Prag. Bernie Ebbers, former CEO of WorldCom, received 25 years today for his role in the $11 billion fraud. Bernie is 63, so that's essentially a life sentence. Plus, he has to fork over all his assets except for $50K and a home in Mississippi. Considering how white collar crime has been treated in the past, it's nice to see a bit more substantial sentence handed down.

But the part of the story that I don't get is this passage:

(U.S. District Court Judge) Jones ordered Ebbers to report to prison Oct. 12, and said she would recommend that federal prisons officials assign him to Yazoo City, Miss., so his family could see him easily.

Let's say that instead of corporate fraud, Ebbers had been convicted of robbing homes and banks. Any chance that he'd be allowed to "report to prison" three months later? Of course not. Reminds me of a Chappelle's Show sketch parodying "Law and Order" in which white collar criminals get the street criminal treatment and vice-versa. "I plead the fif! I plead the fif! Five! One, two, three, four, fif!"