Federal prosecutors in Alaska can seek a sentence longer than 10 years for Mark Avery, the former city and state prosecutor found guilty of 11 federal felonies in February.
U.S. District Judge Ralph Beistline ruled Friday in favorite of a government request to reconsider a decision from 2014 when he put a 10-year cap on a sentence. The limit came as Beistline decided a new criminal case could go forward against Avery with charges similar to those in an earlier case that was thrown out.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Skrocki successfully argued the current case was different because it included two additional charges, bank fraud and making false statements to a bank, that were not part of the original case. Avery's attorney, Mike Dieni, said those charges, relating to a Wells Fargo line of credit, didn't involve any new behavior and that if the government didn't have the details it was because "the government simply did not care."
[Jury sees video and hears about Wells Fargo line of credit]
Avery is scheduled to be sentenced Monday in U.S. District Court on charges of wire fraud, money laundering, bank fraud and making false statements.
Skrocki is asking for a sentence of 20 years, on top of the 5 ½ years Avery already served. Dieni says he shouldn't get any more jail time.