Former Auto Mogul Denny Hecker Sent To Jail

In what is being described as an effort to give Denny Hecker a “wake-up call” a federal judge had Denny Hecker arrested and jailed for an undetermined amount of time.  The jailing came after Hecker, who has been using a government appointed attorney for his bankruptcy and other legal issues, said that he was going to hire his own attorney with money from an undisclosed friend.  But this sudden claim of having money from a friend has prompted the bankruptcy judge and others to suspect that Hecker has had money all along and has been hiding assets.

…a routine court hearing Monday ended with a stern rebuke from Chief U.S. District Judge Michael Davis. Davis wasn’t satisfied with Hecker’s answers to questions about the thousands of dollars Hecker’s been found to have spent since this summer. In the meantime, a public defender has represented Hecker because he said he couldn’t afford a lawyer.

“You were a businessman,” Davis said to Hecker. “You were well respected. You built an empire. You know numbers as well as anyone else. Now’s the time to bring in the documentation and show me you don’t have the money.”

To force Hecker to provide answers, Davis ordered U.S. marshals to escort the surprised businessman out of the courtroom to a jail cell.

“I think you need to have a wake-up call that I mean business,” Davis said. “Sitting in a jail cell will help you remember.”

Hecker is already facing prison on two federal criminal charges, including bankruptcy fraud for which he has yet to be sentenced.  The bankruptcy judge in Hecker’s case had recommended that he be imprisoned until his sentencing because he believed that Hecker was a flight risk and that he had no intention of serving his time for the crimes he committed. However, if Hecker accounts for the whereabouts of more than $55,000 he’s accused of wrongly spending and he turns over the $12,000 to $18,000 in American Express gift cards  he could be released immediately.