FAYETTEVILLE -- Farmington's former district court clerk and finance director was sentenced last week to 46 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release for stealing city and court funds and tax fraud.
James "Jimmy" Lewis Story, 57, of Fayetteville, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court on Nov. 27, 2017, to one count of theft concerning programs that receive federal funds and one count of filing a false income tax return.
Story embezzled more than $1 million over a period of eight to nine years while working for the city of Farmington. Most of the money was fines and fees paid to Farmington's district court.
U.S. District Judge Timothy Brooks, on July 11, sentenced Story to serve a 46-month prison term on Count 1 and a 36-month prison term on Count 2 for the convictions. The sentences will run concurrently.
Brooks allowed Story to remain out on a $5,000 bond and to self-report to a designated prison, yet to be named, on Aug. 22.
Upon his release, Story will have to serve three years supervised release on Count 1 and one year supervised release on Count 2, to run concurrently.
Brooks also ordered Story to pay restitution of $1,283,966 to the city and $371,956 to the Internal Revenue Service.
Federal Sentencing Guidelines
Brooks spent a lot of time during the hearing going through a pre-sentencing investigation report and explaining to Story the factors involved in deciding a sentence for his convictions. (The report will not be made public because it contains personal and private information about Story, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.)
Brooks said federal sentencing guidelines for the offensive level of Story's convictions recommend a 37- to 46-month penalty range, though the judge said he was not bound by that range. He could reduce the prison time or increase it, based on other factors to be considered when deciding a sentence.
Brooks followed federal guidelines for Story's sentence but told him he believed the seriousness of the crimes warranted more time.
Brooks noted that Story committed public corruption.
"You worked for the government and you stole from the government. Stealing from a local municipality is on the more serious end of the spectrum," Brooks said.
Brooks added, "You tarnished the reputation of the court system in Washington County. You've not only stolen but you created an administrative nightmare. You fudged and falsified and concealed court records."
Brooks said he was not going to increase prison time above the range because of mitigating factors that can be considered by the court. In Story's case, Brooks said, the mitigating factors included his early cooperation in the case and his willingness to hand over a $39,000 cashier's check to immediately go toward restitution.
"But for the weight of these mitigations, the aggravating circumstances would speak to the need for the court to vary upward from the guidelines," Brooks said.
Pre-Sentencing Investigation Report
A preliminary pre-sentencing investigation report was filed with the court March 15. The U.S. Attorney's Office agreed with the report but Story's attorney, Kimberly Weber of Rogers, had 19 objections to the report.
Brooks said the U.S. Attorney's Office considered all the objections, made some changes that were favorable to Story and did not adjust others. All objections were eventually resolved either before the sentencing hearing or during the hearing, except for a new motion made by Weber asking the court to consider a reduced prison time because of Story's medical issues.
Weber said Story's medical and health issues are serious for someone his age and that his life span most likely would be reduced because of his diseases. Health conditions brought out during the hearing were hypertension disorder, chronic kidney disease, heart disease, neck and back pain and chronic fatigue syndrome.
The government objected to Weber's motion for reduced prison time because of medical reasons and Brooks agreed, denying the request, saying he did not believe it met the qualifications for a "traditional" departure from the recommended prison time.
Public Statements
Brooks gave both sides the opportunity to make public statements. Mayor Ernie Penn and District Judge Graham Nations declined the offer.
Brice White, U.S. assistant attorney, said the government supported a prison term that fell within the guidelines. White pointed out Story made a good salary "but chose out of greed to steal from the city of Farmington."
Story was in a position of trust and victims have talked about how that trust has been lost, White said. The sentence should show that people who violate the public trust will be made accountable, White added.
"This has to be a deterrent," White said. "This is 1.2 million dollars. This is a large amount of money and a just sentence might deter others."
Story declined to comment.
On behalf of her client, Weber said she has known Story for more than 20 years and he "has always been a good, kind man" and was kind to her clients.
Weber asked for a sentence of 37 months or less, saying Story would pay back the money "to the best of his ability." In addition to paying $39,000 upfront, she said Story was offering to give 65 percent of his pension toward restitution, which would be about $550 per month.
She asked for a variance from the federal guidelines based on his health, the $39,000 check and his offer to give back some of his pension.
"I know the city wants their pound of flesh," Weber said. "I'd love to give them $1.2 million but I can't do that...Mr. Story would love to do that."
Mitigating, Aggravating Factors
Before announcing the sentence, Brooks went over what he considered mitigating factors and aggravating factors to be considered.
Mitigating factors were that Story was a first-time offender, the crime was of non-violent conduct, an early admission of actions and cooperation, health issues and letters from friends and others.
Though Brooks said he considered these mitigating factors, he still took issue with some of them.
The idea of being a first-time offender is everyone deserves a second chance, but for Story's crime, that really did not apply, Brooks said.
"You shouldn't get a second chance after you've stolen from the public's trust," Brooks told Story.
As far as being a non-violent crime, while Story did not come into City Hall with a gun and steal from the safe, he did use "pen and paper" and concealed his actions to steal city funds, Brooks said.
"You nevertheless are a thief," Brooks said, addressing Story.
Brooks said he appreciated letters from Story's friends but at the same time, noted that some of the letters made it appear Story just made a mistake.
"Sir, you did not make a mistake. You, sir, made an intentional decision, day after day, week after week and theft after theft," Brooks told Story. "No sir, you made very bad decisions."
Aggravating factors Brooks considered for determining prison time included public corruption, the amount of money stolen, the length of time for the crime, abuse of public trust, falsifying and concealing court records and that the sentence should be a deterrent for the defendant and the public at large.
Brooks noted that Story stole from the court and city for around nine years, not because he needed the money "but just to support some level of lifestyle for yourself."
He added, "I'm piling it all on you sir, so that you have a sense for why I think this is so serious an offense."
After handing down the sentence, Brooks said Story's medical condition would be evaluated to determine the best prison to deal with his health needs.
Any money toward restitution will go first to the city of Farmington, except for $10 a month to the IRS. A representative of the U.S. Attorney's Office said the next step would be to determine restitution amounts and Story's offer to pay some of his pension toward restitution would be part of the discussion. Until restitution is made, Story cannot incur new debt or open new bank accounts without the approval of his probation officer.
Normally, defendants are given two to three weeks to self-report to prison but Brooks allowed Story six weeks to give the government time to assess his health and find an appropriate facility.
Brooks told Story that Weber had "done a phenomenal job" for him and made it so he could plead guilty to charges that had a lower offensive level in terms of prison.
"It's a privilege you've been allowed to be out on bond. It's a privilege you've been allowed out after sentencing and it's a privilege you are allowed to self-report," he said.
He warned Story that if he violated any of the conditions while out on bond, during supervised release or if he failed to show up to prison on Aug. 22, the consequences would be serious.
General News on 07/18/2018