At the time, the ruling on Sept. 26 by Federal Judge J.P. Stadtmueller that former Alderman Paul Henningsen was not acting as a public official when he used campaign funds for personal use seemed not to be a big deal.

But when it came time about two hours later to sentence Henningsen for four counts of mail fraud, the decision by Stadtmueller saved Henningsen at least eight months in a federal prison. That’s because the ruling lowered the number of points assigned to Henningsen as part of the federal sentencing guidelines and only required Stadtmueller to sentence him to anywhere between a 33 months to 41 months.

When the 54-year-old Henningsen entered the courtroom, he faced a possible sentence of 41 months to 51 months, three years of supervised release, a fine as high as $75,000, restitution of more than $30,000 and a $400 special assessment.

He left with a 33-month sentence, three years supervised release, a $2,500 fine, restitution of only $8,000 to 25 victims and the $400 special assessment. He will also have to enter a drug and alcohol rehabilitation and will forbidden from drinking alcohol while on supervised release.

And while Henningsen remained defiant after the hearing announcing his intention to appeal and his attorney complained he was being treated unfairly, several political observers said he was lucky not to receive a longer sentence.

“He got a couple of breaks during the hearing that kept him out of jail for a longer period of time,” said a political observer.

Stadtmueller did reject several additional attempts by Dennis Coffey, Henningsen’s defense attorney, to lower Henningsen’s points even further in the sentencing guidelines that could have saved him an additional eight months in prison. Coffey also attempted to get Stadtmueller to give Henningsen “a downward departure” from the federal sentencing guidelines and sentence him to an eight-month prison term, the same given to former Milwaukee Aldermen Jeff Pawlinski and Rosa Cameron, who were also convinced in the recent federal probe of Milwaukee City Hall.

Henningsen was actually accused of using about $7,000 of campaign funs for his personal use than Pawlinski, Coffey said. Pawlinski was accused of using about $38,000 of his campaign fund for personal use.

“He (Pawlinski) had the same kind of conduct as alleged against Henningsen,” Coffey said. “The theory (of prosecution) is exactly the same in each of the cases.”

But the big difference, according to prosecutors, was that Pawlinski agreed to a plea bargain rather than fight his case at trial and resigned immediately from the Milwaukee Common Council. Even after being convicted in a jury trial in June, Henningsen continued to serve on the Common Council until he was removed from office upon his sentencing.

“There has been a total refusal of (Henningsen) to accept responsibility,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Mel Johnson. “Mr. Pawlinski quickly accepted responsibility, resigned his position and expressed public contrition in doing do. That has not been the case with Mr. Henningsen.”

Stadtmueller acknowledged that Henningsen’s refusal to accept a plea bargain in the case had cost him an additional eight to nine months on his sentence. In addition, a finding that Henningsen lied during his trial by saying he took the campaign funds to repay previous loans he had made to his campaign cost him another six months in jail. Prior to sentencing him, Stadtmueller spent several minutes praising Henningsen for all of the work he had done in his 27 years as an alderman and county supervisor, citing 25 letters of support that Stadtmueller had received from developers, attorneys, constituents and others asking for leniency for the alderman.

“You’ve done a lot of good for this city and downtown Milwaukee over the years in helping to set up the infrastructure that is so vital to a community,” Stadtmueller said. “But, we’re not here today to provide you with an Emmy or accolades for the good things you have done. One’s sins cannot go away because they done so many good things. At the end of the day, what you did was wrong, and all the good that you’ve done is not part of the sentencing equation.

“You can not use your campaign account as another bank account to deal with the financial problems you were having.”

At the hearing, Johnson revealed details of Henningsen’s serious financial problems that apparently played a role in his criminal activity. According to Johnson, Henningsen has a negative net worth, negative equity in the home he owns with his wife, 10 credit cards with the maximum amount of debt and gambling losses of more than $70,000 from 1997 to 2000.

Stadtmueller’s courtroom was packed for the hearing, with several people being forced to watch from the hallway. The crowd included many Henningsen supporters, including three Milwaukee aldermen – Don Richards, Willie Hines and Willie Wade.

“He’s a friend and I came here to support him,” said Richards, who pointed to the fact that he wore a tie to the hearing for Henningsen. “He’s done a lot of good for the city and has been very helpful to me. It’s a shame it has to end this way.”

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