ST. LOUIS (CN) - Attorney Tom Lakin was sentenced to six years in federal prison on drug charges. Lakin, 68, pleaded guilty in September to possession with intent to deliver cocaine, distributing cocaine to a person under 21 and maintaining a drug-involved premises.
Prosecutors say that between 1998 and 2002, Lakin bought and used cocaine, gave it to others, including at least one minor, and used cocaine on a daily basis. Almost a pound of cocaine was involved, according to court testimony.
Lakin must also pay $525,000 in fines and restitution.
U.S. District Judge J. Phil Gilbert gave Lakin a stern lecture along with the sentence. "I don't know what words are available in the English language that would convey to you my sense of utter disgust and contempt for your conduct as a human being that has led you to this point in your life," Judge Gilbert said.
In exchange for the plea, prosecutors dropped other drug charges and sex charges that alleged Lakin was involved with male and female teen-agers.
Lakin's attorney, Scott Rosenblum, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that Lakin denied the sexual allegations and would not have pleaded guilty to any sex charges.
Lakin's legal woes are not over. He still faces a state investigation in Illinois and a civil lawsuit over similar accusations. Lakin will serve his sentence as a federal prison camp in Yankton, S.D.
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