Fan Mail Flows to Judge Who Sentenced Milken

NEW YORK —  The judge who slammed Michael Milken with a 10-year prison term has been getting loads of fan mail from people praising her courage and even saying she ought to be President.

“You are a breath of fresh air who has restored my once child-like faith in America and American jurisprudence,” wrote Mac McClanahan of Camarillo.

“Now we must find a way for you to reach a much higher position, something like becoming the first lady President of the U.S.,” he wrote.

McClanahan’s letter is among dozens that were sent to U.S. District Judge Kimba M. Wood. The letters are on file in the office of the Manhattan Federal Court clerk.

Wood made history last month when she sentenced Milken to 10 years in prison--the longest term given to any of the defendants caught up in Wall Street’s long-running insider-trading scandal.

Milken, the former head of Drexel Burnham Lambert Inc.’s junk bond department, had pleaded guilty to six securities-related crimes and already paid $600 million in fines and penalties.

The financial whiz made his mark in the business world by pioneering the use of risky high-yield securities--junk bonds--that became a tool of corporate raiders and fueled the merger mania of the 1980s.

The 46-year-old judge faced a difficult task in sentencing Milken. Not only did she have to determine the fate of the legendary financier, but she realized the ruling would likely be the most publicly scrutinized decision of her career.

On the one hand, prosecutors and critics were calling Milken Wall Street’s Public Enemy No. 1, a symbol of the greed of the free-wheeling 1980s.

But then there were scores of supporters--the business executives and representatives of nonprofit organizations who praised Milken’s intellect, innovation and generosity.

In the end, the judge sided with the government by ruling that Milken had to be severely punished for choosing to break the law despite his wealth and intelligence.

“Many thanks for restoring my faith in the judicial system. . . . Thanks for having the guts to do it,” wrote Stella Damakos.

Carroll Dickson, 85, of Brooklyn, who said he has been practicing law since 1927, wrote, “I applaud you and thank you for your wisdom.”

J. C. Fahy of Durham, N.H.: “For me, in the Milken judging and sentencing, you stand for the very best of my country in a very forlorn and adverse time.”