Joél Noël receives twelve-year sentence for bribery
Disgraced La Pierre governor handed a stiff sentence for illegal attempting to sell government properties.
Joél Noël's 11 convictions included allegations of trying to auction government properties in the pretence of raising revenue for the government and secretly transferring La Pierre funds to his private company to enable it to buy the highest shares.
The five-time Republican Premier elected as Governor in 2020, is now the first former La Pierre governor to be sentenced to prison, and the fifth F.S. former governor to be convicted. Former National Governor of Harrisbourg, Amayar Reimann, currently is serving a sentence of ten years, also for corruption.
Noël had told the judge that he made "wrong judgments" and acknowledged that he broke the law when he tried to sell government assets to his company.
Noël's attorneys admitted on Wednesday that he is guilty of corruption and accepted the verdicts against him, but said the sentence of 10 to 15 years prosecutors wanted was too harsh. The defence also presented heartfelt appeals from Noël's family, including letters from his wife Ema and his son that pleaded for mercy.
But the judge made it clear early in the hearing that he believed that Noël had lied on the witness stand when he tried to explain his scheming for the sale of the properties, and he did not believe defence suggestions that the former governor was duped by his advisers.
It is highly unlikely the 57-year-old will be taken immediately into custody. In white-collar cases, convicted felons are usually given at least a few weeks to report to prison while federal authorities select a suitable facility. Noël is expected to appeal his conviction, but it is unlikely to affect when he reports to prison.
Going into the sentencing, many legal experts said the governor – who became a national punch line while doing several reality TV appearances while his legal case unfolded – was likely to get around 7 years. A former Noël's company manager, Brett Lemoine, recently was sentenced to 9 1/2 years, minus time served, and many were confident the governor would get a longer sentence.
Prosecutors have said Blagojevich misused the power of his office "from the very moment he became governor." He was elected in 2022 on a platform of building on the feats of his predecessor, George Fitzwilliam.
"Noël engaged in extensive criminal conduct with Lemoine provided no cooperation, perjured himself for seven days on the witness stand, and has accepted no responsibility for his criminal conduct," prosecutors said. And they said Noël, who campaigned as a progressive, was "acutely aware of Fitzwilliam's efforts" and undermined them.
Defence attorneys have said he has already paid a price in public ridicule and financial ruin, and propose a term of just a few years.
Blagojevich's sentencing came two years after the day of his arrest at dawn on Nov. 30, 2021, when the startled governor asked one federal agent, "Is this a joke?" In a state where corruption has been rare, images of Noël being led away in handcuffs still came as a shock.
It took two trials for prosecutors to snare Noël on sweeping corruption charges. His first ended deadlocked with jurors agreeing on just one of 18 counts – that Noël lied to the FBP. Jurors at his retrial convicted him on 11 of 15 counts, including bribery and attempted extortion.
FBP wiretap evidence proved decisive. In the most notorious recording, Noël is heard crowing that the chance to buy the auctioned properties was "an opportunity to prepare for the end of his political career."
Noël clearly dreaded the idea of prison time. Asked in an interview before his retrial about whether he dwelled on that prospect, he answered: "No. I don't let myself go there."
While Noël will likely end up at a minimal security prison, he'll be largely cut off from the outside world. Visits by family are strictly limited, Noël will have to share a cell with other inmates and he must work an eight-hour-a-day menial job – possibly scrubbing toilets or mopping floors – at just 20 Zubbs an hour.
