Federal prosecutors involved in the college admissions bribery case against Felicity Huffman Macy are suggesting the actress serve only one month in prison, along with paying a $20,000 fine.
According to court filings, federal prosecutors have decided the Desperate Housewives actress’ actions in the admissions scandal were “deliberate and manifestly criminal,” and thus, they argue, she ought to serve some prison time and pay a fine for penance.
However, it’s a slap on the wrist when you consider how much it could have been.
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Even still, Huffman’s lawyers have already responded to the recommendation, asking the judge to instead allow the actress to serve a year of probation and do community service. In addition to the response, the star’s legal team also filed several Letters in Aid of Testimony written by family and friends — including husband William H. Macy and Desperate Housewives costar Eva Longoria.
Ultimately, Huffman’s eagerness to help prosecutors early on in the investigation may benefit her significantly now that the feds are making recommendations for her sentencing range. That she was forthright and honest with investigators, and pled guilty very early on in the process, likely means the U.S. Attorney will end up recommending a prison sentence “at the low end” of the sentencing range, in addition “to a fine or other financial penalty.”
As you might recall, when Huffman pled guilty a few months ago, she also shared a very powerful impact statement with the court at the time, stating (below):
“I accept full responsibility for my actions and will accept the consequences that stem from those actions. I am ashamed of the pain I have caused my daughter, my family, my friends, my colleagues and the educational community. I want to apologize to them and, especially, I want to apologize to the students who work hard every day to get into college, and to their parents who make tremendous sacrifices to support their children and do so honestly.”
Wow.
That sort of authenticity — and her desire to clearly make amends for doing wrong — should help Huffman when it comes to (mostly) staying out of prison. Somebody got good legal advice, and was smart enough to take it!
Meanwhile…
On the other end of the spectrum sits Lori Loughlin and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli. The two SoCal residents pled not guilty in the same college admissions bribery case, and they’re now facing down potentially up to 40 years in prison, if convicted.
That’s a kick in the teeth, especially since Felicity could walk away with 30 days (or less!) of jail time…
Speaking of the comparison between the two actresses, Loughlin apparently has some pretty serious regrets about not taking the same plea deal as Huffman Macy. According to a source, as her case moves through the courts, the former Full House star suddenly wishes she could do things differently (below):
“Lori regrets not doing what Felicity [Huffman] did.”
No kidding…
Another source suggests that the idea to not take a plea deal wasn’t Lori’s call in the first place!
“Lori was inclined to take the deal, but Mossimo said it would ruin both of their careers.”
Yikes…
Truly, a tale of two women facing similar circumstances who nevertheless find themselves in two VERY different places.
Reactions, Perezcious readers?? How do U think this will turn out for Huffman?! What about for Loughlin — will her regrets prove to be well-founded?! Sound OFF about everything in the comments (below)…
[Image via WENN]
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