Duffy sentenced to 5 years in prison

SAUGUS – “Your Honor, Mrs. Duffy is a psychopath.”That?s the argument attorney Fred Riley made for a reduced sentence for former Saugus library worker Linda Duffy Thursday. But Judge Douglas P. Woodlock sentenced the 66-year-old Saugus resident to five years in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release and $965,000 in restitution.?We treat people as being autonomous and having their own free will,” said Woodlock. “And with that there are consequences.”Federal agents arrested Duffy on Dec. 7, 2011 for stealing close to $1 million in fees and donations from both the Saugus Library and the GE Foundation. She pleaded guilty in September to four counts of mail fraud, 10 counts of money laundering and one count of aggravated identity theft.Woodlock called Duffy?s crime a “very, very serious offense” and noted taking money “by a crowbar or a fountain pen” is the same. Woodlock also said Duffy has shown herself to be “remarkable at manipulation.”Duffy was dressed in all black and was wearing a pearl necklace and pearl earrings Thursday. She sat between Riley and her other attorney, Joseph Dever, while her husband said with his head down on the far left of the courtroom.Several Saugus residents were also in attendance, as was library director Diane Wallace.In her victim impact statement, Wallace said Duffy “stole” from children, the elderly, students and the entire community.?She lied, cheated, manipulated and connived the town, and used the library to line her own pockets,” said Wallace. “But you can?t keep a good library down.”Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling said Duffy “robbed Saugus blind for six years” and “sucked the library dry of funds as the library was struggling to keep the lights on.”Lelling said Duffy stole $537,000 from the library in six years.?But that wasn?t enough for Ms. Duffy,” he said, as Lelling described Duffy?s scheme to steal an additional $443,000 from the GE Foundation?s matching gifts programs.Lelling said Duffy would take the identity of past GE employees and claim they had made large donations to the library, which GE would then match. However, Lelling said the money went right into Duffy?s personal account.Kathleen McLaughlin of the GE Foundation also spoke, and said any restitution meant for GE should go directly to the library.?The whole community should not suffer because of one person?s criminal acts,” she said.But what was maybe the most powerful moment of the hearing came from Jean Bartolo, a Town Meeting member and the former chairman of the Library Board of Trustees.Bartolo said she treated Duffy “fairly” and “cared about her” when she worked at the library.?She was trusted and well-liked, and this is what she did,” said a tearful Bartolo. “You did not get us. The doors are still open. I hope you enjoyed every penny you spent. Look at me, Linda. The doors are still open and will stay open.”Duffy looked up from her desk and made eye contact with Bartolo as she spoke.Riley then described Duffy?s previous federal conviction, where she was sentenced to 21 months in prison and ordered to pay $120,000 in restitution in 1993. Duffy, a supervisor with an insurance company at the time, used her position to enter fake claims in 1987 and 1988 that resulted in $120,000 in checks being paid to her former boyfriend, Francis W. Sanchez.Riley said Duffy had an affair with Sanchez in the 1970s and then claimed to be impregnated with twins by him. Riley said Duffy pretended to have twin boys for 15 years and even went as far as to use fake photos. Riley said she used this “fiction” to steal the $120,000.Riley then compared this to her theft from the library and noted that “no normal person” could steal money “day in and day out” for seven years while “everyone had eyes on her.”Riley said Duffy underwent hours of interviews and tests with Harvard psychologist Donald Davidoff, who diagnosed Duffy as a psychopath.?Psychopathy is a disease that cannot be cured,” said Riley. “This has not only d