About

I was born in Richmond, Virginia, in the summer of 1955. My early education began in public school until six grade when a perceptive teacher convinced my parents that I would be better off with private school education. From seventh grade on, I attended a private college preparatory school. The Collegiate Schools was steeped in Southern Baptist tradition, and as such, was not a particularly good fit for me. Nevertheless, it provided me with a quality education that allowed me to get into a quality institution of higher learning, where I began to find my stride and excelled.

At first blush, I would be inclined to say that my childhood upbringing was fairly conventional and normal. However, after many months of intensive therapy and introspection, I realized that it was anything but conventional or normal. I was raised as an only child in a household that was devoid of love and affection. By the time I was old enough to know any better, my parents were estranged and distant from one another and never gave me an example of what expressions of love looked like. My mother was undoubtedly committed to my wellbeing but she was aloof. My father primarily focused on his business interests, which occupied his time and attention. Moreover, as an only child, I did not have the benefit of a sibling to share the tension and turmoil that occupied our household. Growing up in a private school environment, I was subjected to considerable bullying. I just did not fit in with the kids who attended that school; I didn’t excel at sports or otherwise fit the mold. My friends were a band of outcasts, half of whomgot expelled before graduation.

I remember very vividly one particular circumstance that has colored my outlook for the remainder of my life. I was working a summer construction job when I was about 14 years of age. The foreman on the job did not like me and intended to make my life miserable. It motivated me to work to my utmost ability to impress upon him that I was a valuable employee. And he fired me shortly thereafter. I made a vow to myself at that time that, as soon as possible, I would put myself into a position where I would never have to be beholden to anybody, boss or otherwise, ever again for the remainder of my life. My therapist loves this story.

Sure enough, within three years of graduating from law school, I began working for myself, and it has been that way for the last four decades. This independence and autonomy afforded me the freedom to charge my own course, but in retrospect, it also fostered a sense of invincibility and disconnection from others. Therein lies the seeds of my downfall.

I graduated from the University of the South in 1977, summa cum laude, with a degree in English. My father instilled in me from an early age that a law degree was useful training whether or not I ever practiced law. As such, I pursued a law degree and gained admission to the College of William and Mary School of Law, where I graduated with honors.

A job offer from a prestigious law firm landed me in Baltimore, Maryland, in the summer of 1980. After three years of practicing law, I struck out on my own to pursue new opportunities.

My principal business pursuits were in the field of healthcare. I began by developing nursing homes in Maryland and Virginia. From there, in 1985, I had the opportunity to acquire a drug and alcohol treatment facility, and with clinician partners, spent the next few years growing and expanding that business. At the same time, we had begun pursuing the healthcare business of providing services and supports to developmentally disabled adults, and we’re growing that business at a substantial rate. In 1990, I orchestrated a divorce from my partners where they took the drug and alcohol business, and I took the developmental disability business, called DDMS. It became my principal healthcare vocation for the next 30 years.

Along the way, I began investing in real estate assets, and that business additional became a significant success. I also invested in several private equities and venture capital situations.

I have always lived my life by what I call the Rule of Thirds. This rule alludes to dividing up one’s time in life, one-third devoted to business, one-third devoted to pleasure, and one-third devoted to charity. Once I became a husband and father, I somewhat altered these percentages but remained essentially true to their purpose. I have always made a meaningful commitment of my time, treasures, and talent to various meaningful charitable causes in my community. I have served on the boards of the local art museum, the local children’s hospital, the local theater organization, and more than a dozen other worthwhile charities. Through my family foundation, established two decades ago, I benefited from countless charitable causes in the fields of healthcare, arts and culture, education, and environmental stewardship.

Please understand, if all of this sounds as though written from a purely selfish, self–interested and entitled perspective, nothing could be further from the truth. My arrest and plea agreement stripped me of all the trappings of that prior life. My board positions and stature in the community disappeared in an instant. I am now a humbled and humiliated man about to enter my term of imprisonment.

Out of this tragic fall, entirely of my own doing and for which I take complete responsibility, I feel a great sense of optimism for what the Second Half of my life will entail. My prior identity has been shed, and I have the opportunity to forge a new, truer identity and sense of self. I look forward to this new life that unfolds before me. It will be spent in devotion to my family and meaningful service for the betterment of others.