Former Alderwoman Barbara “Babz” Rawls-Ivy, who pleaded guilty to stealing $49,000 in federal funds intended for people in public housing, got a break from a federal judge because of her role as a mother to four troubled, adoptive kids.
“Her kids need her,” Attorney Norm Pattis told Judge Janet C. Hall in U.S. District Court in Bridgeport Thursday, arguing the alderwoman’s sentence down from a possible year-and-four-months in prison.
Saying a short jail term would satisfy the need to deter others from public embezzlement, Judge Hall sentenced her to 30 days in prison, followed by five months’ home confinement and three years’ supervised release. Rawls-Ivy must report to the Danbury correctional facility on October 1 and also pay back $49,059 to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
Rawls-Ivy, who represented the Beaver Hills area of New Haven, resigned as alderwoman in September after pleading guilty to embezzling federal HUD money over a period of a year and a half, when she was director of the Alliance for Strong Communities, Inc. agency. She admitted to writing 39 checks for personal use, including to pay off student loans, from May 2001 to October 2003. She presented false documents to the Housing Authority in attempt to cover her tracks.
“I did this, and when it was found out, I lied about it,” said Rawls-Ivy, standing before the judge in a sleeveless turquoise blouse. She said she initially tried to cover up her plot because she thought she could “make right” her misdeeds.
Appearing before the court, Rawls-Ivy was prepared for the worst — government prosecutors had recommended 10 to 16 months in jail. She broke down before the judge as she pleaded for leniency.
“I have lost a great deal, and rightly so, I suspect — I am bankrupt, I am unemployed, I was recently separated, and I will probably lose my house at some point,” she said, pausing to hold back tears. “If I have to go to jail, then so be it. I am not afraid,” she said, mustering strength. She asked for the judge to waive a prison sentence for the sake of her kids: “I don’t want for them to see me in jail.”
Most of the two-and-a-half-hour hearing focused on how Rawls-Ivy survived a “horrific” childhood of sexual abuse to become a strong, compassionate mother to four adoptive kids from similarly traumatic backgrounds.
Family friend Jane Grossman spoke of how one child showed up at the Rawls-Ivy home “with fresh cigarette burns all over his body.” He was malnourished and refused to eat. Another child had been bounced around between 13 different foster homes before finding a stable home with Rawls-Ivy and her husband, Lawrence Ivy. One had a “pathological fear of suitcases” from being moved around so much.
Rawls-Ivy nurtured each child, the oldest of whom is now 10, from being learning-disabled to skipping a grade in school, and reading above grade level. Removing the kids’ mother would reverse that progress and “replicate the trauma” of being abandoned by caretakers, argued Pattis, who represented the former alderwoman pro bono.
Rawls-Ivy’s sister, Robin Gwathney (pictured, hugging her sister), spoke of the unspeakable horrors of the two girls’ childhood, which was rife with violence at the hands of their father. She spoke of the “unfathomable sorrow and distress” caused when their father sexually abused young Babz and forced her to have sex with other men.
The courtroom fell silent as Gwathney described one chilling evening when their father punched their mother in the face, breaking her nose and kicking her out of the home, then sat the children — two girls and two boys — on a couch, loading a gun and telling him he would kill them. When he went to the bathroom, the kids fled the home.
“We ran barefoot, we ran in pajamas, cold, hoping and praying he wouldn’t find us,” said Gwathney. She said her father abused alcohol and gambled on the two boys, forcing them to fight as he and his buddies made bets on who would win.
Government prosecutors, led by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael McGarry, called the abuse “horrific,” but argued it did not directly cause the embezzlement, which he called a “carefully orchestrated financial crime.” They argued lessening the sentence term to allow a convict to take care of children was not warranted unless no other caretaker existed. Rawls-Ivy’s husband and two uncles are available to take care of the kids.
Pattis (pictured) argued, and Hall agreed, that the troubled backgrounds of Rawls-Ivy’s children made her “irreplaceable” not physically, but psychologically, to her kids.
In the end, Hall was swayed most by the personal history of the woman who stood before her.
“Your childhood is by any measure horrific,” she told Rawls-Ivy. “That you have survived it and accomplished so much is extraordinary.” She called her a “compassionate” and “caring” woman who has “contributed to our society and made it a better place.”
Outside the courthouse, Rawls-Ivy referred questions to Pattis, who applauded the sentence. “Babz caught a break today and I think she’s grateful.”
"Your childhood is by any measure horrific," she told Rawls-Ivy. "That you have survived it and accomplished so much is extraordinary." She called her a "compassionate" and "caring" woman who has "contributed to our society and made it a better place." Judge Janet C. Hall
The abuse excuse really works... horray for the justice system. Lets see, we have Ben Hunter who stole over 100K in federal funds, he claims he was the fall guy...6 months home rehab.
Rawls Ivy.. stole 50K HUD money... 30 days for the horrific abuse she suffered 35 years ago... The poor people just can't catch a break.
Consider this:
Paris Hilton...double DUI.. 30 days suspended after 19 days for bad behavior...
Brittany Spears DUI, assult, risk of injury to minors... TBD
Linsey Lohan Double DUI, cocaine, reckless driving.. TBD
And the justice system gets better....