A Cobb County judge sentenced former Glock Inc. CEO Paul Jannuzzo Wednesday to seven years in prison and 13 years on probation for conspiring with another former executive to pocket millions from the international gun manufacturer.
Jannuzzo, 56, also was fined $100,000 and ordered to serve 200 hours of community service upon his release. Jannuzzo has already spent 26 months in jail awaiting trial on the theft and racketeering charges, for which he was indicted in 2009. He will be given credit for time served.
A jury convicted Jannuzzo March 2 of conspiring with another former Glock executive, Dunwoody lawyer Peter Manown, to divert about $5 million from the company between 1991 and 2003 using cloned bank accounts, forged documents and fraudulently obtained loans. Jannuzzo also was convicted of stealing a pistol that had been loaned to him by the company.
Glock Inc., the North American subsidiary of the Austria-based gun manufacturer, is headquartered in Smyrna.
Manown, who reportedly profited the most from the partnership, pleaded guilty to three counts of theft in 2008 and was sentenced to 10 years on probation, with no jail time. In exchange for the plea, Manown agreed to cooperate with the investigation.
Defense attorney John Da Grosa Smith asked the judge to take into account Manown's comparatively light punishment when he sentenced Jannuzzo. He requested only a fine, community service or time on probation as punishment for his client.
Smith also put Jannuzzo's four siblings and his 80-year-old mother on the stand to testify about how much his family relies on him.
Jannuzzo's father died in 2009, and the loss of the family patriarch as well as the eldest son has been devastating for the family, said Jannuzzo's sister, AnnMarie Jannuzzo Mastria.
"The two of them are gone at the same time and it's hit everyone really hard," she testified. "My mom has had two heart attacks and she needs him there."
Jannuzzo, dressed in a jail uniform and bulletproof vest instead of the suit and tie he wore during the trial, wiped away tears as his sister spoke.
Frank R. Seigel, an attorney who was once retained by Jannuzzo to help with Glock product liability cases, testified Jannuzzo was a "brilliant" lawyer. He said Jannuzzo's peers held him in high regard while he served as the face of the gun industry in America throughout much of the 1990s.
Jannuzzo, a former New Jersey prosecutor, rose to prominence after he was hired by Glock Inc. to be its general counsel, defending the company against product liability lawsuits and patent infringements. He played a pivotal role in representing Glock not just in court, but before U.S. presidents, Congressional leaders and business tycoons. All that crumbled after his arrest, his lawyers argued.
"This man has been ruined," Smith told the judge prior to sentencing.
Prosecutor John Butters hinted there were really two Paul Jannuzzos -- the affable, loving one his friends and family saw, and the conniving, duplicitous employee that jurors heard evidence about. He pointed out that Manown voluntarily came forward in 2003 to Glock executives, admitted he stole from the company, and paid restitution.
In contrast, Jannuzzo has not accepted responsibility nor shown any remorse, Butters said.
Superior Court Judge LaTain Kell had little sympathy for Jannuzzo.
"You were entrusted basically with keys to the kingdom," Kell told Jannuzzo. "You were given the opportunity to write checks, form corporations on behalf of the company, and take all manners of action on behalf of the company. By placing that amount of trust in you, they allowed you -- much to their detriment -- to steal from them."
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