Hearne: Craig Glazer On Contemplating Suicide & What Awaits Rod Anderson in the Slammer

Hereford_House_owner_if7fd0817-7b76-4ef1-a33c-25bb9836506f0000_20100622221517_320_240For starters, former Hereford House main man Rod Anderson‘s legal eagles blew it…

So says convicted KC businessman Craig Glazer of Stanford & Sons fame.

“I think what the public doesn’t understand is how incredibly unfair the criminal justice system is,” Glazer says. “It should not be punishment to take your case to trial, but it is, because they say, ‘Take these five years or we’re going to hammer you.’ ”

Speaking of which, Anderson reportedly turned down a pair of 5-year plea deals before dumping a fortune in legal bills and zeroing in on a 15 year sentence.

“Nothing against Rod, but from the evidence, it looks like he’s guilty,” Glazer says. “In my case I was innocent, but my lawyer warned me that I was risking my life – did I want to risk 10 years in Leavenworth even though I was innocent. You know, a lot of innocent people get convicted. He also warned me that my legal fees, if it went to trial, would be about $250,000.”

And that’s where Anderson’s lawyers failed him, Glazer says.

“Rod’s lawyer should have looked him in the eye and told him, juries tend to convict in Federal Court. Their conviction rate is over 90 percent. So Rod’s lawyer blew it by not talking Rod into taking a plea. There was no way out for Rod, he didn’t stand a chance.”

Now at age 60 Anderson faces a sentence triple what he could have gotten .

“Because they punish you for going to trial,” Glazer says. “Now instead of five years, he’s going to do 15. And he won’t get out soon, he’ll do at least 85 percent of the time and because he’s 60, he’ll be in prison until he’s in his 70s at the very least. So his lawyer did a terrible job not convincing him to take the plea.”

Based on Glazer’s coke bust 10 years back – a legal bullet he was able to dodge – Glazer says he has a pretty good idea of what five years of legal advice and a trial may have cost Anderson.

“His retainer was minimum 50 grand,” Glazer says. “Then there were jury experts, sentencing guidelines experts, arson experts and the depositions and interrogatories for all of the witnesses. I’d say Anderson spent a minimum of $300,000 to $400,000 and probably another $50,000 to $100,000 on the appeal. Those lawyers don’t work for free. And I know that law firm, so even if (Anderson) didn’t have the cash, they would have made him put his home up or whatever.”

imagesHow then could Anderson – who the judge described as broke – have afforded the big legal bills?

“I’m guessing he probably borrowed money from whoever he could – maybe his family, maybe he mortgaged his house,” Glazer says. “But he’d have been better off with a public defender because it would have been free and he could have plead.”

As for the possibility of Anderson appealing his conviction, “Federal appeals are extremely rare in a jury trial,” Glazer says. “Barring a miracle, I don’t think his appeal has a chance. And the appeal process is going to cost between $50,000 and $100,000, because it’s not just a motion. They have to submit like a 200 page document in writing and that paperwork is like a book. You have to talk about the trial and the trial’s errors. And then you have a hearing with the appellate judges, your attorneys, and you’re not there. And the odds of winning that are like one in 100 or less, it’s bad.  Then if he gets a new trial, he’s got to pay for that.”

Glazer agrees with Anderson’s lawyer, who during the sentencing noted Anderson would not be going to any s0-called “country clubs.”

“First of all, there is no country club,” Glazer says. “I was at the biggest country club you could go to in Boron, California. They had a pool and they had tennis courts, but it wasn’t any country club. The pool was a piece of crap and you could only get in it on Saturdays and Sundays and nobody used it anyway, because who wants to sit around with a bunch of guys? It was really small, there’s no girls, just 30 guys sitting and looking at each other. And the tennis courts were all busted up – I mean, you could still play tennis but…

“Let’s put it this way, you do want to be in a camp because it’s less violent and they have some other guys in there like Rod Anderson. Because face it, Rod doesn’t want to be in there next to somebody who was selling crack. He’ll probably start out in a medium security prison – that’s a level 2 – and they’re not very violent. They have fights but rarely is there a homicide.

“The worst persons are in what they call super max level 6 with no movement, and level one is a camp. When you go to prison you start at a higher level and work your way down to a camp.”

