Bush's pardon roster: Sparing once more

by Mark Silva

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around the Justice Department, with word that President Bush has offered clemency to several convicts, as presidents are wont to do near the ends of their terms.

Yet, this president has been exceptionally sparing with his pardon power, and the list rolled out by Justice this week looks a lot like previous George W. Bush-clemency lists: Generally low-grade offenders.

There is no Lewis "Scooter'' Libby, the vice president's former chief of staff, in this lineup, though Bush already has commuted his prison sentence for obstruction of justice in the CIA leak investigation - no full pardon here. There is no Michael Milken, the junk-bond financier who did jail time for financial wrongdoing and has been seeking a pardon to clear his name for some time now.

There are a lot of relatively petty crimes behind this new crop - though P.S Ruckman Jr., an expert in presidential pardons at Rock Valley College in Rockford, Ill., says that one of the 16 to whom the president granted clemency was on his "Pardon watch:'' John Forte, whose sentence for possession with intent to distribute cocaine has been commuted. Bush granted pardons to 14 and commutations of sentence to two this week.

There are three Texans on the outgoing president's clemency list - and Ruckman previously has noted that the president's home state has topped this White House's pardon roster for some time now.

Before this round, the president had signed just 157 pardons and six commutations of sentences.

Requests for pardons and commutations have piled up at Justice, with a few thousand pending. But in modern times, only Bush's father, former President George H.W. Bush, has offered less clemency - 74 pardons and three commutations

Here's the read-out on the latest list from the Justice Department:

WASHINGTON - On Nov. 24, 2008, President George W. Bush granted pardons to 14 individuals and commutation of sentence to two individuals:

PARDONS:

* Leslie Owen Collier - Charleston, Mo.

Offense: Unauthorized use of a registered pesticide, 7 U.S.C. §§ 136j(a)(2)(F) and 136l(b); violation of the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, 16 U.S.C. § 668(a).

Sentence: Feb. 2, 1996; Eastern District of Missouri; two years' probation and $10,000 in restitution.

* Milton Kirk Cordes - Rapid City, S.D.

Offense: Conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act; 18 U.S.C. § 371, 16 U.S.C. §§ 3372(a)(2)(A), 3373(d)(1)(B).
Sentence: Dec. 14, 1998; District of South Dakota; 18 months' probation conditioned on loss of hunting privileges for one year, performance of 100 hours of community service and payment of a $2,000 fine.

* Richard Micheal Culpepper - Mahomet, Ill.

Offense: False statements to the United States; 18 U.S.C. § 287.

Sentence: Jan. 15, 1988; Central District of Illinois; five years' probation conditioned on payment of a $1,000 fine and $4,351.90 in restitution.

* Brenda Jean Dolenz-Helmer - Fort Worth, Texas

Offense: Misprision of a felony; 18 U.S.C. § 4.

Sentence: Dec. 31, 1998; Northern District of Texas; four years' probation, with the special condition of 600 hours of community service and a $10,000

fine.

* Andrew Foster Harley - Falls Church, Va.

Offense: Wrongful use and distribution of marijuana and cocaine; Article 112a, Uniform Code of Military Justice.

Sentence: April 17, 1985, as approved June 13, 1985; U.S. Air Force general court martial convened at the U.S. Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colo.; 90 days' confinement, forfeiture of all pay and allowances and dismissal from the Air Force.

* Obie Gene Helton- Rossville, Ga.

Offense: Unauthorized acquisition of food stamps; 7 U.S.C. § 2024(b), 18 U.S.C. § 2.
Sentence: April 1, 1983; Eastern District of Tennessee; two years' probation, $500 fine and $875 in restitution.

* Carey C. Hice Sr.- Travelers Rest, S.C.

Offense: Income tax evasion; 26 U.S.C. § 7201 and 18 U.S.C. § 2.

Sentence: March 5, 1996; District of South Carolina; three years' probation condition on 180 days' home confinement and a $13,000 fine.

* Geneva Yvonne Hogg - Chamblee, Ga.

Offense: Bank embezzlement; 18 U.S.C. § 657.

Sentence: June 19, 1980; District of South Carolina; five years' probation and a $500 fine.

* William Hoyle McCright Jr.- Midland, Texas

Offense: Making false entries, books, reports or statements of bank; 18 U.S.C. § 1005.

Sentence: Oct. 20, 1986, as amended September 23, 1987; Western District of Texas; two years' imprisonment and a $10,000 fine.

* Paul Julian McCurdy - Sulphur, Okla.

Offense: Misapplication of bank funds by a bank officer; 18 U.S.C. § 656.
Sentence: Feb. 12, 1988; Eastern District of Oklahoma; five years' probation and $5,000 in restitution.

* Robert Earl Mohon Jr.- Grant, Ala.

Offense: Conspiracy to distribute marijuana; 21 U.S.C. §§ 841 and 846.
Sentence: Oct. 22, 1987; Northern District of Alabama; three years in prison.

* Ronald Alan Mohrhoff - Los Angeles

Offense: Unlawful use of a telephone in furtherance of a narcotics felony, 21 U.S.C. § 843(b); possession of cocaine, 21 U.S.C. § 844(a).

Sentence: Oct. 9, 1984; Central District of California; one year of in prison followed by five years' probation with the special condition of 2,500 hours of community service.

* Daniel Figh Pue III - Conroe, Texas

Offense: Illegal treatment, storage and disposal of a hazardous waste without a permit, 42 U.S.C. § 6928(d)(2)(A); illegal transportation of a hazardous waste to an unpermitted facility for storage or disposal, 42 U.S.C. § 6928(d)(1).

Sentence: Oct. 25, 1996; Southern District of Texas; three years' probation conditioned on six months' home confinement and a $1,000 fine.

* Orion Lynn Vick - White Hall, Ark.

Offense: Aiding and abetting the theft of government property; 18 U.S.C. §§ 641 and 2.
Sentence: June 17, 1975; District of Arizona; payment of a $250 fine within 90 days.

COMMUTATIONS:

* John Edward Forte - North Brunswick, N.J.

Offense: Aiding and abetting possession with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine; 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(A)(ii), 18 U.S.C. § 2.

Sentence: Nov. 20, 2001; Southern District of Texas; 168 months in prison, five years' supervised release and a $5,000 fine.

Terms of commutation: Sentence of imprisonment to expire on Dec. 22, 2008, leaving intact and in effect the five year term of supervised release with all its conditions.

* James Russell Harris - Detroit, Mich.

Offense: Conspiracy to aid and abet the distribution of cocaine, 21 U.S.C. § 846; attempted money laundering, 18 U.S.C. §§ 1956(a)(3) and 2; aiding and abetting the attempted distribution of cocaine, 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1); conspiracy to affect interstate commerce by obtaining property under color of official right, 18 U.S.C. § 1951; attempt to affect interstate commerce by obtaining property under color of official right, 18 U.S.C. § 1951.

Sentence: May 10, 1993; Eastern District of Michigan; 360 months in prison, five years' supervised release and a $50,000 fine.

Terms of clemency grant: Unpaid balance of fine remitted; sentence of imprisonment commuted to expire on Dec. 22, 2008, leaving intact and in effect the five year term of supervised release with all its conditions save the obligation to satisfy the unpaid balance of the fine.