Charmed, I'm sure

Many of the stories about former Modesto, Calif. mortgage broker Tony Daniloo -- who this week was sentenced to nine years in federal prison -- have focused on his success in deceiving big institutions like California State University Stanislaus, which briefly renamed its basketball stadium "DreamLife Arena" before Daniloo's company was shut down. DreamLife was a finalist for naming rights to the San Francisco 49ers' football stadium in 2004

Somehow it's fascinating when a con artist is able to not only pull the wool over the eyes of his family, friends and an Alzheimer's patient (actual Daniloo victims), but people who should know better. We'll even root for the con artist in movies like "Catch Me If You Can," the Leonardo DiCaprio-Tom Hanks check kiting caper, if we're persuaded these are victimless crimes.

But if you want to know more about the misery these kinds of scam artists leave in their wake, go read part of the Modesto Bee's exhaustive coverage of the Daniloo case.

One victim committed suicide after Daniloo cheated her out of almost $1 million from a family trust. Daniloo's parents claim he stole his father's identity to borrow $116,000 against his their home, leading them to file for bankruptcy protection. Daniloo victimized homeowners seeking cash-out refinance loans by altering escrow documents and diverting cash into his personal bank accounts, and some of his victims were low-income and minority clients with bad credit.

These, and other details of the case, have the Bee questioning whether Daniloo even charmed the federal judge who sentenced him Wednesday. The judge knocked 18 months off of Daniloo's sentence because he's already been locked up on state charges. He waived a $12,200 fine, saying Daniloo couldn't pay. And he agreed to his family's request that he be sent to a low security federal facility in Lompoc known for its substance abuse program.

Bee columnist Jeff Jardine calls Lompoc a "country club," and complains that instead of a "dressing down," the judge "gave Daniloo a pep talk." He wants Daniloo to be sent to a tougher prison.

My first job as a newspaper reporter took me to Lompoc for three years, where one of my "beats" was the federal prisons there. At the time, the high security penitentiary, USP Lompoc, was one of the most dangerous in the country. There were frequent lockdowns when fights between rival gangs broke out, and a guard was stabbed to death in 1997. Daniloo is headed to the neighboring low security FCI Lompoc ("Federal Correctional Institution"). It's not nearly as intense as the USP, but the 1,500 inmates at the FCI are packed into overcrowded dorms and they do have to watch their backs. You're locked up inside the razor wire with some pretty tough characters and there's no early parole for federal inmates, so Daniloo is looking at spending 7 1/2 years there.

Given the considerable cost to taxpayers, what would be the point in a harsher sentence? Under a plea bargain with state prosecutors last year, Daniloo agreed to repay victims $1.34 million. He can't start doing that until he gets out of prison.
--Matt Carter, Inman News

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