Rich Get Lenient Punishment

If someone steals a pizza they will get some jail time.  Bruce Karatz stole millions and committed mail fraud and lied to cover it up, and gets to serve the sentence in his 24-room mansion.

Prosecutors said in an Oct. 14 filing that sentencing Karatz to home detention at his 24-room mansion in Bel Air, California, would suggest that there is a two-tier justice system in which well-connected chief executives can break the rules with virtual impunity.

"To promote respect for the law, the public must be assured that a wealthy, well-connected individual, regardless of his station, array of prominent friends and associates, history of private success or acts of public largesse, will be subject to the same standard of criminal justice as those less fortunate," prosecutors said in the filing.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Stern, whose office was seeking a 6 1/2-year prison term for Karatz, said, "We respectfully disagree with the judge's decision," and declined to comment further.

Wright ordered Karatz to pay a $1 million fine, serve eight months of home detention with electronic monitoring and perform 2,000 hours of community service.