Cost to County Will Be Key To Hornsby's Punishment

For Andre J. Hornsby, the legal battles are far from over.

Convicted this week on federal corruption charges, the former Prince George's County schools chief now faces a federal sentencing process that does not look kindly on large-scale frauds or on attempts to subvert criminal investigations.

Accused of steering school system contracts in exchange for kickbacks, Hornsby was convicted Wednesday of obstruction of justice, attempted evidence tampering and wire fraud.

When calculating where Hornsby's case should fall in the federal sentencing guidelines, perhaps the most contested question between the defense and the prosecution will be how big a loss resulted from the contract schemes alleged by the government.

Was, for example, the loss only the $10,000 that Hornsby's girlfriend gave him as a cut of her commission on a contract she and Hornsby secretly negotiated? Or was the loss in that transaction the $956,280 that Prince George's schools paid his girlfriend's company as part of the contract?

The judge's answer to that question could determine whether Hornsby, 54, comes home from prison before or after he turns 60.

"How the judge ultimately determines the amount of loss will likely be significant to the sentence," said Larry Allen Nathans, a Maryland defense lawyer specializing in white-collar investigations.

A smaller loss would mean a shorter recommended sentence, and a larger loss would mean a longer recommended sentence.

It does appear all but certain that Hornsby will go to prison.

"It would be unusual in a case of this magnitude to avoid any form of confinement," said Nathans, who has been chair of the American Bar Association's white-collar federal sentencing subcommittee.

Andrew Radding, a Maryland lawyer who does white-collar defense work and is a former federal prosecutor, said a lawyer in a case such as Hornsby's would never concede the possibility of probation but could not put much hope in such leniency. "Those are tough cases to escape incarceration," Radding said.

One lawyer who has followed the case said the range under the guidelines could be at least eight to 10 years. Other lawyers familiar with the case said the range could be higher.