Billy Long tells judge crooked Congressman is a friend of his and it "was like he had Tourette Syndrome minus the cuss words

Former Congressman Chris Collins, R-New York, is scheduled to be sentenced Friday in U. S. District Court for the Southern District of New York for insider trading and making false statements to the FBI.

Among the dozens of people who wrote glowing letters of referral for the disgraced Congressman was Seventh District Congressman Billy Long, who referred to Collins as "good people," and added that he should know because he is "a good judge of character."

The government is recommending that Collins serve one year and one day in prison, pay a $200,000 fine and be placed on supervised probation when he is released.

Collins' crimes involved his dealings with an Australian biotechnology company Innate Immunotherapeutics.









Collins, who was the largest shareholder in the company, tipped off his son that the trial of one of the company's drugs, which was designed to combat multiple sclerosis, had failed enabling the son to sell his stock before the news became public. Collins did not sell his stock, but the son did and also spread the word to others.

Collins was already under investigation from the House Ethics Committee for trying to convince some of his fellow legislators to invest in Innate Immunotherapeutics.

Coincidentally, the only Congressmen known to have bought shares of the company were Billy Long and Rep. Markwayne Mullin, R-Oklahoma, both of whom said they did not learn about Innate Immunotherapeutics from Collins, but learned about it through their work as members of a health subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Collins was also a member of that subcommittee until he was removed after the federal charges were filed.

Financial disclosure documents showed both Long and Mullin sold their shares in Innate Immunotherapeutics but do not indicate when.

Both Long and Mullin wrote glowing letters of reference for Collins.

The text of Long's letter is printed below:

Dear Judge Broderick,

My name is Billy Long, and I am a Congressman who represents the 7th Congressional District of Missouri where I was born and raised.

My Great Uncle Paul Pickering lived in Kansas City and worked for the Kansas City Star for years. When Paul would run across someone who talked to excess, he would surmise that when they were a baby, they had been vaccinated with a Victrola needle. 

When I met Chris Collins, the first thing I thought of was Uncle Paul. I thought Paul would have said, "this guy must have been vaccinated with a Victrola needle." 

It was like he had Tourette Syndrome minus the cuss words. 

Chris was always affable, friendly, upbeat, and open; he never met a stranger and doesn't have a mean bone in his body. 

Harry Truman famously said, "when you first get elected to Congress, you spend the first six months thinking, 'wow, how did I ever get here?' Then for the rest of your career, you think, 'wow, how did some of these other people ever get here?"' 

I never wondered how Chris got here as he had a real passion for his district and the 725,000 constituents he represented. 

I've met a lot of people and interacted with them over my 30-year career as a real estate broker and auctioneer plus another nine years serving in Congress. I believe in my 64 years I've become a pretty good judge of character. 

Back home, when someone is of good character, our term for them is "they're good people." In my opinion, Chris Collins is "good people." 

Being a judge, I'm sure you've seen good people make bad decisions, and I truly believe that is what happened here. I would be honored if you would take my ramblings here into consideration as you sentence my friend Chris.

Sincerely,

Billy Long

Member of Congress