GIACCHETTO TO FACE 57 MONTHS
IN THE BIG HOUSE
The sentencing brings to a close a colorful story that began nine months ago, when Giacchetto was charged with theft and fraud (hitsdailydouble.com, 4/4/00). A week later, he jumped bail and was arrested at Newark International Airport with cash, airline tickets and a doctored passport (hitsdailydouble.com, 4/13). Giacchetto finally pleaded guilty in August (hitsdailydouble.com, 8/3).
According to the story in the Times, Giacchetto is likely to serve no more than three years in a minimum-security federal prison. He has already agreed to enter a treatment program for alcohol and prescription drugs, which could shave a year off his sentence. Giacchetto will also receive credit for jail time served since he was taken into custody in April 2000.
Government prosecutors said "outright theft" by Giacchetto now totals $9.87 million, $4.5 million of which belonged to the rock group Phish. Under his sentence, as a form of restitution, Giacchetto must listen to the band's interminable jams for the entirety of his stay in prison.
According to the Times, even though Giacchetto worked with a large number of celebrities, nearly all of them got out early with their accounts intact because they often had financial advisors who were able to spot trouble early.
Many investors have had their losses blunted by $4.89 million payments from Citizens Bank and Brown & Co.—the two most prominent pieces in his check-kiting scheme. According to prosecutors, Giacchetto tapped into the accounts of clients of his Cassandra Group and ordered checks from Brown & Co. made out to him. He was then able to cash the checks at U.S. Trust (now owned by Citizens Bank), even though some were made out to celebrities such as Matt Damon and Ben Stiller.
Investors placed blame on the two companies for failing to have procedures in place that could have prevented Giacchetto from improperly taking money from their accounts.
