THOMPSON PARDONS SON OF SENATOR IN DRUG OFFENSE

Pardon Board Had Opposed Clemency For Jake Lasee

ASSOCIATED PRESS

MADISON, Wis.

In one of his last acts before resigning as governor, Tommy Thompson on
Thursday pardoned the son of a state senator for a 1997 drug conviction.

Thompson went against the Pardon Advisory Board's 3-1 vote against granting
clemency for Jake Lasee, son of Sen. Alan Lasee, R-De Pere.

Spokesman Kevin Keane said Thompson's decision was based in part on a
letter supporting the pardon written by the judge who sentenced Lasee. But
he said Thompson gave Lasee no special treatment because his father is a
state senator.

The former governor granted 12 pardon requests and denied 143 others before
resigning to become secretary of health and human services in President
Bush's Cabinet.

Among those requests that Thompson refused was one from a family friend
from Elroy who was convicted in 1996 of raping a 15-year-old Amish girl.

Thompson said he decided to follow the Pardon Advisory Board's unanimous
recommendation against pardoning Michael Vieth, who was sentenced to 60
years in prison for kidnapping the girl, holding her captive for hours and
raping her at knifepoint.

``I usually 98 percent of the time go with what the pardon board
recommends,'' Thompson said.

Lasee's pardon will take effect in 10 years if he has no contact with the
criminal justice system, Keane said.

Sen. Lasee said his son spent a month in jail and did 150 hours of
community service as a carpenter at a Brown County zoo for his conviction
for possession of cocaine with the intent to deliver.

``He made a mistake, obviously. He's a good son who did a terribly bad deed
and then he paid the price. I think he's paid his debt to society,'' Lasee
said. ``It's very embarrassing for the family, for Jake, for my wife and I.
It should not have happened, and it just happened at a time when things in
his life weren't going so good.''

Lasee, 36, was on probation until mid-1999. He is now president of a
construction company and told the pardon board Saturday that he sold drugs
because of financial problems.

Vieth, who was convicted in 1996, technically isn't eligible for parole for
10 years, but still asked Thompson to commute his sentence.

Vieth grew up in Elroy with the governor's three children and went to
school with Thompson's daughter Tommi, who once visited him in prison.

In addition to Lasee, Thompson granted pardons to:

David Krings, convicted of delivery of marijuana in 1986.

Brian Kunz, convicted of endangering safety by use of a dangerous weapon in
1974.

Bryan Morgan, convicted of delivery of marijuana in 1986.

Debra Lynn Gierach, convicted of delivery of a controlled substance in 1977.

William Grosskreuz, convicted of theft in 1957 and operating a motor
vehicle without the owner's consent in 1958.

Raymond Thomas, convicted of delivery of cocaine in 1983.

Stephanie Taylor, 29, convicted of public assistance fraud in 1989.

William Manthey, 46, a former prison security guard convicted of
threatening an inmate in 1992.

Duane Tracey, 59, convicted of breaking and entering to steal a case of
beer in 1962.

Paul Karlen, 42, convicted of fraud in 1992.

Greg Kelly, 45, convicted of battery in 1986.