Esme's Blog: Denny Hecker And Tom Petters
Denny Hecker's attorney made the point at sentencing that Denny Hecker was not like Tom Petters because for years he ran a legitimate business.
True, Petters had one business that was entirely fiction, made up goods, made up receipts. The only thing real was the million people invested with him.
But Denny Hecker and Tom Petters do share a characteristic. Their egos. Hecker admitted in court "my ego was so big I thought I could conquer anything."
Tom Petters ego was so big he continued lying on the witness stand. Both men had gotten out of so many scrapes they thought they could talk their way out of dealing with the consequences of their crimes. But they couldn't.
Denny Hecker looked like a broken man as he pleaded for "just 24 hours" with his children before the sentencing Judge. He said his "ego is long gone."
His ego may have gotten him to the top of the car dealing world, but it lead him into a far worse legal predicament than he originally faced. Steven Leach was sentenced to two years and three months for doctoring the same document Hecker is accused of altering.
If Hecker had played by the rules he would have ended up with a lot less than the 10 years he will end up serving.
