Pubdate: Sat, 23 Nov 2002
Source: Wisconsin State Journal (WI)
Copyright: 2002 Madison Newspapers, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.wisconsinstatejournal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/506
Author: Ed Treleven, Courts reporter
Related: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v02/n809/a11.html
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/mdma.htm (Ecstasy)

6 GET PRISON TERMS IN ECSTASY CASE

Six men were sentenced to terms ranging from two to nearly six years in 
prison for their roles in the distribution of the drug ecstasy on the 
UW-Madison campus.

Three of the men, Ashkan Farhadieh, 22; Ghassan Majdalani, 22; and Matthew 
Louie, 23, were UW-Madison students on the verge of graduation when they 
were arrested in April for distributing the drug, a hallucinogen that is 
sometimes called "the hug drug." The group sold about 116,000 pills.

At six back-to-back sentencing hearings Friday before U.S. District Judge 
Barbara Crabb, the message from the prosecutor, judge, defense attorneys 
and the defendants themselves was clear: Get caught selling ecstasy and you 
will go to prison.

"(Young people) have no sense of the penalties that apply in federal 
court," said Michael Fitzgerald, Farhadieh's lawyer. "This is a clarion 
wake-up call to all young people."

Farhadieh was sentenced to nearly 5 years in prison. His brother, Paymon 
Farhadieh, 24, received a two-year sentence. Majdalani will serve just over 
three years in prison, while Louie received a five-year, three-month sentence.

The chief supplier for the ring, Augusto Rodriguez, 25, of Miami, received 
a four-year, three-month sentence, while Steven Larson, 26, of Los Angeles, 
who acted as a middle-man, was sentenced to five years and 10 months in prison.

All federal sentences are served without the possibility of parole. While 
judges have some discretion in sentencing, standardized guidelines 
generally dictate federal penalties.

But just as much as the penalties, those involved in the case also preached 
about the dangers of using the drug and its popularity on college campuses. 
Crabb noted that a Madison high school student died in 2000 from an ecstasy 
overdose.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tim O'Shea said studies have found that use of 
ecstasy can permanently alter cognitive abilities and memory.

"The terrible irony is that people come to the university to get smarter," 
O'Shea said.

Crabb said she sees hope for redemption in each man - their achievements at 
school and their strong families - all of whom were in court Friday - give 
them a chance to learn from their mistakes and succeed after release from 
prison.

The arrest of Penn State University graduate Paymon Farhadieh in April 2002 
came while he was working long hours for J.P. Morgan in New York City, nine 
months after he had given up involvement in any drug-related activity, said 
his attorney, Stephen Mayer.

"Here's a guy who a year ago is living in New York, up and coming. This 
week he's laying on a quarter-inch mattress (in jail) thinking how did I 
get here?" Mayer said.

Larson, a telecommunications graduate from Penn State, was working for the 
Walt Disney Co. in Los Angeles when he was arrested, said his attorney, 
Richard Jacobson.
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