Rally asks lenient sentence for former NFL, LSU player

BATON ROUGE, La. - About 200 people rallied for former LSU and NFL defensive end Lyman White Jr., saying he deserves a lenient sentence for medical care fraud.
White, indicted in 2001 on charges that he cheated the government out of $1.6 million, pleaded guilty in May to billing the government for $1.3 million in nonexistent drug and alcohol counseling sessions supposedly given by his firm, Drug and Alcohol Counseling Inc.
He could get up to 10 years in prison and more than $250,000 in fines when he is sentenced next month, though first-time offenders rarely get the maximum sentence.
"He has been a positive influence in my life through his drug and alcohol rehabilitation center," said Sylvia Robertson, one speaker at the candlelight rally Saturday night near the Old State Capitol. She said she was a drug addict when she met White in May 1996.
"All I knew was drugs and how I could get them by any means," Robertson said. "Now, I am clean and I am two semesters from getting my master's degree."
Event chairman Charlie Granger said, "I am here because I played pro football also. We former players stick together." - NFL Football -
Granger, a Southern University alumni, was an offensive tackle for the Dallas Cowboys and the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1960s. White was a defensive end for LSU and played two years for the Atlanta Falcons during the 1980s.
White "doesn't deserve this treatment. He should be able to at least try and pay the money back. They haven't given him a chance," Granger said. - NFL Football -
He was the last of four defendants to plead guilty. His program manager, Donna Rene Hamilton, pleaded guilty in April to health care fraud, saying she followed White's instructions to prepare false papers supporting the fraudulent bills.
Marion Anderson Slaton, who worked for a private company that reviewed Medicaid billings and reimbursements for the state, and Dana William White, who is not related to Lyman White, pleaded guilty in 2001 to conspiracy to commit health care fraud. Dana White also pleaded guilty to failing to report a crime to authorities. - NFL Football -
Lyman White paid Slaton to overlook false bills, according to court documents.
Surrounded by family and hugging and shaking hands with supporters Saturday night, White said his attorneys had advised him not to talk about the case.
"This is great for anyone to come out and support me during this time," he said.

Associated Press