Why not put them to work on the outside at far less cost to the taxpayer?"

The most successful sentencing proposals serve clients' interests yet avoid offending judges and prosecutors with excessive calls for leniency. Some can be extremely innovative. When Doc McGhee, the former manager of rock bands Motley Crue and Bon Jovi, was convicted of marijuana smuggling in North Carolina, he faced a tough judge and an aggressive prosecutor. He pleaded guilty and threw himself on the mercy of the court. Consultant Hoelter, whose nonprofit firm handles about 750 cases a year as well as sentence reductions in capital crimes, came up with the idea that McGhee should stage rock concerts to raise money for drug-treatment programs. Thus was the Make a Difference Foundation born. It has since put on major concerts in Moscow and the U.S., and is planning a PBS documentary on drug use and other problems faced by young people.

If Helmsley is soon to be released, it may be because her consultant is able to dramatize the harsh treatment she has received in comparison with other tax evaders. As the judge was reminded in Helmsley's court filing, singer Willie Nelson was allowed to settle $15.6 million in unpaid taxes and penalties without any jail sentence at all, partly by agreeing to produce an album -- which he titled Who'll Buy My Memories: The IRS Tapes -- and turn all proceeds over to the government.