Spokane7
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August 3, 2010 in City
N. Idaho businessman caught in drug sting gets 27 months
Judge offers no leniency for unlikely cocaine addict
Carlson
(Full-size photo)
Jerry Carlson rose quickly through the ranks of the insurance industry, opening his own office as a young man and attracting some of the biggest accounts in Kootenai County.
His prominence brought wealth – wealth he shared with local charities and used to support his beloved alma mater, Coeur d’Alene High School.
But he also used that money to feed a cocaine addiction he described as “outrageous” Monday in front of a federal courtroom packed with supporters, many of them prominent North Idaho business owners.
The 48-year-old father of three and former Coeur d’Alene High booster of the year cried as he asked a federal judge to spare him from prison and find that probation would be satisfactory punishment for being caught in an undercover drug sting that dismantled his business and exposed what he says was a 20-year addiction to cocaine and alcohol.
U.S. District Judge Justin Quackenbush firmly declined, instead sentencing Carlson to 27 months in federal prison, followed by four years of probation.
He said probation alone “would not be appropriate in a case of this volume and of this time.”
“What message would such a sentence send to the people of this community both young and old who have been misled by Mr. Carlson?” Quackenbush asked.
Quackenbush also ordered Carlson, who said he’s been clean since his arrest in February 2009, to participate in a drug treatment program in prison. An Alcoholics Anonymous member who’s helped six people through the program, including one who testified Monday, Carlson could be a tremendous help to addicts in prison, Quackenbush said.
Successful completion of the program reduces a prison sentence by a year.
That, coupled with expected credit for good time, could mean Carlson serves about 13 months, said his lawyer, Jim Siebe. He’s to report to prison at a yet-to-be-determined date.
In weighing the request for leniency, Quackenbush compared Carlson, noting his college education and successful career, to an uneducated young Mexican man caught trying to smuggle drugs into the United States in exchange for money to feed his family.
“Who is the most culpable?” Quackenbush asked. “Without having a consumer, there would be no market for drugs.”
The judge noted that, “This isn’t an isolated matter; this is an ongoing illegal acquisition of cocaine.”
Carlson faced a standard sentence of 37 to 46 months in prison, but Quackenbush reduced the sentence by 10 months, saying that though Carlson admitting to buying cocaine with a known dealer, he doesn’t appear to have distributed the drug for profit, only for social use.
Quackenbush sentenced Carlson after a 2 1/2-hour court hearing that included testimony from a personal trainer who helped Carlson lose 100 pounds after his arrest.
Several prominent Coeur d’Alene residents submitted letters of support on Carlson’s behalf, including Lola Hagadone, wife of North Idaho millionaire developer Duane Hagadone. She joined more than 60 supporters in the courtroom.
Carlson pleaded guilty in January to attempted possession of more than 500 grams of cocaine with intent to deliver. He said Monday he only consumed drugs, never sold them, though he did admit to sharing a kilo with a known dealer.
Carlson’s arrest on Feb. 13, 2009, came after a Theodore L. Bruck, 54, a former Bayview contractor now serving time in federal prison for selling marijuana, arranged to deliver a kilogram of cocaine – which turned out to be fake – to Carlson at his insurance office on Government Way in Hayden.
Idaho State Police raided the office and found 11 grams of cocaine in three baggies, along with several tubes used to snort the drug. Employees found another 3 grams with Carlson while booking him into Kootenai County Jail, where he spent the weekend.
Carlson was such a well-known figure at Coeur d’Alene High School sporting events that administrators noticed his absence at a basketball game the night of his arrest and were nearly speechless when they learned of his charges from a reporter.
Documents show Farmers Insurance agency is paying Carlson a “substantial” amount for his business, Quackenbush said. Carlson said his independent insurance business will likely fail while he’s in prison.
Carlson said he never intended to sell the drug and said his addiction spiraled out of control when Bruck sold him the first kilo – or 2.2 pounds. Carlson said Bruck approached him about the purchase, but federal prosecutors say Carlson approached Bruck.
Carlson said the first purchase fueled his addiction to a near-lethal level.
“My life was totally consumed with (worries of) running out, or not having enough,” and he didn’t like sharing, Carlson said. “I was doing it 24 hours a day with 2-hour rest stops.”
In passionate testimony Monday, Carlson directed one comment at his prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney Nancy Cook.
“If Ted Bruck wasn’t in my life I never would have bought those large quantities, and that’s the honest-to-God truth, Nancy,” Carlson said.
