UPDATE, February 3, 2010: Man who stole veterans' TV is back in jail again
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Jeffry Polak is going to prison.
From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
A 44-year-old slaughterhouse worker who stole a large screen television from the Zablocki Veterans Affairs Medical Center in April was sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison today, as the judge brushed aside a recommendation of probation.
In handing down the sentence, Chief U.S. District Judge Rudolph Randa cited defendant Jeffry Polak's many run-ins with the law including more than 13 arrests for drunken driving, fraud, obstruction and other crimes. Federal guidelines called for six to 12 months on the felony conviction with that kind of record.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Koenig asked for three years of probation, six months under home arrest, 200 hours community service and restitution, a recommendation echoed by Polak's attorney, public defender Daniel Stiller.
Randa disregarded that suggestion, saying Polak's history with alcohol shows he needs help.
...Randa said he tacked on the extra day so Polak will be eligible for substance abuse treatment in prison.
...In court documents filed this week, Polak said he stole the 52-inch Samsung LCD set, valued at $3,600, as a birthday gift for his disabled wife. A veteran himself, Polak also said he was taking what he thought he deserved from the military, the documents say.
...Randa, who also gave Polak three years of supervised release after he gets out of prison. He also must serve 20 hours of community service - at the VA - and pay $3,260 to replace the television he stole and later dumped in a landfill.
I think that's a fair sentence.
Polak does seem to be a bit out there, saying that he believed he was entitled to take the TV because the military owed him.
Hopefully, he'll clean up his act and get his head straight.
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