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U.S. District Judge Vanessa Gilmore made it clear she disapproved of the short sentence and said prosecutors had tied her hands by reindicting Lapin on a count that carried a maximum sentence of three years. She also fined Lapin $60,000.
“A monkey could give the sentence I’m giving today. There’s nothing I can do,” Gilmore said to victims who were in the courtroom.
In December, Gilmore rejected a 3-year plea agreement between Lapin and the government.
Instead of revisiting the plea agreement, prosecutors brought another indictment against Lapin that carried a maximum sentence of three years, and he pleaded guilty to that charge.
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