Former landlord Miell maintains innocence, claims exemption to law

After speaking for more than five hours over two days, convicted Cedar Rapids landlord Robert Miell concluded his remarks to U.S. District Judge Mark Bennett shortly after 11 a.m. today.

Called the right of elocution, it gives the convicted one last chance to speak to the judge before sentence is pronounced. Miell spoke in detail of his innocence on each of the fraud, tax and perjury offenses he was convicted of, blaming his attorneys for poor representation and a coerced guilty plea on 18 of the 20 charges against him.  Miell was not under oath and his comments do not have the weight of trial testimony.

Miell pleaded guilty in connection with damages claimed on about 300 rental properties following a 2001 hail storm. A jury found him guilty of filing false tax returns and perjury in the same case. He was also convicted for fraud in dealing with his tenants' deposits and refunds.

Among his federal trial convictions was one count of fraud for co-mingling business assets with tenant deposits. Miell said he had been granted an exception to the law because he had assets "free and clear" greater than the total of the all the tenants' deposits.

Bennett interrupted Miell to warn him, "One of the problems with an elocution is, if you say something wrong, I can hold it against you."

Following the morning break, Bennett said three of his four clerks had searched the law for the exception Miell referred to. Bennett said, he too, had looked for it during the break. They found none.

Miell said the information came to him in a letter from the real estate commissioner which he had forwarded to the government and his attorneys.

Miell claimed he was coerced and coached into pleading guilty on the trip from Des Moines to Sioux Falls for his trial before Bennett in January. The drive took more than six hours, and because of an ice and snow storm travel was slow, giving them plenty of time to talk, Miell said.

Miell said his guilty plea ultimately came down to protecting his employees and their children from being drawn into his legal problems. He said his attorneys told them if he didn't plead guilty they would be indicted.

"I cared for my employees," Miell said. "I loved them. They're honest people."

Assistant U.S. Attorney C.J. Williams told the court there were no discussions or threats against Miell's employees from the government.

If Miell's attorneys told him otherwise in an effort to get him to plead guilty, they did it without influence from the U.S. Attorney's office, Williams said.

In concluding his remarks, Miell apologized to those he had hurt. He said he did not intend to defraud American Family Insurance or any of his tenants.

Miell said the last 15 months in jail have been the best 15 months of his life. "I've learned a great deal," he said. "I've learned that all people are equal and there are many good people in jail."

He spoke specifically of the Latino employees who were arrested in the raid of Agriprocessors. They were being held in jail and coerced by the government to plead guilty against their best interests, Miell said. He said he was moved from the Linn County Jail to Iowa County Jail because of his attempts to help him.

Miell attended law school at the University of Iowa before dropping out to start his real estate business in the mid '80s.

"I still profess my innocence," Miell said. "I will never stop. I wouldn't have pleaded guilty if it hadn't been for my employees."

Judge Bennett will return to Cedar Rapids in late September or early October to mete out Miell's sentence. By that time the issue of restitution to his tenants will be resolved either by agreement between Miell and the government or by a restitution hearing before Judge Jon Scoles.

-- Elizabeth Kutter, correspondent