23382469_BG1Was Anderson foolish to squander what  money he had left on a five year legal battle?

“Probably,” Glazer says. “But defense lawyers love a Rod Anderson case. I mean, most of the guys they generally deal with don’t have any money. The bottom line is Rod may get to a camp pretty soon – maybe right away – but my gut level is they’re going to punish him because he went to trial, he didn’t accept responsibility and it was  a violent act. And for those three negatives, he’s going to go to a level 2 or 3.”

His attorney had asked the court to put him somewhere nearby for his family’s sake.

“I don’t think he wants to go to Leavenworth prison,” Glazer says. “It may be close, but it’s a tough prison, it’s a level 5 where people get stabbed to death. It’s a high security prison, so whether his wife and kids get to visit him is a non issue. He needs to go where it’s safe.

“And everybody when they go in at first, that’s the worst. Because you don’t know the system, you don’t know what to expect and you’re hoping you’re going to get out. But that hope will go away, especially when he loses the appeal. There is Rule 35 though and that’s when the sentencing judge after one year, reviews your case  and can reduce the sentence. That’s what Rod should be shooting for. It’s pretty rare, but in Rod’s case I could see him getting five to eight years taken off.”

What about Anderson’s lawyer’s press release after the sentencing that they will continue to investigate the fire, as if to say so they can fire the real culprits? Kinda like O.J. Simpson telling the world he would be looking for his wife’s “real killer.”

“I mean, I like Rod and I wish it was true, but it’s obvious that he apparently did it,” Glazer says. “And so if his attorneys have a plan, it could be to continue to raise money for his defense, but I mean, this happened five years ago. What more investigation do they need? It’s like a cold case now, what’s left to investigate? I mean, the investigator would have to be Rod and he’s in jail. His defense was horrible – there wasn’t one – I mean, but it is a conviction based on circumstantial evidence.”

Having broken a number of laws and done hard time himself, can Glazer relate to the temptation to burn one’s building for the insurance? Might he have done the same?

“Absolutely not,” Glazer says. “My business in Westport failed and I had insurance and I didn’t even think about burning it down. We took bankruptcy. Plus I have a fear of the government – you don’t mess with them – ask Syria. We even had a legitimate fire in the 1990s at Stanford’s and we were open two days later.”

Then there’s the possibility that charming though he was, Anderson was maybe not the Boy Scout we thought him to be.

“I don’t know, I think he’s still a pretty decent guy, but not a good guy maybe” Glazer says. “I mean, anything is possible, maybe he’s innocent. But if you put a gun to my head, I think he’s guilty.”

Which says what then about Rod?

“He made a horrible, horrible, horrible, desperate decision,” Glazer says. “And for one, it was done so very poorly. It wasn’t well thought out. Maybe Rod was off his rocker.

“He had three choices basically; he could run, turn his back on his family and just walk away and leave town and get a new wife somewhere. That was one choice and maybe the better choice. The second choice was to take his life and the third choice was to do something outrageous to try and get a bunch of money overnight like rob a bank or get some people to commit arson to get the insurance money. And those are all desperate acts.

“You want to know what I really think? I think he was worse off than anybody knows – he was totally broke and thinking probably of committing suicide and then he thought, ‘I’m going to take this one shot.’ ”

Anderson’s long term future?

“I think he’ll maybe go into the kitchen in prison and maybe eventually run it,” Glazer says. “And that will become his new life, kind of like in ‘Orange is the New Black.’ That’s what happens. So he’ll continue to run a kitchen, just not his own.

“Let’s put it this way; do I think he’ll ever be the Rod Anderson he was five years ago? No way. But that doesn’t mean he’s just going to fall into the gutter when he finally gets out. And he’ll meet some people in prison who can help him – I did – I mean, he’ll be talking about business deals for the next 10 years.”

 

 

 

 

 

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56 Responses to Hearne: Craig Glazer On Contemplating Suicide & What Awaits Rod Anderson in the Slammer

  1. Glazer Confidential says:

    CORRECTED HEADLINE: Anderson trial gives Glazer chance to talk about himself again.

