CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
U.S. District Judge David Ezra yesterday called Robin Sabatini's case a sad one, but sentenced the 39-year-old daughter of former union leader Gary Rodrigues to three years and 10 months in prison without parole. Her case is under appeal.
Ex-UPW chief’s daughter
faces 46 months in jailRobin Sabatini is sentenced for helping
Gary Rodrigues defraud the union
Robin Haunani Rodrigues Sabatini faces three years and 10 months in federal prison without parole and must pay $377,503 in restitution for helping her father, Gary Rodrigues, defraud the United Public Workers union and its members.
But Chief U.S. District Judge David Ezra allowed Sabatini to remain free on bond while her case is appealed, as he did with Rodrigues, the former UPW leader who was sentenced earlier to five years and four months in prison for his role in the case.
Sabatini, a 39-year-old accountant, left the courtroom in tears yesterday after her sentencing.
She did not speak in court or to reporters.
Her defense attorney, Victor Bakke, argued that she was manipulated by her father and did not know she was doing anything illegal when she received fees for consulting work that the prosecution says was never performed. She deposited the checks and paid taxes on them, he noted.
"She made no effort to hide this because she had no reason to believe that there was anything wrong with it," Bakke said. "She just thought her dad got her a cushy job."
But Ezra said Sabatini's role in the case was critical, and the scheme could not have taken place without her active participation.
"She knew what she was doing, she knew it was wrong and she did it anyway," the judge said, while Sabatini silently shook her head. "She's not Little Bo Peep here," he added.
Rodrigues negotiated contracts that funneled $377,503 in consulting fees from the union's medical and dental providers to two companies owned by his daughter, from about 1996 to 2000, according to evidence at trial.
In November 2002, Rodrigues was convicted of 101 counts, including mail fraud, embezzlement and money laundering. Sabatini was found guilty of 95 counts, including mail fraud, money laundering, and scheming to defraud a health care benefit program.
Both will appeal the verdicts. Ezra said he allowed the pair to remain free during appeal because neither poses a danger to the community or a flight risk, but they must pay the restitution to the union.
Along with prison time and restitution, Rodrigues was ordered to pay a $50,000 fine and $10,100 special assessment to defray court costs. Sabatini was not fined, but must pay $9,500 to help defray court costs. She could have faced five years and nine months in prison, under federal guidelines.
Both Rodrigues and Sabatini were sentenced to three years of supervised release after their prison time.
The judge called Sabatini's case a sad one, both for the 15,000 members of the United Public Workers whose money was taken and because it was her father who led her astray. But he rejected a defense suggestion that Sabatini couldn't stand up to her domineering father and was victimized along with the union.
"I don't doubt she had a lot of trust in her father," Ezra said. "But she had a responsibility to put her foot down," he added, noting that she is a certified public accountant.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Florence Nakakuni said that in 1996 Sabatini earned $192,687 in consulting fees for no work, in addition to $50,000 from her regular job as an accountant on Kauai.
Sabatini's husband, Anthony, and other supporters accompanied her to court and hugged her after the sentencing. Her father did not attend.
