Holderman released from federal prison

Former USC president will spend the remainder of his sentence at home

By RICK BRUNDRETT

rbrundrett@thestate.com

Former USC president James Holderman has been released from federal prison after serving almost 2½ years of a three-year sentence for scheming to launder drug money and obtain fake visas.

Holderman, 70, was released Tuesday from a federal prison in Butner, N.C. He was sent to the facility north of Raleigh after his 2003 conviction in Miami, U.S. Bureau of Prisons spokeswoman Carla Wilson said Friday.

“He has flown from the heights of power and esteem to a story about his being released from prison,” said Columbia attorney Dick Harpootlian, a former 5th Circuit solicitor who prosecuted Holderman on tax evasion charges in 1991. “I think it’s just another chapter in a tragedy.”

Holderman, who was president from 1977-90, will serve the rest of his sentence at home, Wilson said. The sentence ends July 9.

Wilson said it’s common for federal prisoners to be transferred to a halfway house or home before their sentence is up to help them transition into society. The longest transition allowed under federal law is six months.

Wilson declined to say where Holderman is living. His last-known address was in Charleston.

Holderman’s son-in-law, Ward Bradley, a West Columbia attorney, declined to comment. Attempts to reach other relatives and Holderman’s attorney were unsuccessful.

Once his sentence ends, Holderman will be on probation for three years, overseen by the U.S. Probation Office.

Holderman served about two years, four months of his three-year sentence. He got out early because of credits for good conduct and time already served, Wilson said.

Holderman was sentenced Dec. 29, 2003, but he wasn’t committed to the Butner prison until Feb. 25, 2004.

He initially was assigned to a low-security, dormitory-style facility. On March 4, 2005, he was transferred to the prison’s medical center, Wilson said.

The medical center houses about 885 inmates, while the low-security facility has 1,270 inmates, Wilson said.

Wilson declined to say why Holderman was transferred to the medical center, which provides treatment for chronic physical or mental problems. Holderman had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

During his September 2003 trial, Holderman said he was desperate for money to treat his mental illness.

Prosecutors said Holderman and Rafael Diaz Cabral, a former USC student and Dallas college administrator, were caught in an FBI sting in which they agreed to launder $250,000 in drug profits from an undercover officer posing as a Russian mobster.

The pair planned to launder the money with the purchase of a casino license from Diaz’s father in the Dominican Republic, prosecutors said.

Diaz testified against Holderman in exchange for a 14-month sentence. He told jurors he agreed to allow up to 200 people to pose as students so they could apply for visas to enter the country.

Holderman was convicted of conspiracy to launder money, attempted laundering of money, conspiracy to sell false immigration documents and offering to sell false immigration documents.

Holderman, who brought Pope John Paul II and President Ronald Reagan to USC during his 13-year tenure, resigned in 1990 amid allegations of extravagant spending.

In 1991, he was charged with tax evasion for not claiming $25,000 in extra income he received while president. He was sentenced to five years of probation and ordered to perform 500 hours of community service.

He also served a 10½-month prison sentence in 1996-97 after pleading guilty to eight counts of lying about his financial affairs to investigators with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court.

Reach Brundrett at (803) 771-8484.