Prison Sought In Jemal Case

Defense attorneys said the wire fraud conviction comes from a transaction that was a victimless crime and an "aberration" in Jemal's career.

"Mr. Jemal is known for his integrity, entrepreneurial vision and ability to do business on a handshake. He has pioneered the redevelopment of areas of the District that other developers found undesirable," defense attorneys Reid H. Weingarten and Brian Herberlig wrote. "Unfortunately, the numerous contributions Mr. Jemal has made to the city of Washington, D.C., and its citizens risk being overshadowed by a single private business transaction."

Neither side is sparing.

Prosecutors presented the judge with a list of 20 lawsuits that small Washington area businesses have filed in recent years against Jemal in which they complained about bounced checks and sought payment for work they did for the developer and his companies.

The list of begging electricians, suppliers and other small business people should make Jemal ashamed, prosecutors said. They added that the eventual settlements in those cases indicate what they said was Jemal's pattern of wearing contractors down until they settle for less money.

"[F]ailing to honor business debts was a business choice that he made so as to have cash to grow his business and support his lifestyle," prosecutors wrote. "And, not to put too fine a point on it, it is not so difficult to be a unique visionary and a 'risk taker' by amassing debts and not paying them."

Weingarten said in an interview yesterday that more than 200 members of the community, including many small contractors, wrote letters urging the court to show Jemal leniency. "These people want to continue to do business with him, and it completely flies in the face of the government's description," he said.

Esherick's attorneys have their own issues. They accuse the prosecutors of refusing a plea agreement for Esherick's failure to document his true tax income, which defense attorneys said they made in the early stages of the investigation. They allege that prosecutors held Esherick "hostage" because he had a friendship with Lorusso, had given him gifts and could tie Jemal to Lorusso.

Jemal's attorneys said that their client has repeatedly forgone profits to help revive downtown and that putting him in prison will hurt innumerable employees who work for his company or are employed because of his operations.

"Mr. Jemal is a compassionate and charitable family man who rose from humble beginnings to create an extremely successful real estate development business that has greatly benefited the District of Columbia," defense attorneys wrote. He "preserved historical architecture and made decisions motivated by his desire to benefit this city rather than profit, and played a central role in the transformation of downtown District of Columbia. Along the way, Mr. Jemal has given breaks to young entrepreneurs and disadvantaged tenants, and performed innumerable acts of charity and community service both large and small."