TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Green's Prison Term Delayed Again

ADVERTISEMENT

By ELAINE SILVESTRINI

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 28, 2008

TAMPA - TAMPA - A federal judge Friday granted a motion from Steven Green's attorneys, delaying the day he has to report to prison from July 3 to Jan. 3.

Green, once one of Hillsborough County's most notorious landlords, remains in a poor mental and physical state, according to a defense court filing.

An attorney for Green asked a judge for a six-month extension for Green to report to the Bureau of Prisons to begin serving a sentence, citing the injuries he suffered when hit by a car outside a New York nightclub in May 2007.

"Attempts by medical staff to feed or bathe him often result in Mr. Green punching or biting his caregivers and otherwise physically resisting said efforts," wrote his attorney, Edward M. Kratt. "Steven often shreds the bed linens with his teeth when frustrated. He must oft-times be physically restrained for his safety, as well as the safety of his caregivers.

"As a result of this compulsive, and seemingly involuntary behavior, no physical therapists have been found, to date, who are willing to work with him to provide for his physical, rehabilitative needs."

Green, once one of Tampa's worst code violators with the low-income housing complexes he operated, was sentenced in February 2007 to 33 months in prison on tax evasion and fraud charges. He also was ordered to pay more than $4 million in restitution to Wells Fargo Bank.

Green defrauded the bank by using a false Social Security number on a $9 million mortgage application for the Amberwood apartment complex on North Florida Avenue.

After sentencing, U.S. District Judge Susan Bucklew gave Green time to get his affairs in order before reporting to prison.

Then the car accident left him in a coma for about 40 days, his defense attorney wrote in a court document.
Bucklew on Friday granted the defense request to delay Green's prison sentence. It was the fourth extension the judge granted since Green's accident.

Green was discharged from a hospital nearly a year after being struck and is home in Purchase, N.Y. A letter from his attorney, dated June 18, states that Green "is not now capable of caring for himself and must rely on others to be able to perform the activities of daily living."

Green receives 24-hour care and can't stand or walk on his own, the attorney wrote.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT