Mike Fox sentenced to four years in prison

By Lauren Pack, Staff Writer Updated 3:08 PM Monday, March 12, 2012

Judge Sandra Beckwith sentenced former Butler County politician Michael Fox today to 48 months in prison for conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, and filing a false tax return.

He will be allowed to surrender to officials voluntarily after he completes the first phase of recovery for a knee replacement he underwent last month. The judge did not give him a fine, noting he has restitution to pay of $136,000 for the tax violation.

“I’m not surprised. It is what it is. Some days you get the bear and some days the bear gets you,” Fox said as his son, Ryan, pushed him out from the courtroom in a wheel chair.

Fox admitted guilt to the charges last year, but did not plead to any corruption charges — specifically allegedly accepting bribes and kickbacks — originally pursued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

He agreed to a 48-month sentence as part of the plea agreement, but he wanted to be sentenced to home confinement and asked to delay the sentencing.

The judge disagreed and went ahead with the sentencing.

Commissioner Chuck Furmon blasted Fox’s behavior during the sentencing hearing in federal court.

Furmon said Fox had a brilliant mind, but added the former commissioner and state legislator had “a belief he could manipulate situations and laws to fit his purpose.”

Furmon made the call in 2005 to the FBI and asked the agency to look into whether the Dynus Corp. took out a multimillion-dollar loan in the county’s name without approval for the operation of a fiber-optics system.

That investigation led to then county Auditor Kay Rogers pleading to falsifying documents and going to federal prison.

It also turned the spotlight on Fox.

Fox’s attorney’s requested last month his sentencing be delayed until after an independent review of what they termed “complicated, difficult and risky series of medical conditions” to determine whether he could be properly cared for in prison. In medical assessments filed with the court, 63-year-old Fox is described as “morbidly obese.” Attorneys say he suffers from further heath challenges, including orthopedic knee problems and vascular issues.

But Beckwith denied the request, stating Fox would benefit from being confined to prison “without the access to excess calories.”

Defense attorneys said home detention was the best option for Fox because the prison system would not have to incur his medical costs and he could begin repaying his tax debts.

“The public will be served, justice will be done, deterrence will result, and punishment will be exacted by a 48-month sentence of home detention for Mr. Fox,” defense attorney Ralph Kohnen said in a memorandum to the court. “He has significant health problems that can only be adequately monitored and treated outside prison walls. He has been a good servant to his community for years, and he can continue to benefit the community during his detention. He has lost his main form of livelihood and will need new training and education to begin to repay his monetary debit to society and he has suffered enormous public ridicule sufficient to deter and punish him.”

But prosecutors argue Fox should go to prison.

“The nature and circumstances of this offense and the history and characteristics of the defendant are particularly serious because the defendant was a publicly elected official. He occupied one of the three most powerful seats in Butler County politics. The abuse of his position of public trust ravaged the integrity of this local government,” U.S. Attorney Jennifer Barry wrote in a sentencing memorandum. “The defendant defrauded the citizens of Butler County by putting his own personal financial gain ahead of the best interests of the people he was supposed to serve.”

The prosecution said Fox’s argument that his physical condition should keep him out of prison was “a desperate attempt to avoid the inevitable consequence of his serious crimes.”

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2168 or lauren.pack@coxinc.com.