Bullpen penalties previewed

SAN DIEGO -- Sentencing of 26 co-conspirators in Operation Bullpen probably won't occur until September, but U.S. Attorney Phil Halpern told Sweet Spot that major players "will be exposed to 41 to 51 months of jail time, plus restitution. In some cases tax penalties will range from hundreds of thousands of dollars to up to $1 million, he added. "There will be straight probation for the minor players, the wives or girlfriends that were tangentially involved, or the owner of a store that dealt a minor amount of memorabilia," Halpern said in an interview. "After serving their sentences, the major players will have a supervised release, which is a probation that will be for two years." To some collectors, questions linger about opportunities that any of the co-conspirators will engage in concerning autographed memorabilia business after they've paid their debt to society. "There are no further impediments on a counterfeiter than there are for an embezzler," said Halpern, who has handled white collar crime cases extensively. He said there's nothing that keeps such criminals from finding a way to hang a shingle and operate under some other guise. Of course, one would ideally hope that prison time and restitution have a way of rehabilitating a person. "It's important that individuals are punished appropriately, so there's a deterrent in having them commit similar crimes in the future," he said. Halpern noted that one of the benefits of prosecuting such a case is the education value that comes from media attention and other programs. "The problem can only be solved through the public becoming educated on the subject," he said. "We have learned through experiences in prosecuting other white collar crime cases that this case is not going to stop the problem. The problem can only be solved by educating the public."

Experienced and dealers who've followed reports concerning Operation Bullpen and Operation Foul Ball in Chicago are always eager to learn where and when the next hit will take place. The FBI is mum on such matters. Halpern said the investigation continues, stemming from information gleaned from Bullpen defendants, but the legal system first has to handle what's on its plate. "We're ready to go," Halpern said. "But it's really a matter of trying not to overwhelm the system as well as our own resources. We're collecting and have collected evidence. I do not plan on charging any further individuals until we have substantially completed the prosecution of the 26 we've initially filed on." By mid-June, the 26 defendants appeared before Judge Barry Ted Moskowitz in groups of three and four and pleaded guilty to the charges.