  2. Hearne says:

    Hey guys,
    Craig has been there more than once and has a lot of experience to draw on

  3. DSW-ESQ says:

    Couldn’t agree more. .. his lawyers dropped the ball by not getting him to take the 5 years- so many lawyer’s look at their clients as paydays and don’t look out for their best interests- which is why I will never be a rich lawyer- I care about my clients and not their money

    • paulwilsonkc says:

      +100

      • the dude says:

        Yeah man, Glaze and esquire are right on this one.
        Homey the torch should have taken the plea deal and saved everyone a lot of grief, time and dinero.

    • harley says:

      WTF? without going into a long diatribe (haha)….
      Sorry glaze…you’re wrong on this entire case….not just wrong but
      you know none of the facts…never read the depositions…never
      considered what was not in the paper or what actually happened
      behind the scenes and the interactions between the defendants
      and their attorneys.
      You’re wrong..and there’s no better white collar attorney in the
      u.s. than hobbs.
      this was so far off because glaze knows nothing about the
      story ….the pleas etc…he’s speaking out his aSS on this because
      he only know a fewthings…..
      sorry glaze….you’re wrong.
      .
      I am sure that rod was given his options by his attorney. Even the
      press releases point that out. But for some reason he
      chose not to take the plea bargain. and no one knows what the
      plea bargain deal actually entailed.
      its right there in the
      public record….even the newpaper reported that he did not take
      the plea deal….and as whineryknows an attorney can only advise his
      client on what to do…..not force him to sign documents.

      theres probably a lot more to this than we will ever know.
      go read the releases very closely…go read the information that was
      released to the public.
      to try to take what little info was released and believe you know’the
      whole story is totally wrong.
      sorry glaze…but this one I gotta call you on this one….
      glaze…you’ve cussed and screamed when people makeincorect
      inferences about your legal situations. You screamed when they
      made comments which you said were incorrect about your
      legal situations and what happened in your cases in court and your
      dealings with the judges ect.. You’re now guilty of doing the exact
      same thing…

      • admin says:

        Harley,
        Craig actually almost hired Anderson’s lawyer on his coke bust 10 years ago, but had some very interesting and specific reasons for not going with him

        • harley says:

          makes no difference…glaze made his decision on
          his attorney…obviously he’s chosen some
          bad ones in the past…..
          hobbs is best white collar lawyer in nation…
          glaze’s opinion makes no difference in this
          case. again…attorneys can’t forcea client
          to take a plea.
          read the story hearne….you’re not even showing
          any smarts by not fully reading the releases
          ….stories…etc.
          you pick and choose what you want.
          stick with stories on jardines…bill self’s
          personal life…you’re much better with gossip
          than the truth!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

          • admin says:

            Thanks, Wild man….

            I’ll take your advice under consideration. BTW, obviously an attorney cannot force his client to do something they are unwilling to do. Craig’s point – and through the magic of after-the-fact information – I concur. The lawyer should have made a full court press for Rod to settle and a good salesman is only good if he makes the sale.

            Anderson was not sold, when he totally should have been.

            And how does one explain now Anderson’s lawyers vowing to spend more time (and presumably money) to find the real fire starter.

            Poor Rod’s in the slammer broke and his attorney’s want to spend more money and time finding who really did it?

            And that from one of the top legal minds in the country?

    • harley says:

      wrong again whinery!!!!!!!!

      • harley says:

        mr. admini…
        pleasedo some research…read more…look between the
        lines..
        in journalism school (where I won several Donrey media
        awards) we learned to followup on facts.
        Nsotice that there were 2 other coconspirators involved…
        notice that line.
        could that have something to do with rod not tking
        the plea deal….
        as you have probably seen watching andy Griffith
        as an attorney or old perry mason shows….all is not
        what it seems from the outside looking in.
        could rod had reasons other than what we have seen
        mentioned for not taking the plea….
        there is much to discuss…but i’m betting that
        rod…even though he and his lawyer knew the plea
        deal was the best way to go…may not have been
        able to take that plea deal…
        remember…if I read correctly…none of the defendants
        took plea deals…why?
        that’s the mystery..and who were the other mystery
        person/s mentioned in the releases and story.
        sorry hearne…i’m not a pro journalist….I suggest you
        go deeper into this before you blame anyone
        in this case.
        rod maybe had other concerns other than how long
        he spent in jail….
        sorry….you’re off base on this one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  4. CG says:

