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	Prosecutors Seek up to Eight Years in Prison for Hayes By Christopher Eshleman News-Miner April 28, 2008 http://newsminer.com/news/2008/apr/28/residents-ask-judge-leniency-behalf-hayes/ Federal prosecutors have asked a judge to sentence Jim Hayes to up to eight years in jail and his wife to between five and six years for stealing from federal grants from 2001 and 2005. A handful of Fairbanks residents have written to ask federal District Judge John Sedwick to show leniency, identifying Hayes as a community leader. Prosecutors, however, wrote in court papers filed Monday that the former three-term mayor's testimony at his trial this winter, where he denied wrongdoing, revealed "deep character issues" that should be addressed when he and wife Chris Hayes are sentenced Friday morning in Fairbanks. "While Jim Hayes (had) no criminal record and has a long record of achievement, his actions in this case show a complete failure to take any responsibility for his own actions and a constant willingness to blame others," the government's pre-sentencing memo states. In February, a jury convicted Hayes, who served nine years as mayor before stepping down in 2001, on 16 federal counts of helping to steal from federal social service grants for personal spending and to funnel money toward the South Fairbanks church he ran as pastor. The money was part of a series of government grants awarded to the LOVE Social Services tutoring and mentoring center run by Hayes' wife, Chris Hayes, across the street from the church. It went to help the cash-strapped Lily of the Valley Church of God in Christ — which was building a new home — and for personal spending including a plasma television for Hayes' house. Chris Hayes pleaded guilty to two counts as part of a deal with the government prior to the former mayor's trial. Jim Hayes' lawyer, Anchorage attorney John Murtagh, filed court paperwork Sunday saying Hayes' case falls short of justifying a long prison sentence. Hayes, Murtagh said, is a college graduate who has been employed all his life, faced no criminal charges prior to the theft case and has a history of charity in the Fairbanks community. Murtagh wrote that anything more than 33 months in jail would be excessive, noting the jury's final decision cleared Hayes on certain counts. "It would not be an exaggeration to say that in the universe of individuals convicted of federal felonies, the 'characteristics' of Jim Hayes are remarkably positive, perhaps even uniquely so," Murtagh wrote. Sedwick had received 22 letters from residents, including leaders from Fairbanks churches and a few former state and elected officials, through Monday vouching for Hayes' character. Some noted his public service and other pointed to his church involvement and to the positive benefits the now-closed tutoring center had in the South Fairbanks neighborhood. "I sincerely hope that in deciding James' sentence, you will take into account the tremendous personal, professional and financial hardship that this case has already had on James and his family," Andrew Lundquist, a national energy consultant and former congressional aide who said he grew up with Hayes in Fairbanks, wrote to Sedwick on April 22. Prosecutors argue Hayes' lengthy Feb. 4 testimony contradicted that of previous witnesses. They note he denied having a substantive role at his wife's tutoring center despite serving as a board director and treasurer and that he had offered "incredible" and unbelievable stories to explain spending that government investigators traced from his church back to the grants. Prosecutors alleged the couple's money-laundering plans were often sophisticated enough to require more than one financial transfer before money was spent at the church or elsewhere. They also said Hayes and his wife abused positions of "public trust" to damage the community and, in that sense, compared their crimes to those of former state lawmakers Tom Anderson and Pete Kott, who last year were convicted of taking bribes. Court filings indicate Chris Hayes has shown signs of depression since word surfaced of the indictment two years ago, but prosecutors wrote her condition could be addressed during a prison term.
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