Lobbyist Gets Wrist Slapped after Destroying Evidence

by Deb Cupples |  This is amazing to me.  Cecelia Grimes, a partner in a Pennsylvania-based lobbying firm, was sentenced to five months ' home detention and three years' probation for destroying evidence relating to a federal public-corruption investigation involving an un-named congressman whom the Justice Department refers to as "Representative A."

That there's a Representative A makes me wonder whether there's also a Representative B and C and so on, but that's beside the point.

Here's what the Justice Department says about Mr. Grimes' activities after her firm received two grand jury subpoenas demanding certain documents:

"Evidence presented at the plea hearing revealed that within six days of the FBI’s service of the two grand-jury subpoenas, Grimes placed some documents that she had stored in her house into trash bags, which she then brought to the front of her house for collection as garbage.   These documents included items related to Grimes’s travel and to Representative A’s campaigns.  FBI agents retrieved the garbage bags that contained the discarded documents, which were never produced to law enforcement authorities.
 

"Grimes also destroyed e-mails that were stored on her Blackberry device according to information presented at the plea hearing.  In early November 2006, Grimes placed her Blackberry device in a trash can near a restaurant in southeastern Pennsylvania.   Grimes discarded her Blackberry for the purpose of keeping the FBI from reviewing certain of her emails that would be of interest to the FBI." (DoJ)

It seemed that destroying evidence falls under the category of Obstruction of Justice, which seems to be a serious crime. 

With that in mind, I visited the U.S. Code, Chapter 73, "Obstruction of Justice", and found a section within that chapter labeled "Destruction, alteration, or falsification of records in Federal investigations and bankruptcy."

Here's what that section says:

"Whoever knowingly alters, destroys, mutilates, conceals, covers up, falsifies, or makes a false entry in any record, document, or tangible object with the intent to impede, obstruct, or influence the investigation or proper administration of any matter within the jurisdiction of any department or agency of the United States or any case filed under title 11, or in relation to or contemplation of any such matter or case, shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both." (18 U.S. Code 1519)

Given that Ms. Grimes' five months of home imprisonment is "not more than 20 years" of imprisonment, her sentence does fall within the statutorily prescribed sentence.

What I wonder is 1) why the Justice Department let Ms. Grimes off so easy, and 2) why Congress assigned such a potentially light sentence (zero imprisonment) to such a potentially serious crime -- one that white collar criminals can so easily commit using a common paper shredder.

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Comments

[treen]

My husband who worked on the Hill for a year comments that Congress has no interest in creating strict laws for white collar crime because most of them would be setting themselves up for lengthy prison sentences. Yet white collar crime affects A LOT more people and destroys so many more lives and futures than any other category of crime.

[Deb]

You make a good point!