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Gene Kennedy reporting The mastermind behind Utah's biggest fraud scheme is now in prison. Val Southwick was sentenced yesterday to at least 9 years behind bars after many of his victims testified in favor of strong punishment.
But one victim, who happens to be the mayor of Ogden, made a vigorous plea for Southwick to avoid prison. Ogden Mayor Matthew Godfrey told the court he lost a "significant" amount of money. But he felt if Southwick was out of prison and able to work, he could at least pay some of the money back. That wasn't the only thing the mayor had to say. He also said, "This is not an evil man who will perpetuate harm against society."
Mayor Godfrey's courtroom statement drew an angry reaction from some of Val Southwick's victims. But the mayor insisted prisons are too overcrowded for a white-collar criminal, and, in fact, suggested the judge go easy on Southwick. Godfrey said, "We're gonna get a thief, a murderer or someone who has committed horrible crimes against persons let go in order to make room for him, and I don't think that makes sense."
Angie Welling, with the Department of Corrections, says, "Housing this defendant won't be any kind of a problem. It won't create a hardship on the department whatsoever, and we won't release a murderer or any other violent offender to make way for Mr. Southwick."
"This is not a guy who's tried to run or tried to hide from what he's done wrong. He's faced up to it. He's pled guilty and agreed today to be sentenced immediately," Godfrey said.
After he was sentenced, Southwick wanted an additional 30 days before going to prison to sort out personal affairs. Godfrey said, "He's owned up to the mistakes he made, which are really technical in nature."
During a federal court hearing last year, one of Southwick's attorneys told the court there were 817 investors, most of them retirees, who were out millions!
On the KSL.com comment board, people are taking a stand against Godfrey's comments. One person wrote, "There is a reason Matt that you were alone in your stance, you were 100% wrong."
Another person wrote, "Your own Mayor is soft on crime, even when he himself has been a victim."
And Mayor Godfrey admits Southwick hasn't paid him back and probably won't. Godfrey said, "I'll probably get pennies on the dollar, and that's part of investing, it's a risk. If anyone in here was unaware of that, they shouldn't have been investing in the first place."
Kirk Torgensen, one of the prosecutors in the Southwick case told Eyewitness News, "In my 22 years of practice, I've never seen a while-collar case with so much devastation to victims. If there isn't a prison bed for Val Southwick, our system is broken. Mayor Godfrey's comments surprised me, and I'm glad the court disregarded them."
Mayor Godfrey was not available for comment. He's on vacation.
E-mail: gkennedy@ksl.com
