FAYETTEVILLE -- A Pennsylvania man who was a nationally known motivational speaker and convicted of having child porn on his computer and sending fake letters to a federal judge won't be getting out of prison on compassionate release anytime soon.
Michael Fortino of Pittsburgh was sentenced in October 2007 to 20 years in federal prison to be followed by lifetime supervised release and was fined $250,000 for transporting child pornography across state lines.
Fortino requested compassionate release to home detention saying his underlying health concerns, including latent tuberculosis and high cholesterol, make him more susceptible to covid-19.
U.S. District Judge Timothy L. Brooks denied the motion Monday, citing in part Fortino's penchant for dishonesty.
On Nov. 4, 2005, Fortino took his laptop computer to a Best Buy store in Fayetteville for repairs. Employees discovered child pornography and called police. Fortino pleaded guilty to one count of transporting child pornography across state lines. He was sentenced to 11 years in prison and fined $100,000.
U.S. District Judge Jimm Larry Hendren vacated Fortino's 11-year sentence because Fortino forged three letters purporting to be from families of his victims that asked for a more lenient sentence.
Authorities looked into the letters after Candis Robinette of Jonesboro, who has a daughter with Fortino, called prosecutors to ask about the outcome of the sentencing. Prosecutors were surprised when she expressed disappointment the sentence was not harsher.
Robinette testified she didn't write the letter, which misspelled her name and gave the wrong birth date of the child.
Fortino submitted several other fraudulent documents, including letters claiming to be from a psychiatrist and a police sergeant.
Fayetteville police said more than 700 images of child porn were on the computer.
Fortino was president and founder of The Center for Lifestyle Management, which had offices in Pittsburgh and San Francisco. He spoke nationally and wrote on time, stress, balance and lifestyle management. He appeared on numerous TV shows.
Federal officials also learned Fortino owned seven pieces of property in Allegheny County, Pa. Fortino had claimed he was broke.
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Legal lingo
Compassionate release
A program that allows certain inmates to be released from federal prison early, or have their sentences cut short, due to extraordinary circumstances such as a serious medical condition. Under the First Step Act, federal prison inmates can seek a sentence reduction or an early release from prison. Before 2018, early release under the Compassionate Release Program was only available if an inmate requested it from the federal Bureau of Prisons and the BOP agreed to file a motion with the court requesting the inmate’s release. Inmates and their lawyers can now directly petition the sentencing court for early release even if the BOP refuses their request.
Source: Staff reports
Ron Wood can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWARDW.