Joplin lawyer's sentencing plea: Give me a break; I cooperated

With two days to go before he is sentenced for embezzling more than $900,000 from his clients, Joplin lawyer Daniel Whitworth's attorneys filed a memorandum taking issue with the government's request for the maximum sentence.

Whitworth's lawyer noted that his client had "full acceptance of responsibility," and had "spared the government the expense of full-blown federal grand jury proceedings."

Whitworth went "above and beyond" in his efforts to aid prosecutors, the memorandum said, including surrendering his law license voluntarily."

The government's sentencing memorandum, filed last week in U. S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri, asked for a 57-month sentence for Whitworth, saying that a message needed to be sent to others who might consider bilking their clients.

The defendant utilized his position to carry out each and every aspect of this fraud, victimizing individuals who sought his assistance and placed their trust in him. Failure to sentence this defendant to 57 months of incarceration, as recommended by the sentencing guidelines, would send a message that even the most highly knowledgeable and trained persons will not be held accountable for their actions and would further fail to deter others in similar or lesser positions from engaging in similar embezzlement schemes.

Sentencing is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Thursday in Springfield.