No prison for lawyer who took fake bribes
A Wisconsin lawyer who falsely told a federal prison inmate that he could get his sentence reduced by bribing the prosecutor, probation officer and judge was sentenced Friday to eight months of house arrest, as part of a two-year probation term.
Mark A. Ruppelt, 51, of Slinger, told the client he could get results because he was “willing to do things other lawyers are not.” Ruppelt collected $30,000 from the inmate’s parents but never did pay any bribes or do any legitimate work to earn the man a sentence reduction.
The inmate and his mother began getting suspicious after months of inaction and Ruppelt’s demands for more money. The inmate ultimately got another lawyer and the FBI involved and recorded phone conversations with Ruppelt.
Though Ruppelt first took money from the client in 2014, he wasn’t charged until January this year and pleaded guilty to three counts of wire fraud in February.
Because of restrictions meant to slow the spread of the coronavirus, Ruppelt and lawyers in his case appeared remotely Friday before U.S. District Judge J.P. Stadtmueller.
The judge said the time the case has taken — the FBI came to Ruppelt’s house in the spring of 2016 — “borders on unconscionable.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Haanstad explained that investigators first thought they were dealing with a public corruption case and it took time to ascertain Ruppelt’s bribery claims were purely lies, and then to investigate some financial matters involving Ruppelt that didn’t result in charges. And, he said, Ruppelt sought delays several times for family reasons.
Haanstad stressed that beyond lying to get the money, Ruppelt “also threatened to undermine public confidence in the justice system, and give the impression that some of it is corrupt.”
Ruppelt told the judge he was humbled and ashamed to be appearing as the defendant after 20 years of representing clients facing sentencing. He apologized to the inmate and his parents who paid the $30,000 without any knowledge Ruppelt and their son were discussing bribery.
The money has since been repaid. Federal sentencing guidelines called for a sentence of eight to 14 months in prison, and up to three years probation.
Even in ordinary times, Stadtmueller said, a white collar criminal like Ruppelt, with a single victim and a fraud of $30,000, likely wouldn’t go to prison. But he agreed that it would make even less sense now when prisons are trying to reduce their populations to lessen the chances of COVID-19 outbreaks.
Ruppelt resigned from the State Bar of Wisconsin in January 2020. He had been a member since graduating from Marquette Law School in 1994.
He told the judge Friday that the silver lining of his predicament is that he discovered a new career he loves and excels at — selling residential real estate.