[Blindvet-talk] Legless Blind Man Steals From Blind Veterans

[NABlindVets at aol.com]

Legless blind man who stole from vets avoids jail
By ELAINE  SILVESTRINI | The Tampa Tribune 
Published: September 06, 2012 Updated:  September 06, 2012 - 6:00 AM 

TAMPA -- 
Eight days after he  started working at a clinic for blinded veterans, 
Richard Brown started stealing  from it.
Blind himself and with both legs amputated below the knee, Brown  "was an 
expert at making people trust him," his former boss, Nancy Kirk, told a  
judge Wednesday during a sentencing hearing in federal court.
"Fellow  employees trusted him," Kirk said. "He used that trust to steal 
from veterans by  stealing their low-vision aids and selling them."
Brown was paid more than  $78,000 a year as a coordinator helping blind 
veterans in the eye clinic at  James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital. And in two 
years, he stole more than $88,000  worth of equipment, such as iPads and 
iPhones, selling them at discounted prices  to friends and relatives and on eBay.
Brown's attorney, public defender Adam  Allen, asked U.S. District Judge 
Steven D. Merryday to give Brown probation —  not the 10 months in prison a 
prosecutor recommended — because of his extensive  medical problems, his lack 
of a criminal history and his intention to repay what  he stole.
Allen said Brown was paying off debts. But Kirk said Brown bragged  to 
coworkers about purchasing "big-ticket items like a big-screen TV, a new car  
and new furniture."
This was not, she said, "a mistake by someone  experiencing financial 
problems. This is a pattern of behavior that is not  likely to change."
Brown, she said, "spoke constantly of his dedication to  the veterans and 
how hard he worked to help them. He was the first to tell me  when he felt a 
co-worker was not doing their best for veterans."
Allen told  Merryday that Brown is deeply remorseful and determined to 
repay the government.  His actions have strained his marriage — his wife also is 
blind — and his  relationship with his military family. Although Brown is 
not a veteran, Brown's  father served 29 years in the Air Force and his two 
brothers also served, Allen  said.
"He's let them down," Allen said. "He let his wife down; he let his  
brother's down."
"Don't forget the country," Merryday said.
"He let the  country down," Allen agreed.
Brown, 48, of Brandon, lost his vision and his  legs because of Type 1 
diabetes, which also cost him a kidney and his pancreas.  He may be on the verge 
of organ failure again, Allen said.
He also has heart  problems and had quadruple bypass surgery in 1998. Allen 
said Brown takes 13  medications a day, including one drug that's not 
available in federal  prisons.
"I know what I've done, like he said, has hurt me and my family,"  Brown 
told the judge. "I hurt myself. I want to pay back everything that I can  pay 
back. … I want to show society that I wasn't the person that committed that  
crime. That's not me."
While she did not take a position on whether Brown  should be imprisoned, 
Kirk, his former boss, told Merryday she wanted to make  sure Brown is never 
again in a position to steal. He should not ever "be placed  in a position 
of trust with any organization," she said.
"Mr. Brown's visual  impairment was not a problem when I hired him," Kirk 
said.
"He had the  ability to perform his work at a very high level. His 
evaluations were always  outstanding, and I recommended him for a $1,000 performance 
award for his work  with the veterans. His abilities were in no way 
marginal. His visual impairment  should not be used now as a reason to make him 
less responsible."
Assistant  U.S. Attorney Sara Sweeney didn't dispute Brown's medical 
problems are severe.  But she said the prison system is equipped to treat him.The 
judge said that  Brown had insulted "the dignity of not only the veterans, 
but the country and  the office that he took."
"There is a sense that what he deserves and what is  sensible to give him 
are probably two different things," Merryday continued.  "This offense is 
especially bothersome. … He should have had a special affinity  for the persons 
he was serving."
Brown's medical condition is "not a license  to steal," Merryday said. 
"It's not a license to go in and recklessly rip off  the taxpayers and, not only 
the government, but people in need."
Merryday  said he's skeptical Brown is remorseful, and may just be sorry he 
was  caught.
But in the end, the judge granted Allen's request and sentenced Brown  to 
five years of probation. In addition to paying restitution, Brown must serve  
eight months of home detention.
The judge urged Brown to comply with all  restrictions while he is on 
probation, warning him that if he steps over the  line, he will go to prison. "If 
you don't think you will go to jail, go to  prison, if you violate the 
terms of this supervised release," the judge said,  "try me." 

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Dwight D. Sayer
National President,
The  National Association of Blind Veterans
A Division of the NFB
Email -  presidentnabv at aol.com
or president at nabv.org 
Web Site - _www.nabv.org_ (http://www.nabv.org/)