October 20, 2000|By Gail Gibson | Gail Gibson,SUN STAFF
After maintaining his innocence for 13 years, Baltimore native Paul B. Luskin admitted yesterday to the federal judge considering reducing his prison term that he helped plan the murder-for-hire plot against his former wife.
U.S. District Judge J. Frederick Motz responded to Luskins' dramatic courtroom confession by cutting almost 10 years off his 35-year sentence. That change, opposed by federal prosecutors, will make Luskin immediately eligible for parole, which Motz urged prison authorities to approve.
"Heaven knows I'm not a priest, and I've never heard a confession of the soul," Motz said in issuing Luskin's revised sentence. "But I came as close to hearing a confession of the soul today as I have ever come."
Luskin's unexpected admission punctuated the bizarre contract-killing case that grew out of a multimillion-dollar divorce fight in South Florida and involved three botched murder attempts, including one in which the hit man posed as a flower deliveryman.
After the failed attempts to kill Marie Luskin, now Marie Reitzes, she testified against her ex-husband at his 1988 trial in federal court in Baltimore, where prosecutors say the scheme was hatched. She recently asked court officials not to release him until he accepted responsibility for the crime.
In court yesterday, Luskin, 52, said that after "13 years of burying aspects of this case as far down as I can," he owed Reitzes and their two daughters an explanation and an apology.
"I don't know how to address this court in a manner that would show how deeply, deeply, deeply sorry I am for participating in this horrible crime," Luskin said. "At the same time, I wish to apologize to my ex-wife through this court for my actions and to let her know that she is in no danger, and I do wish her well."
Speaking of his children, with whom he has had little contact in years, Luskin said: "Through my actions today, they'll know that I did accept responsibility, and I am truly sorry for ruining their lives and putting their mother in jeopardy."
Luskin, once a political player and millionaire businessman with a chain of appliance stores in South Florida (not connected to his uncle Jack Luskin's Baltimore appliance stores), spoke to Motz in slow, halting sentences. He wore a maroon prison jumpsuit and stood with his hands folded in front of him as he spoke.
His admission came at the start of a court hearing in which Motz was expected to reduce Luskin's sentence based on defense arguments that changes in parole rules meant Luskin could end up in prison far longer than Motz had originally intended. Motz, however, had not indicated by how much he would trim the sentence - and at the end of yesterday's hearing he hinted that he would not have been as lenient if Luskin had not admitted culpability.
The confession was a stark turnaround for Luskin, who has steadfastly maintained his innocence for more than a decade. In a 1988 letter to Motz, who presided over his original trial, Luskin requested a new trial, saying it made no sense that he would try to kill his wife in the midst of their divorce proceedings.
Luskin offered few details yesterday about the crime. He said only that the scheme started with a conversation he had with one of his store managers. Three other men were convicted in the plot.
Two of those men are still in prison. Daniel Liberto, the son of James Liberto of Baltimore, who is serving his 33-year sentence, was in court yesterday to hear the ruling on Luskin.
"If he's getting something overturned, then something should be overturned for my dad," Liberto said.
Motz, who called yesterday's events "as dramatic as one can see in a courtroom," acknowledged some might argue that Luskin had changed his story to get a break in his sentence. But the judge said he perceived Luskin's admission as honest and heartfelt.""I truly believe that today was a day on which this system worked," Motz said.
If his sentence had not been changed, Luskin would not have been eligible for parole until 2003, and he would not have been automatically released from prison until 2008. Under the new sentence, he would be automatically released by 2003, if he is not paroled.
Federal prosecutors had opposed reducing Luskin's sentence. Assistant U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein said the confession would have been appropriate for the federal parole board to consider, but should not have automatically earned Luskin a shorter prison term.
Defense attorney Herbert Better of Baltimore said the new developments should give Luskin a good chance to leave prison soon.
"He wanted to bring closure and move on," Better said. "I think he was relieved - unburdened and relieved."
