I’m new to blogging or journaling of any kind, so this is a new experience for me. I’ve decided to start writing about my experiences so that perhaps someone reading them can benefit and avoid some of the challenges and pitfalls I’ve been faced with over the past three years. I’ve been convicted of a white-collar crime, a felony. It just hasn’t gotten any easier writing or saying that. I’m told in time it will be less painful, and I believe it, but I’m not quite there yet. In the indictment and at trial, I was charged with Securities Fraud and Conspiracy to Commit Securities Fraud. After a three-week trial and four days of deliberation from the jury, I was acquitted of Securities Fraud, but found guilty of Conspiracy. I was sentenced to 12 months in prison and fined $250,000, with no restitution and no supervised release following the confinement period. I still maintain my innocence and have filed an appeal to hopefully overturn the case. Because my appeal is pending, I will not be writing or talking about my case other than the basic allegations and the results of the legal proceedings.My reporting date is 2 months from today. I asked the judge to ask that the BOP place me in Montgomery Alabama, where the prison camp is on an Air Force base and it is only about a three hour drive for my wife and children to visit when they can. As of today, I’ve not yet been given written notice of my assigned location, but I called the Marshall’s office in NY and was told that I was assigned to Montgomery.
Besides possibly helping someone else down the road, I also hope that in writing this I can bring friends and family up to date on some of my thoughts and what is going on during my next twelve months in confinement. I also have the goal of helping me crystalize my thoughts and better prepare for transitioning back into the workforce and community upon release. Even if I am successful in my appeal attempts, I know it will be a challenging road ahead. But I will succeed. How do I know this? I have many reasons. First, as those of you who know me, I am an engineer first and foremost. I may have been in executive management for the past 28 years or so, but I am an engineer at heart. I tend to have logical trains of thought and I typically can remove emotion from critical decisions (although it has been much more difficult lately, I admit). While I can’t see the exact pathway forward, I see the destination ahead and the direction I need to go. I may not yet have all the roads ahead of me mapped out, but since I know the destination, I will get there. I also have the skills and support of friends and family as part of my “supplies” for the journey.
I also have an operating principle that I’ve taught and used for a couple of decades – they are outlined on the first page of this website. One really highlights where I am right now: Turn Complaints into Actions. I could spend all or most of my time complaining about what has happened to me. Although I’ve done my share of that, I am done with complaining. I am turning my complaints into actions. How am I doing that? By starting this blog, and by working with three separate non-profit organizations, White Collar Advice, Prison Professors, and Compliance Mitigation, I am going to share my talent and my experience with people who have been in the same or similar circumstances and those whose experiences may have been quite different than mine. In my past 30+ years of business experience I have built businesses from basically nothing to cumulative revenue well over $1 billion, hired thousands of people, and mentored and promoted dozens more. I will utilize the skills I have honed over the past decades to give advice and share experiences with people who can then decide whether or not to incorporate what I have taught and turn those lessons into “tools” that can be put in their personal “toolbox” and pulled out when any given situation requires.
| ReplyForward |