Thomas Tanke went to trial in Sacramento federal court and testified that he had done nothing wrong, but a jury found him guilty of stealing from his former employer and from his bank.
That was 7 1/2 months ago. At his sentencing Friday, the 68-year-old Tanke, who was once vice president of a Rancho Cordova construction company, told U.S. District Judge Edward J. Garcia, "I accept full responsibility."
Garcia has been around a long time. He's harder to fool than a polygraph machine.
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Among the sentence enhancements Garcia imposed was one for perjury.
"The jury didn't believe him, and neither do I," the judge declared.
Garcia said he thought about a much stiffer sentence recommended by a probation officer, but instead ordered Tanke to prison for 5 years and 10 months – the low end of the guideline range –saying it was because of Tanke's poor health and age. He's been in jail since the verdict and will get credit for that time.
On Friday, Garcia ordered him to pay restitution of $136,518 to the trustee in the bankruptcy of the now-defunct Azteca Construction Inc., the company he looted. The judge also ordered Tanke to pay restitution of $105,882 to U.S. Bank, where he deposited checks stolen from Azteca and withdrew the funds for personal use.
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Hansen's junior associate, Tatiana Filippova, who was admitted to the California Bar a month ago, made a game effort to argue mitigating circumstances, but Garcia was in no mood to listen.