    As Hearne just told you, he asked me to comment and give example of how this works. I was using what I know and giving you that as what the reality can be here. I feel badly for Rod, he was always nice to me and my family. I also feel the 15 years is too harsh in this case. The court can see his community service, family and friends. Making an example, which you hear that in every trial, could have been much less time. The man has suffered and will continue to suffer. What could have happened, like an injury or death didn’t. In the end the only one really hurt is Rod Anderson. That’s the fact. So with that in mind, him not having any criminal past, the circumstance, seems the sentence is too long. I hope the court reviews this and cuts it way back. Unfortunately without some political help, which is tough at the federal level, a reduction is unlikely. I always hear people say”well that guy will get out in a couple years” referring to most sentences. That is no longer true, YOU REALLY DO THE 85 PERCENT, LESS A FEW MONTHS IN A HALFWAY HOUSE AND MAYBE IF YOU ARE ONE IN A HUNDRED SOME OTHER ACHIEVEMENT, THAT GIVES YOU A FEW MORE MONTHS, THATS IT. So in this case if it doesn’t change this man will be in jail around 12 years for sure. There is no parole board anymore.

    I don’t agree with this. I think our country should be a bit more sympathetic to our citizens in cases like this one. I hate to see hard core violent crimes get less time than this type of case. Worse yet white collar crimes that get these long sentences. Every case is different and has circumstance, I’d like to see these cases reviewed and after a man has lost everything near and dear to him and been in prison several years, I just think enough is enough. I am sure Rod Anderson being free in a few years will be the decent thing to do. He will never do anything like this again, never. So I really hope he gets a break at some point. You have to walk in a man’s shoes to feel this kind of pain and suffering. It’s truly hell on earth. It really is…

    • Balbonis Moleskine says:

      The only person to blame for this problem is Rod Anderson. His greed caused him to over leverage the business. He took on *ahem* bad partners, or partners who had been there all along (whatever take you believe).

      He harmed a whole neighborhood who had to look at a blighted burned out building for 2 years until they finally knocked it down- in the middle of a crossroads renaissance. He harmed his service staff who was left out in the cold because he didn’t want to pare down his restauranteur lifestyle. He harmed other small businesses who won’t get loans now or will get them at a higher rate because of increased risk.

      I don’t think it is a good message to send that you can risk it all, burn down the place (could have killed people easily) and all you get is 5 (really 3 after the one year pretrial served and the 85% release).

      Now if we can only get a federal investigation into Cleaver’s possibly fraudulent car wash loan but I’m not holding my breath.

  5. Balbonis Moleskine says:

    Good to see we were able to get the informed legal take from the convicted felon.

    A lawyer cannot make his client take any deal on the table. They are required to tell them about all plea deals no matter how poor, but cannot enter into an agreement unless the client agrees first.

    The hubris here is that a man who was caught red handed on a security camera with a gas can in his hand shortly before a mob steakhouse goes up in flames thought it was poor strategy to take a 5 year plea deal.

    For a cowtown, it is odd that we have more quality Asian fusion buffets than we do quality steakhouses. Plaza III is quality but laughably expensive. Golden Ox was a favorite of people when the West Bottoms smelled like cow shit instead of hobo dooty and haunted houses. Cosentino’s, best steakhouse in town I guess.

    • harley says:

      I have written for years…that wall street thieves and banksters
      literally destroyed millions of lives…yet almost NONEOF THEM
      ARE IN JAIL OR WERE EVER ARRESTED….
      .why are none of the
      thievesfrom wall street doing perp walks or on trial?????

      • the dude says:

        Because they control the system you niwit and most of the population could care less as long as there is gas in the car, food on the table and mind numbing crap on the tele.

  6. CG says:

    All good points guys, for once not a truly personal attack on me but online with the issue. Harley old buddy I don’t read anything you wrote in your comment that changes anything I said. I met with Mister Hobbs in 2001, I went and interviewed all five top area federal defenders, he was one of them. They were all beat up, tired and down. It was clear to me that they knew winning,even in a case like mine, was way uphill, NONE OF THEM WIN IN COURT TRIALS AGAINST THE FEDS, maybe one every five years. Its brutal…So they all want you to plead and make a deal if they are trying to save you.
    Hobbs seemed past it, sorry Mister Hobss, he asked me if Stanfords just took cash or did we have a bank account. WTF, on that one I walked out…what planet are you on sir. Nice man, but seemed kinda by the numbers and in no way willing to figure this one out..again most of their clients are guilty or in the grey area…so its hard.

