United States of v. Donald W.

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SUBMITTED AUGUST 31, 2011

Before POSNER, ROVNER, and WOOD, Circuit Judges.

Donald Kubeczko did not inform the government when his mother died, but instead cashed the checks that it continued sending to her address for benefits she had earned under the Civil Service Retirement System. This went on for twelve years and netted him $158,000. Eventually he was caught and pleaded guilty to mail fraud. His Guidelines sentencing range was 21 to 27 months, but the judge sentenced him to 30 months. By the time he was sentenced he had spent 10 months in pretrial detention. He would be entitled to credit for that time against his sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3585(b)(2), and so if sentenced at the top of the Guidelines range he would have been out in 17 months. The judge sentenced him to 30 months, mainly and perhaps exclusively because she believed that he needed treatment for mental illness and probably alcoholism as well and that it would take more than 18 months. A 30-month sentence, with credit for 10 months, would keep him in prison for 20 months, which she thought would be enough time for treatment. The need for such treatment is not questioned; the defendant has serious mental illness (depression, narcissistic personality, and compulsive personality) and alcohol dependence.

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