After three years of hearings and recriminations, a British judge Thursday refused to extradite the multimillionaire hotelier Stanley S. Tollman to New York, a major setback for prosecutors seeking to bring him to trial on charges relating to a $100 million bank fraud and tax evasion scheme, The New York Times reported.
Tollman was indicted by a federal grand jury in 2002 after prosecutors said he led an effort to defraud lenders and avoid paying taxes during the 1990s, when he and others controlled the Days Inn hotel chain. Four other former corporate officers of the Days Inn chain, including Monty D. Hundley, were convicted on charges related to the bank fraud. And the Tollmans' son Brett pleaded guilty to tax fraud, served time in prison and now lives in California, the paper reported.
Timothy Workman, a senior district judge in Westminster, England, ruled Thursday that it would be difficult for Tollman to get a fair trial because of the loss of certain documents and the deaths of witnesses who might have aided his defense, the paper reported.
The judge also said that sending Tollman to America "would undoubtedly endanger the health of Mrs. Tollman and possibly her life." His wife was indicted in a related case but has been under the care of three doctors while the couple have been staying in their home near Buckingham Palace. Tollman owns luxury hotels in London, the paper reported.
"We respectfully disagree with the court's factual and legal findings and expect to appeal," said Rebecca Carmichael, a spokeswoman for Michael J. Garcia, the United States attorney, the paper reported.-New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants
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