Faces 46-month sentence
Of the St. Louis American
Charles Polk, a once prominent African-American attorney and staunch supporter of retired Attorney General John Ashcroft, was sentenced to 46 months in a federal prison last Thursday.
In April, Polk pleaded guilty to defrauding the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District out of $45,190 and to a charge that he failed to pay taxes on about $540,000 of income in 2002.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Reap, the lead prosecutor, called Polk’s actions “plain-out extortion,” after the sentencing.
“Not one nickel was too small for him to go for. It was just greed.”
Polk’s attorney Scott Rosenblum said that Polk is battling alcoholism and that the fight would continue in prison.
Reap, who saw the defendant sentenced to the maximum extent of federal guidelines, said he doubts the claim of alcoholism and that it was an effort to have the jail time reduced.
Had Polk’s case came to trial, he would have faced 21 other charges and many more years in prison.
In an April 6 interview, one of several he had with the American since 2002 in which he claimed innocence, Polk said that Ashcroft and U.S. Sens. Kit Bond and Jim Talent had been subpoenaed to testify in the case – and not only as character witnesses.
“Character witnesses are for when you’re guilty and are looking for lenient sentencing,” Polk told the American.
He said these men would testify regarding Polk’s work representing the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District, the context of the federal case against him.
Ashcroft did write a letter on Polk’s behalf to Judge Stephen Limbaugh. In the Aug. 28 letter, Ashcroft wrote that the defendant “was a friend of mine (and still is) who I found very helpful to me and the community of Missouri during my public service there. He assisted me in my confirmation as U.S. Attorney General.”
He also wrote that Polk “has a wonderful wife and family. I believe he could still contribute greatly after his punishment. He is a good person.”
Polk is married to Cheryl Polk, the executive vice president and chief operating officer of United Way of Greater St. Louis. They have three children.
He said in court his legal career has ended.
“I’m not going to be asking for my law license back. I apologize to the court and the bar and a lot of folks I have hurt,” he told Limbaugh.
“The circumstances in this case are enormous,” Limbaugh responded.
“If clients and the public cannot depend on lawyers, we are in deep trouble.”
Polk must pay back $178,623 to MSD and $382,000 to Quincy, Ill., businessman James Helenthal.
In a civil case that Helenthal won earlier this year, he testified that Polk defrauded him in a legal attempt to win federal compensation for victims of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. He won a $3.6-million judgement in that case, in which Cheryl Polk was also a defendant.
Polk faces three years of supervision after prison and must complete 500 hours in an alcohol treatment program.
