Carlos Anibal Vignali had his federal prison sentence commuted by

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

just prior to leaving office, as a part of a group of commutations and pardons. At the time, he was serving the sixth of 15 years in prison for organized

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

trafficking. Carlos Vignali's attorney during his trial and sentencing was prominent Minnesota attorney, Ronald I. Meshbesher. The sentence commutation, while not a "pardon", was controversial because there are claims that it was a consequence of Carlos's father, Horacio Carlos Vignali's, monetary contributions to politicians such as

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...

man

Xavier Becerra Xavier Becerra (; born January 26, 1958) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 25th United States secretary of health and human services, a position he held from March 19, 2021 to January 20, 2025. He is the first Latino to h ...

and

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature (the upper house being the California State Senate). The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Califor ...

Speakers

Antonio Villaraigosa Antonio Ramón Villaraigosa (; né Villar Jr. on January 23, 1953) is an American politician who served as the 41st Mayor of Los Angeles from 2005 to 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, Villaraigosa was a national co-chairman of Hillary C ...

and

Robert Hertzberg Robert Myles Hertzberg (born November 19, 1954) is an American politician who previously served in the California State Senate. A Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, he represented the California's 18th State Senate district, 18th Senate D ...

, who in turn petitioned Clinton for the younger Vignali's release. However, Clinton's sentence commutation was ostensibly motivated by the harsh minimum sentencing for drug related offenses as part of the War on Drugs, but it is claimed that Carlos A. Vignali was a relatively big offender who was probably less deserving of a pardon than many other convicted persons who are not as well connected. Vignali's father possesses large holdings of commercial real estate in

Downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) is the central business district of the city of Los Angeles. It is part of the Central Los Angeles region and covers a area. As of 2020, it contains over 500,000 jobs and has a population of roughly 85,000 residents ...

, and Vignali today is active in his father's real estate businesses. Villaraigosa's petitioning Clinton for Vignali's release was used against him successfully by

James K. Hahn James Kenneth Hahn (born July 3, 1950) is an American lawyer and politician. A Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, Hahn was elected the 40th mayor of Los Angeles in 2001. He served until 2005, at which time he was Los Angeles mayoral elec ...

as an issue in the 2001

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

mayoral election. Hahn attempted to use the issue again in the 2005 mayoral election against both Villaraigosa and Hertzberg in the primaries, and against Villaraigosa in the runoff, but was unable to use this issue for political gain again and lost the election.

References

External links

Another pardon that stinks
- Article in

Salon.com ''Salon'' is an American politically progressive and liberal news and opinion website created in 1995. It publishes articles on U.S. politics, culture, and current events. Content and coverage ''Salon'' covers a variety of topics, includ ...

about Clinton's pardons and the commutation of Carlos A. Vignali's sentence.

"L.A.'s Underground Power Broker" (May 2005, L.A. Weekly)

"L.A.'s Underground Power Broker" (May 2005, L.A. Weekly)
Larry King Live: Were Bill Clinton's Last-Minute Pardons Unpardonable?

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

Transcript Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American drug traffickers Recipients of American presidential clemency {{US-crime-bio-stub Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government Commutations granted by Bill Clinton