January 18, 2013 - Federal Sentence of Two Years Imprisonment Followed by One Year Home Confinement Imposed Despite Total Exposure of 40 Years

January 18, 2013, in case number 3:10CR101-002 in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Florida, Pensacola Division, concluding four days of sentencing hearing, Mr. Kent's client Dr. Gerard DiLeo was sentenced by Chief United States District Judge Casey Rodgers to 24 months imprisonment followed by one year home confinement after having been convicted following a six week long trial in which Dr. DiLeo was charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and one count of money laundering for his role as a doctor in and co-owner of a pain clinic company, which the Government had characterized as a "pill mill."   The original presentence investigation report in Dr. DiLeo's case had found that Dr. DiLeo was subject to 20years imprisonment for the drug conspiracy and up to 20 years imprisonment for the money laundering conviction (for a total exposure of 40 years), and his guideline range was originally calculated to be 292 to 365 months (24 years 4 months on the low end to 30 years 5 months on the high end).   Mr. Kent objected noting that the Government had failed to ask for a special verdict to establish jury unanimity on which of several classes of drugs charged in the drug conspiracy count had been the object of the conspiracy as to Dr. DiLeo.  This objection was sustained, resulting in the maximum statutory penalty for the drug charge being reduced to 3 years from 20 years and reducing the cumulative exposure to 23 years, which was less than the PSR guideline range of 292-365.  Next, Mr. Kent objected that the patients of the pain clinic were not vulnerable victims, an objection overruled by Probation, but accepted by the district judge at sentencing, thereby reducing the guideline range 4 levels, from a Total Offense Level 40 to a Total Offense Level 36 and a sentencing range of 188-235 months (15 years 8 months to 19 years 4 months).  Mr. Kent had argued in a written sentencing memorandum that Dr. DiLeo was entitled to a downward variance or departure for extraordinary family responsibilities under U.S.S.G. Section 5H1.3, due to the care required for a severely disabled adult son.  After an initial objection by the Government, later withdrawn, the district judge departed downward an additional 12 levels to a range of 51-63 months under 5H1.3.  Following that departure, the district judge then accepted a number of statutory sentencing factors noted by Mr. Kent in his written sentencing memorandum under 18 U.S.C. Section 3553 and departed downward an additional 7 levels to level 17 and sentenced Dr. DiLeo at the low end of that range, 24 months.  This was a 19 level downward departure/variance after a six week long trial and guilty verdict on all counts, the most extreme sentence reduction Mr. Kent has ever obtained in over 25 years practice as a criminal defense attorney. This sentencing was the joint work of Mr. Kent, who authored the PSR objections and sentencing memorandum, and trial counsel for Dr. DiLeo, attorney Guy Womack (www.guywomack.com), who presented the crucial witnesses at the evidentiary hearing in support of the departure and 3553 variance then summarized the arguments for departure and variance.  Judge Rodgers allowed a voluntary surrender and sua sponte agreed to not only recommend placement at the Federal Prison Camp Pensacola, but that she would personally call BOP and urge the designation.   Based on Mr. Kent's objections and grounds for departure and variance, the sentencing guidelines in this case went down from more than 30 years imprisonment to just 24 months imprisonment.   On a 24 month sentence, Dr. DiLeo would be expected to serve no more than 20 months, as much as 12 months of which, under the Second Chance Act, may be in home confinement, such that the actual period of incarceration may be as little as 8 months.  This sentence would not have been possible but for the compassion and judgment of Chief United States District Judge Casey Rodgers, who put a herculean effort into the sentencing process, recognizing the extraordinary good character and family circumstances of Dr. DiLeo, the help of United States Probation Officer Michael Constantakos, and the grace of United States Attorneys Randall Hensel and Alicia Kim, who did not ask for a specific sentence for Dr. DiLeo, but instead acknowledged that he was entitled to a downward departure in the judge's discretion and further advised the court that the Government had no objection after sentence was imposed.