    I was saved by my civil attorney Pete Smith, plaza, a man who does win and often..he got me to a non drug attorney, Jim Eisenbrant. Jim was outstanding. He didn’t go drug cases but saw mine was unique and took it…worked his butt off. But in the end got the govenrment to see that I was not a dealer just a guy who used, weekend warrior as are millions of people, the informants lied. They were forced to take lie detector tests and flunked. And we produced more than 30 witnesses to my daily life that told what they knew of my day to day and night to night life, girlfriends, the maid, on and on…even local law enforcement…they all said the same things, “no way he sells anything ever, maybe used..that’s it” it rang with the truth…Jim did all that with me….the client is his own best investigator since he more than anyone knows what happened and why…and if there is motivation from the government outside the charges, often there is…not in Rod’s case, but mine.

    Happens…I am sure Mister Hobbs was once a powerful courtroom attorney…but his job wore him down…

    Harley you’re correct on one count, I don’t know all the details, but I haven’t heard any that makes Rod seem not guilty…by now I’d think his team would have come up with something better…the plea was his only way to save his life…5 years, out in 4, maybe less with halfway house and achievement and drug program if he could have gotten in it..but 15 at his age, any age, damn. Hey I wasn’t there when they all spoke on what to do…so I don’t know all that went down…but in the end not a good call….15 years, bad stuff.

  7. chuck says:

    Excellent article and comments.

  8. mark smith says:

    Winning a federal criminal jury trial is like winning the lottery, it’s rare. I think at last count the Western Dist. of Mo stood at 90 pct plus conviction rate in cases that go to trial. As for who is to blame for Rods ill advised decision to tell the Govt. to rack em up, in the end it’s on him. I only disagree with a couple of things. Painting this guy as “a desperate out of his element businessman who made a bad decision” is way off in my opinion. Here’s a guy who conspired to torch a building. This isn’t the usual biz guy cooking the books or filling the chivas bottles with generic scotch. Arson and insurance fraud are pretty heavy crimes. He not only knows people willing to do the dirt, he is comfortable enough with them to follow through. Sorry to those who thought they knew Rod, but square world business types dont burn buildings. They file bankruptcy and start over. It takes a high degree of ego to try to beat a jury trial when you are dead to rights guilty. In the end, Rod is no less of a criminal than Glazer was, or I was for that matter.
    The other thing I take exception to; Having to decipher the gibberish and horse $hit schizophrenic ramblings of harley this early in the morning. FYI h boy, a white collar lawyer is as useless as tits on a hog in a criminal case. Arson isnt a “white collar crime” you insufferable wobble headed moron.

    • harley says:

      mr. smith….hobbs is known as the top white collar crime attorney
      in the nation…not my opinion but from the top people in
      law enforcement and others in his field….nationally!!!!!!
      he’s also one of the top defense attorneys in the nation…not my
      opinion…that of the top people in his field and in connected areas.
      mr. smith…we’ve read your other disgusting rants on other
      blogs…we understand your need to be another rage monger and
      hater…not just on blogs but in real life.
      you’re a rip and write guy really saying nothing different about
      this case than any of the other commentators.
      I suggest you read the information available before opening your
      big mouth because again and again…you’re proven wrong.
      truth is you know nothing more than any of the other “wrong” commentators
      because you speak before you think.
      I appreciate your paying special attention to my comments but there
      are more to come. You read everything Harley writes..just like the
      rest of the kcc crew.
      however…you are 100 per cent a f*cking idiot to make comments on
      issues you knownothing about.
      in other words…mr. smith stfu because you’re just another hater
      trying to be somebody.
      please stop the insults. as glaze said we’ve all kept to the
      facts of the case known to the public.
      the question remains…why would he not take the plea and
      get 5 years…. its obviously the path to follow….anyone can
      figure this out…but an intelligent person has to believe
      there are other forces at play here. As glaze said many things
      go on in a trial. I’ve not been in one…don’t know what happens.
      many behindthe scene events that cause things to move and
      change. As an idiot that you are…you know nothing about this
      besides googling to find out one fact which wwe all know.
      haters and idiots like you who jump to conclusions without
      knowing much more than tidbits about this case are a dime
      a dozen….you’ve proven yourself an utter disaster when it comes to any subject. so stfu until you can speak with facts and figures…\

      if you would like to discuss this or need advice on money/life/
      business/you should contact me at my email address.
      another hater….my gosh what kind of crap do you say to people
      you know??????l o s e r!!!!!

      now go back to your hateful and hostile language.

