The prosecutor in the Michael Hecht case is in no mood to show mercy to the former Pierce County Superior Court judge when he’s sentenced today.

Assistant state attorney general John Hillman argues in a blistering sentencing memorandum filed Wednesday that Hecht should serve 90 days in jail – the maximum allowed under the standard range – for his convictions on charges of felony harassment and patronizing a prostitute.

Hecht is a “unrepentant criminal” who “blames his circumstances on anyone who dared to disclose his prior prostitution activities and/or anybody who dared to investigate his criminal behavior,” the assistant attorney general wrote.

Hecht’s family, friends and attorney counter that if anyone deserves a break, it’s Hecht, who contends he’s been wrongly convicted and plans to appeal.

His reputation has been destroyed, he’s lost his job and his health is failing, his supporters say. Sending him to jail is unnecessary and cruel, they argue in dozens of letters submitted to King County Superior Court Judge James Cayce, who will sentence Hecht.

His wife of 37 years, Marie Hecht, wrote that she and the couple’s three adult children continue to stand behind him “for we know these allegations are untrue and plan to clear his name of all this.

“He will not be able to work as an attorney, and we have used all of our money to defend the case,” she continued. “I feel he and the entire family have suffered enough.”

Hecht plans to make a statement on his own behalf during today’s sentencing hearing, his attorney, Wayne Fricke, said Wednesday.

Hecht told the media after his conviction that he was the victim of a political vendetta pursued by the man he beat in the August 2008 election – incumbent Sergio Armijo.

He also blamed Tacoma police and The News Tribune, saying they concocted untrue stories about him.

A Pierce County jury on Oct. 28 convicted Hecht of buying sex from one young man and threatening to kill another to keep him from talking about their previous sex-for-money relationship.

Jurors deliberated for fewer than four hours after a six-day trial before finding Hecht guilty as charged.

Hecht resigned his $148,000-per-year position Monday.

Because he has no previous criminal record, Hecht qualifies for first-time offender status and the conversion of up to 30 days of jail time to community service.

Hillman argues the former judge deserves no breaks.

“Instead of remorse, the defendant offers a broken record of baseless conspiracy theories created solely to further the tired charade he plays for his family,” the assistant attorney general wrote in his sentencing memo.

“The fact that a jury believed the testimony of homeless drug addicts with criminal histories instead of the testimony of the defendant speaks volumes about the defendant’s character and credibility.”

Four men who admitted they were or had been addicted to drugs testified during trial that they’d sold sex to Hecht at one time or another.

Fricke said he will argue for no jail time, asking instead that his client be sentenced, at most, to community service on the felony harassment charge.

He’ll also ask that the sentence Hecht receives for the misdemeanor patronizing charge be deferred. That way, if Hecht stays out of trouble for a specified time, the charge would be removed from his record.

Adam Lynn: 253-597-8644

adam.lynn@thenewstribune.com

blog.thenewstribune.com/crime