Troy Ellerman, the attorney who leaked grand jury testimony in the BALCO case has agreed to the maximum sentence of 2 years and 9 months in jail. While this is 9 months longer than his plea bargain, prosecutors did reduce his fine from $250,000 to $60,000. Ellerman had also previously gave up his California law license. Ellerman pleaded guilty to allowing Mark Fainaru-Wada to see confidential transcripts.
So the question is, what exactly did Ellerman get out of this? He was a successful attorney when he was hired to defend Victor Conte and now his life is basically ruined. Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams got a book, an SI cover story, and national exposure out of it. Ellerman gets almost 3 years in federal pound-me-in-the-ass prison. We guess we shouldn’t feel too sorry for a guy who couldn’t keep his mouth shut and his photocopier off but Mark Fainaru-Wada should be visiting him every week in prison and slipping him some money.
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[AP]: BALCO leak agrees to maximum sentence
