Apparently in the 7th Circuit an unsubstantiated claim of gambling addiction will not do much to excuse stealing more than $300,000, conducting wire fraud and failing to pay income taxes on the monies obtained. Still Nassim Tahzib’s initiative is almost admirable.
Tahzib, a luxury car salesman, had argued that the 30-month sentence resulting from his crimes should be reduced. He cited a supposed gambling addiction and a variety of other reasons to explain his actions.
Judge Evans wrote the opinion, released Jan. 17, 2008, upholding the original sentence.
“This is the kind of case that could give car salesmen a bad name,” Judge Evans wrote.
Tahzib offered another bizarre excuse for his crimes. He claimed to suffer from bipolar disorder or depression (neither of which had been diagnosed by a psychiatrist) resulting from his father’s death.
It’s unclear why these conditions, if they exist, should be considered mitigating circumstances.
In addition Tahzib’s father died twenty-five years before the crimes took place. If these ailments are strong enough to drive him uncontrollably to crime, why would it take decades for him to succumb?
No matter. It remains illegal for depressed, bipolar or other types of individuals to help themselves to hundreds of thousands of dollars belonging to others.
What has this country come to when an embezzling tax evader can’t rely on his father’s mortality to get out of a mild sentence—the lowest available within the sentencing guidelines?
This is a tough way for Tahzib to learn that there are only two certainties in this life: death and taxes.
(Note: Depression, Bipolar Disorder and pathological gambling are all serious conditions, and those genuinely suffering from them should seek professional help. Those not suffering from them shouldn’t exploit them to excuse reprehensible behavior.)
Tags: 7th Circuit, addiction, bipolar disorder, car salesmen, depression, gambling, Judge Terence T. Evans, sentencing, tax evasion, wire fraud
