Kimmel to change plea to guilty

22-May-08 – Gary S. Kimmel, the Marina City resident facing federal money laundering and racketeering charges related to a nationwide prostitution ring, will change his plea to guilty.

“Both sides made numerous concessions to ensure a just result,” said Kimmel’s attorney, Joseph Lopez.

According to court documents, a Change of Plea Hearing has been scheduled for May 29. A plea agreement is due no later than 24 hours before the hearing. If an agreement is not worked out, a pretrial conference will be held that day.

Randall Samborn, Public Information Officer for the United States Attorney’s Office, points out the change of plea is not absolutely certain. “He may or may not be pleading guilty. I can’t say for sure whether he will or won’t until he actually does so, and we’ll have to see what happens in court next Thursday.”

Kimmel’s trial was scheduled to begin on June 2. A status hearing was scheduled for Thursday afternoon but was cancelled early this week.

The former dentist was arrested at Marina City on November 18, 2005. According to a motion filed on April 21, 2008 by his attorneys, Lopez and Paul Zido, Kimmel was told he would not go to jail if he cooperated with the FBI’s investigation of two other people. The deal was contingent on Kimmel not hiring a lawyer.

While cooperating with the investigation, Kimmel made several incriminating statements but was planning to enter a guilty plea to avoid jail time. Kimmel’s attorneys say FBI agents made “implied promises” that the more he told them, the less likely he would receive a prison sentence.

Kimmel also was not allowed to claim vehicles of his that had been seized – and when he did so, the prosecution dropped him as a cooperating witness.

Lopez and Zido maintain that Kimmel’s statements made after his arrest are not admissible as evidence because they were made in the course of plea negotiations.

In another court document filed on April 21, U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald summarized evidence against Kimmel that included court-authorized wiretaps of Kimmel’s cell phone and office line.

Kimmel is accused of accepting about $375,000 from alleged pimps to pay for luxury vehicles for use by the prostitution ring. According to Fitzgerald, he also supplied dental work, airline tickets, bail money, and helped pay for advertising for the prostitution business.