Ex-lawmaker tells court of regrets

Former state Rep. Tyrone Brooks, about to be sentenced in a fraud case, says he takes responsibility for his actions; the judge says those words seem hollow,

Former state Rep. Tyrone Brooks said in federal court Friday he took full responsibility for his crimes — tax, mail and wire fraud — but U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg said those words rang hollow.

“There is a certain lack of acceptance that there is a fraud part to this case,” Totenberg said after hearing Brooks’ two-minute elocution in his sentencing hearing that stretched over four days.

The question that presented the biggest problem for Brooks concerned the individuals Brooks had listed on brochures and in letters as members of the charity’s board of directors. Several of them testified that they knew nothing of United Humanities or the Visions of Literacy program the sham charity operated.

Totenberg observed that Brooks’ “friends testified that they were disappointed and upset to see their names on documents.”

Brooks explained that “whenever we prepared information and listed individuals in our coalition, we mailed them copies.... I didn’t do fol-

low-up.”

Brooks suggested some of the people he listed as board member may not have kept the documents. “People forget. People don’t remember,” Brooks said. “I do understand it’s been a long time. I’ve never deliberately or intentionally used someone else’s name.”

Totenberg said while some of the instances witnesses described happened in the 1990s, others were just a few years ago.

“He sees the case in such a way that he doesn’t accept responsibility,” Totenberg said.

Still, Brooks said he was to blame. “I take full responsibility for all that occurred. I regret the mistakes I made. I should have had proper accounting in place. I did not,” he said.

Brooks, who resigned his legislative seat of 35 years, pleaded guilty in April to one count of tax fraud and no contest to five counts of mail and wire fraud. He was convicted of diverting to his personal banking account almost $1 million in donations over at least 15 years for programs to address illiteracy, register voters or deal with violence in the black community.

Donations were made to Universal Humanities, a sham charity, for a program called Visions of Literacy. He also created a second account for the Georgia Associa- tion for Black Elected Officials, which he led for several years, and deposited those contributions there instead of in an account at a bank in Macon.

Because of the convictions, Brooks has lost several rights — to serve on a jury or hold elected office. “And most hurtful, he has lost the right to vote, and to this man, it’s his world,” said one of Brooks’ lawyer, former Gov. Roy Barnes.

Prosecutors are asking that Brooks be sentenced to two years in prison — far below the 46 to 57 months recommended in the voluntary federal sentencing guidelines. Brooks’ lawyers asked Totenberg to sentence him to probation in light of the work the now-70-yearold man has done for civil rights, beginning when he was a teen and a member of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s. movement.

Totenberg will announce her decision on Monday.

He was convicted of diverting to his personal banking account almost $1 million in donations over at least 15 years.

Former state Rep. Tyrone Brooks, DAtlanta, said he took full responsibility for his crimes.