Fraud convict with stage 4 cancer gets 9 years in prison

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — A convict was sentenced to nine years in federal prison despite testimony that he has only 18 months to live.

The Spokesman-Review reports 65-year-old Vassily “Tony” A. Thompson, of Los Angeles, was sentenced Friday after having previously been found guilty of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Thompson said in court Friday that he’s been diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer and doesn’t have much time left.

Defense attorney David Partovi asked U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Rice to allow Thompson to serve his sentence at home as he waits to die. But Rice sentenced Thompson to serve out his time in federal prison, noting that he will be afforded medical care.

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Information from: The Spokesman-Review, http://www.spokesman.com