      • mark smith says:

        Harley you retard, arson isn’t a white collar crime. I’ve forgotten more about the justice system than you can cut and paste from Google. You know nothing, and are simply an anonymous troll sucking at the govt. Tit while you draw ssi for your obvious mental issues. I know all about you , more than you know. You might as well drop the bs “mover and shaker” crap. The closest you ever came to money was bussing tables for people who viewed you with contempt and pity. Now go back to that cramped studio apartment and take your lithium.
        Apology to all retards for comparing you to Harley.

        • the dude says:

          How big is that ssi check harlinator?

          • harley says:

            the one I pay every quarter for self employment
            taxes …..the withholding..
            its huge dude.
            in fact if you can scrounge some money together and bet 10K i’ll do the same with you.
            bring it on big mouth…lets back up your
            words with some cash.
            we know about you…and we know you too
            ain’t got a pot to piss in…
            if you do…prove it….10K is all it takes.
            or will you run and hide like chuckles…
            screech…and the rest of the kcc crew.
            I don’t think you got anything.
            You know how to start the bet going…
            I look forward to you contacting me to
            make the wager.

        • paulwilsonkc says:

          +, oh, I dont know, lets say a gazillion

    • the dude says:

      Yeah, the feds usually don’t bring a case to trial unless they intend to ball.
      They don’t screw around and are not usually subject to the same kind of lame political pressure as state and local yokels to bring crap cases to trial.
      If the feds have you in their crosshairs ya best be ready to plea like a bitch.

    • chuck says:

      My brother did 5 years in Cameron for firebombing a house. He had kind of a bad temper. Anyway, he had a public defender, no story and plenty of attitude (He refused parole, I shit you not, because he didn’t want to take any sh*t from a parole officer.).

      He was nailed 6 ways from Sunday, witness’, testimony you name it, he was guilty. I think he might even have said some really dumb sh*t like he “wished he woulda killed the guy”.

      He is gone now, but not forgotten. Jeeze what a hard azz.

      My point is, for the record, he was guilty as hell, was trying to kill someone and got 5 years.

      • chuck says:

        My brother did 5 years in Cameron for firebombing a house. He had kind of a bad temper. Anyway, he had a public defender, no story and plenty of attitude (He refused parole, I sh*t you not, because he didn’t want to take any sh*t from a parole officer.).

        He was nailed 6 ways from Sunday, witness’, testimony you name it, he was guilty. I think he might even have said some really dumb sh*t like he “wished he woulda killed the guy”.

        He is gone now, but not forgotten. Jeeze what a hard azz.

        My point is, for the record, he was guilty as hell, was trying to kill someone and got 5 years.

  9. Bizzle Dunkers says:

    To call jr hobbs a white collar lawyer is doing him a disservice. He is actually one of the best death penalty attorneys in the midwest. A simple federal drug crimes case would have been less than his normal case.

    I dont work at the firm but everybody in kc knows they are highly skilled.

    • harley says:

      bizzle…thanks…he is excellent.
      not my opinion…but that of his fellow attorneys nad law enforcement
      people all over the country.
      just because he didn’t want to represent someone doesn’t mean
      he’s a bad person or attorney.
      I;’m sure he turns lots of people down…

    • harley says:

      go read his biography on his website for his firm…then get back to me1!!!!!!!

  10. balbonis moleskine says:

    Hey craig, you guys should look into booking adam carolla to do a live podcast at the club.

    Since you guys have a full license you could even do a mangria tasting (its awful, but he is making money).

    Or a Doug Benson and Doug Loves Movies double feature?

    • CG says:

      We have done some, Adam would be great, in two weeks TJ Miller will do a podcast at 530 PM on a Saturday before his two shows and he is a biggie…but yeah they are interesting.

