Ney’s Drinking Problem Could Cut His Jail TimeA few weeks ago, when Rep. Bob Ney (R-OH) first acknowledged breaking the law, he blamed his alcoholism and skedaddled to a rehab facility.
More than a few readers cried foul. For one thing, who knew this guy was a lush? they asked. (We checked, and the answer was “a lot,” at least among Capitol Hill denizens.)
A smaller number of readers thought this rehab gambit was a way to trim his eventual jail sentence. When at Ney’s guilty pleading yesterday his lawyer, Mark Tuohey, specifically asked the judge that Ney be considered for a treatment program while incarcerated, I began to wonder if they were right.
So I checked the Bureau of Prisons Web site, and guess what? It looks like our readers were onto something.
“Non-violent inmates who are diagnosed with a substance use disorder may be eligible for up to a year off his/her sentence,” the site says. And in certain prisons, inmates with substance abuse problems can be placed in a separate residential treatment program which keeps them apart from the general inmate population.
That’s a good lawyer you’ve got there, Bob.
