In a lengthy plea for a “fair and just punishment” for embezzling about $1 million to fund a NASCAR team [#03 Ford with Mike McLaughlin as the driver] he started with a former stripper, Gary D. Jones quoted the Bible, Shakespeare, Winston Churchill and others in federal court Friday.”It’s not where a man lands that marks his punishment,” Jones, 36, told U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks, quoting former U.S. House Speaker Tip O’Neil. “It’s how far he falls.” Sparks wasn’t impressed. He sentenced the former Wells Fargo banker to three years and 10 months in federal prison for stealing from his employer – the longest he could impose under federal sentencing guidelines. “You stole a lot of money, and you did it not like the person who went in with a gun but a person who went in with his mind,” said Sparks. “If I could, I’d give you more” time. The sentence comes as federal lawmen are stepping up their search for Jones’ co-conspirator, Angela Harkness, 28. She pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud in January, but disappeared before her sentencing hearing in April and is thought to have fled the country. The pair emerged on the NASCAR scene in 2002 out of nowhere with a team called Angela’s Motorsports, run out of Harkness’ Round Rock, Texas, home. They assembled a team that featured accomplished driver Mike McLaughlin and entered races in the Busch Series.(See full story at ThatsRacin.com)(8-28-2004)