  11. harley says:

    glaze…was the tj on the Motorola commercial with the African American couple?

  12. paulwilsonkc says:

    Distant relative by marriage tied into a white collar crime a few years back up North, out of State, tied to “mortgage fraud”. He was the CFO for a major developer. Keep in mind as a backdrop, the developer had never lost money, made millions, in fact. A disgruntled employee left the firm and went to the State with what was going on. Full blown Fed and IRS investigation took place.
    What my relative had some was simply sign off on the paperwork as having been approved by him. Once again, huge money making developer, they simply, wrongfully, fabricated numbers to allow them a higher line of credit. That was the extent of the wrong doing.
    At the end of the investigation, Grand Jury, indictments came down for both him and the COO. They were offered deals, neither took them. One got 15, the other got 20. And guess what? No parole.
    They too had great attorneys, my friends position was they had done no harm, he was just signing off on paperwork, he didn’t even know the real estate values had been inflated, that was done by an appraiser, not him. So he considered himself innocent.
    Thinking he truly was, and being a shade too naïve about how the “system” works, he and his innocence headed for Court. His lawyer begged him to take a deal; his reply? “I’m innocent, the Court will see that, I’m not taking a deal, I did nothing wrong.” And in many ways, he didn’t. He had no idea if a shopping center or subdivision was worth $10 million or $30 million, hes not a real estate speculator, he’s a bean counter.
    He’s 54 years old. He’s enjoying 12 more years before he’s out.
    Craig could NOT be more right on this one. Detractors who have not watched it up close and personal have no idea. There is no justice in the justice system and he was ab so lutely made an example of.
    Nice comments, Craig, good story.

    • the dude says:

      Your relative was guilty of being a rube in that case and signing off on bogus numbers. He was a sword falling example, the key is to CYA and not be the example. You better know what you are signing off on as a CFO of a company. That’s why they get the six figure plus salary and the cushy corner office on the accounting floor.
      If you don’t know the numbers you are signing off on, this kind of crap can happen to ya.

      • paulwilsonkc says:

        Couldnt not be MORE true, but in his case, he had the “appraisals” from the professional firm and just went with it. I dont know how far you CAN drill down, the appraisal firm was on the take and he had no idea, but rube…………. totally. In many other ways, if not that one.

        • harley says:

          paul….don’t know details but havig followed the
          mortgage fraud cases across the nation i’m
          thinking that based on the other cases that
          follow this case…that the appraisals were high..
          some bank loaned money on the inflated appraisals
          and in the crash lost money.
          with the fbi/irs on this deal…i’d be interested to
          know more details because in previous casesb
          like this a bank/mortage company/lender etc.
          used faulty appraisals to make a loan on property
          and the financial institution lost money.
          you mention shopping centers so we’re probably
          talking about some serious money involved.
          yes…that happens…but based on the many previous
          mortgage fraud cases I’ve followed…someone/something lost money because
          of the appraisal.
          don’t know if this is the case with your relative…
          but it seems unusual if there was no financial
          loss…just signing paperwork would mean 15 years
          in prison. Someone had to have made money
          on those appraisals for there to be this kind of
          reaction. Someone profited from those inflated
          appraisals…probably not your relative…but
          there usually is a financial gain made for there
          to be this type of enforcement action.
          i’d be interested to know more details…
          hopefully things will work out for your relative.
          thanks.

          • paulwilsonkc says:

            Are you just f’ing BIPOLAR?

            One minute you want to comment like a decent human being would and chat it up, (rare but it happens), the next moment I’m a squirrel, broke dick fake business, box salesman, loser who fell and can’t get up, all the while, you don’t have a friggin clue what you’re talking about or who I really am!

            Not that facts or non-hate based speech ever got in your way; you can find a way to cut anyone down for anything, especially if its someone actually doing something you claim to do, but can’t prove.

            Once in a while you stumble across common decency and act like an intelligent human capable of constructive conversation, but you quickly pick yourself up and carry on as if nothing happened.

            Thanks for shocking me and saying something intelligent, I needed an epiphany today.

            e•piph•a•ny/ɪˈ
            noun, plural e•piph•a•nies

            A sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience.

    • Bing Hitler says:

      sounds like your kind of relatives: stupid yet unrepentant.

