Legal News

Lawyer: Raffaello?s Road to Hell Was Paved With Good Intentions. . .

By Dan Slater

They may not rise to the level of Woody Harrelson or Denzel Washington, but the sentencing memo filed today on behalf of Raffaello Follieri contains testimony from some Italian heavies.

First, a quick catch-up: Last month, the jet-setting, Anne-Hathaway-dating Follieri pleaded guilty to conspiracy, eight counts of wire fraud and five counts of money laundering in connection with a real-estate investment scheme designed to fund his lavish lifestyle. His plea agreement, as we noted, contains an enviable list of fine timepieces that Folieri must forfeit, in addition to more than $2 million. Follieri faces 51 months to 63 months under a stipulated sentencing guidelines range as part of his plea agreement. Sentencing is now set for Oct. 23. Follieri is requesting a prison term of 36 months.

For those as fascinated as we are with how the young Follieri found his way from Foggia, Italy, to the Vatican to Ron Burkle to Anne Hathaway to jail, we urge you to read the sentencing memo. For Law Blog purposes, let’s focus on the “good character and lifetime commitment to good works” section.

The memo, penned by New York lawyer Flora Edwards, is chock full of character witnesses. For starters, there’s the blurb from Father Gerardo Saldutto, the guardian and bursar of the Convent of Saint Anna in the Italian town of Foggia. He writes:

I have known the Follieri family for a long time. Raffaello’s grandfather, the late Lello Follieri, was a very worthy journalist close to Padre Pio. Raffaello’s father, Pasquale, is a well known attorney and journalist from Foggia and his mother, Mrs. Anna Cordella, a talented teacher of mathematics and science. This family has always practiced the most authentic Christian values and been a model and example for the entire lay and Catholic community of the city.

A friend of Follieri’s, Ersilla Litrico, tells of Follieri, “in an unprecedented act of generosity,” providing “shelter to a Pakistani refuge and her child”:

Fakra arrived in Italy. . . through a famous Pakistani writer. The girl had no face as the acid had totally disfigured her. As soon as she arrived in Italy we went to the airport to pick them up and immediately a problem arose as to where they would be lodged. On this occasion, Raffaello immediately made himself helpful. . . .

LB Readers, we’d love to hear from you on this. When you comb through such letters, do they move you? Were you a judge, would they push you toward leniency?

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on October 15, 2008 (boomark / email).