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FORT PIERCE, FLA---A veteran Palm Beach attorney has been sentenced to a year and nine months in prison on obstruction and conspiracy charges for obstructing a grand jury investigation into a firm which exported Florida citrus to China.
Donald Mintmire, 61, a lawyer for 35 years, had been arrested in connection with an investigation into the Stuart-based Clements Golden Phoenix Enterprises and conspiracy to obstruct justice in a SEC investigation into Fundae, a firm that Mintmire operated.
It was alleged that Mintmire had convinced a witness not to give information to a federal grand jury which was investigating the company's 2001 collapse. Prosecutors said he also failed to produce records that had been subpoenaed by SEC investigators.
Mintmire's attorney Bill Richey said that an appeal was planned and that he believed that Mintmire would be vindicated.
With Mintmire's long history of charity work, his attorney had argued that he should be sentenced to community service but U.S. District Judge Donald Graham said that he was disappointed in Mintmire's conduct.
His wife, Patricia, is the former chairwoman of Planned Parenthood of the Palm Beach and Treasure Coast area and a volunteer guardian ad litem for the Palm Beach County court system.
Federal guidelines called for Mintmire to be sentenced from 21 to 27 months. Assistant U.S. Attorney Harold Schimkat had asked for a sentence within the guidelines and the judge agred but said that the number of supporters who had spoken on Mintmire's behalf had led him to sentence him to the minimum rather than the longer sentence he had intended to impose.
Following his release, Mintmire will be on two year supervised release and was fined $80,000. He is prohibited for being involved in any business which markets security investments to the public and must obtain court permission in order to be self-employed pr be employed in telemarketing or direct-mail enterprises.
Mintmire will begin serving his sentence on March 28. 1-28-06
© 2005 North
Country Gazette
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