      • paulwilsonkc says:

        Thank you Hitler, interesting dude you are. I always admired that part about when the goin got tough, you hid and pulled the trigger. Well played.

  13. Stomper says:

    I try to avoid commenting on postings here that I really don’t know anything about but I feel compelled to jump in as I am extremely familiar with this firm. Started here back over 60 years ago and I met James Wyrsch when he first joined the firm. Jim is probably one of the top attorneys in the country in terms of having success against the Feds. I guarantee you that J.R. was not the only attorney from the firm that touched this case. The KC Star ( I know, they have no credibility with many of you) ran an article on them several years ago that Hearne can easily access. I’d guess if you asked federal prosecutors here to rank firms that can bring it, Wyrsch Hobbs & Mirakian would be at the top of that list. I certainly don’t know the full story here and I seriously doubt any of us does but to attack the firm and say they failed is pretty unfair. If your bar for success or failure is whether they won or lost the case, then I guess you can say they failed but you can only go with the cards you are dealt. I’m confident that Mr. Anderson was presented with the options and pulled the trigger when it came down to “nut cuttin’ time” .

    • the dude says:

      I didn’t say it, it can be seriously hard for a legal team to properly defend a client when all that client does is put grenades in their collective faces at each turn. It sounds like that is what the Anderson clown did and continues to do. The fact that they say they will defend him after the trial to find the real killer sounds OJey and kind of stupid, they should have just realized this was a lost case a long time ago and cut ties with him after the loss.

    • harley says:

      standing ovation for stomper!!!!!!!!!!!
      I said nothing about how the case was handled. I believe much is
      unknown to many people out there..
      I noted that the attorney is one of thebest in the nation…because
      glaze didn’t hire him says to me that either glaze didn’t have
      the cash to hire him (which he didn’t because others paid for it) or
      he may not have had time or desire to work on that case.
      attorneys like that get probably to pick an choose their cases…
      i’m sure when glaze walked out hobbs didn’t lose any sleep.
      however…as stomper pointed out much more eloquently than I did
      that hobbs is the best….
      and thanks stomper for reiterating the facts that many of the
      haters on here fail to realize…
      thanks..owe you a beer!!!!
      will be down at sporting America park tonite…just yell out
      “hey Harley…you owe me abud!!!”

      • harley says:

        or you can catch me after the game at Missy B’s. just look for the tubby guy in assless chaps and a dog collar, sucking down some Buds.

  14. tiad says:

    Ah, yes, the money quotes:

    “…but it’s obvious that he apparently did it…”

    and

    “I don’t know, I think he’s still a pretty decent guy, but not a good guy maybe”

    and

    ““I think he’ll maybe go into the kitchen in prison and maybe eventually run it,”
    (Hmmm, The Hereford Bighouse, maybe?)

  15. Dude’s been convicted of choreographing an arson, and they’re gonna let him anywhere near the kitchen in the joint? That’s got big bowl of wrong written all over it.

  16. bubba says:

    Glazer you have a few things wrong about how the federal system works, regardless of your personal knowledge.

    Just a few examples.

    – Leavenworth has been a medium security prison with a minimum security camp, has been for the last 8 years.

    – Where one is placed in the federal prison system is not determined by what the court or anybody else wants to do with them. The system is handed the inmate and then they decide what to do with them. Mostly they take into account security factors. I think you are right that with 15 years and verdict of arson, the best he can hope is a start at medium and if he shows he can play the game and isn’t determined an escape risk they will move him on to minimum.

    – I thought we already went over this, but you were guilty. You were guilty of the catch all conspiracy nonsense. It is a bullsh*t law and often had real dealers rolling on users who had no one to roll on and wound up thinking they could go to court and show that they weren’t guilty. Lots of poor blacks got 20 years back in the late 80’s and ’90’s for simply being around the wrong people and using drugs. Lucky for you you could afford a real lawyer and the real lawyer was able to show them that he could muck up their case enough that it wasn’t a slam dunk and you got a sweetheart deal. But if you buy drugs from someone and then GIVE them to someone else, you are guilty of conspiracy to distribute.

  17. Davey Jones Locker says:

    Send in the clowns its the Glaze and Harley show! He did it he got off easy.

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