A Hollywood couple was sentenced to six months in prison and six months of home detention following convictions for paying a Thai official $1.8 million in bribes to win a contract to run the Bangkok International Film Festival.
Gerald Green and his wife, Patricia Green were sentenced today in federal court in Los Angeles. Prosecutors had asked for an unspecified “significant number of years” in prison. Lawyers for the Greens had asked for probation, citing Gerald Green’s poor health and claiming that Thailand hadn’t been harmed by the Greens’ actions.
The couple was found guilty in September of nine counts of violating the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and seven counts of money laundering. Prosecutors argued they paid the former governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand kickbacks through bank accounts in the U.K., Singapore and the Isle of Jersey that were in the name of the official’s daughter.
Lawyers for the Greens said in court filings that when the couple ran the film festival from 2003 to 2006, it brought in $140 million in income for Thailand. The Greens’ festival work also put Thailand “on the film-makers’ map,” resulting in Werner Herzog shooting “Rescue Dawn” in Thailand and Oliver Stone filming parts of “Alexander” there, the lawyers said.
The case is U.S. v. Gerald Green, 08-59, U.S. District Court, Central District of California (Los Angeles.)