Cook said Carlson has not accepted full responsibility for his role in the case.
She emphasized that Carlson bought the first kilo with a known cocaine dealer who took about half of the shipment and “had quite a bit of impact in the community.”
And she said the $2,000 Carlson claims to have paid for the kilo that led to his arrest was only a final payment – he’d already paid Bruck about $19,000, Cook said.
“As you can see from this packed courtroom, he’s done a lot of good in this community,” Cook said. “Yet his own behavior with the cocaine and illegal drugs – he needs to be punished.”
Human trafficking suspects released 
oneanddone on August 03 at 5:00 a.m.
This idiot got off light, as is usual for people who can buy the “justice” they want. I guess he just didn’t pay enough for probation. He should have gotten additional time for lying during his trial and for the agony he’s putting his innocent family through.
mikeln on August 03 at 7:25 a.m.
Another family destroyed even more by this useless war on drugs. Why must we club people and their families with a must be punished attitude? Are we that cruel and stupid? This man and his family needed help, they got a kick in the head. Wake up, people, this war on drugs is nothing more then a ruse to keep the real drug pushers, and very wealthy, in buisness. This war on the American people has not even come close to doing what it was suppossed to do, make us safer, in fact it has made the world a more dangerous place. This is a health matter and would be less expensive to treat then imprison.
philipgregory on August 03 at 7:47 a.m.
13 months is much too little for such heavy use and his attempts to diminish his guilt shows his true attitude.
philipgregory on August 03 at 7:48 a.m.
I wonder how many of those 60 ‘leading citizens’ supporting him are also users….
Scoutster on August 03 at 7:57 a.m.
Now, imagine if cocaine were legal…
This man’s life likely would have still unraveled, but without the drama of a court case.
How do we, as a society, prosper by putting a drug user, whether a gang-banger or an upstanding pillar of the community, behind bars?
spokanecougar on August 03 at 8:36 a.m.
Still don’t understand how this country thinks drug abuse is a worse crime than rape and child molestation. These people needed to be treated in rehab, not in prison, this countries priorities are so backwards.
oneandonly on August 03 at 8:57 a.m.
It’s all about who’s name you drop because minimum mandatory sentencing only applies to those who keep their mouths shut.
SugarShane on August 03 at 1:07 p.m.
Drug addiction is neither treated nor cured in prison, and prison turns low level criminals into hardened ones. The real issue is who stands to profit by continuing to keep drugs illegal, namely pharmaceutical companies and the prison system and law enforcement that gets handed huge amounts of money to curb drug use and after all these years has succeeded in none. Imprisoning this man does no one any good and we the taxpayers foot the bill and lose his tax contributions. Meanwhile to make room in our overcrowded prisons, we let out child molesters and rapists to make room for drug users. People need to get their priorities straight and lock up violent criminals and sex offenders, do away with the victimless crimes and stop using the same old tired excuses for continuing this failed policy. We fought the drug war and we lost, get over it. Stop trying to legislate morality and pushing your ideals on people that don’t want them.
empyrius on August 03 at 1:29 p.m.
A brother addicted to cocaine is now a convicted felon sitting in prison rather than being free to contend with his disease!
If that is not the stupidest tactic ever formulated!
People who buy prodigious amounts of alcohol, but in no other way break the law, should also be sent to prison to learn the errors of their ways . . .
We could incarcerate massive amounts of otherwise economically productive citizens that way also; apparently though there were, and still are, people in positions of power who just like their booze too much . . .
PlanB on August 03 at 1:46 p.m.
This is pretty pointless. About 100ish years ago, the religious right managed to turn their ideas of morality into laws. Soon, all of us will be criminals because of the incessant need to dictate the behavior of others.
spokanada on August 03 at 3:39 p.m.
We should deport him!!! Wait a minute, he’s American? Well if he was Mexican I would want him deported! How dare these immigrants come to our country to break our laws. Our laws are only for Americans to break. I want by country back! It’s all Obama’s fault this guy was addicted to cocaine. The economy was stressing him out.
Wow, was I convincing as the typical bagger who likes to hijack posts and spin them against Obama or illegal immigration? My post has nothing to do with the story so I think I did pretty good as a wannabe bagger.
misjustice on August 03 at 6:42 p.m.
@ spokanada; Well done! You made DAZEE proud, sniff (wiping my eyes)! ; )