Former Chelsea selectwoman Carole Swan is taking her criminal case to the federal appeals court.
Swan was convicted of extortion, tax fraud and workers compensation fraud and was sentenced to more than seven years in prison.
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The appeal was filed last week with the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, but as yet few documents are available through the court’s online system.
Swan, 56, was sentenced June 13 by U.S. District Court Judge John A Woodcock Jr. after two separate trials. She remains free on unsecured bail and was ordered to self-report to a federal prison in Texas within 60 days.
The judge’s written order says Swan must report to the institution designated by the Bureau of Prisons before 2 p.m. on Aug. 15 and that she be placed in a prison that can address her medical needs.
It is unclear whether she will seek a stay of the sentence while her appeal is pending.
Leonard Sharon, one of two attorneys who represented her during the trials, said Tuesday he will not be handling the appeal. He said he understood that Swan would hire a different attorney, who has yet to enter an appearance.
“I am in the process of moving to withdraw from further representation,” Sharon said via email.
He went on to say once Swan fills out the proper paperwork, she will be able to choose a new attorney or have one appointed to her by the court. He would not comment any further about the appeal.
An attorney from the U.S. Attorney’s Office will represent the government in seeking to uphold the convictions and/or sentence.
Swan was convicted Sept. 17 of three counts of extortion for using her post as a selectwoman to seek kickbacks totaling $20,000 from Frank Monroe, who held the contract to plow and sand Chelsea’s roads. Swan was convicted July 27 of two counts of workers’ compensation fraud and five counts of income tax fraud for the years 2006-2010.
Her husband, Marshall Swan, 57, of Chelsea, was convicted at a separate trial of the same five counts of filing false income tax returns. The Swans filed jointly, and the prosecutor said the couple failed to disclose $650,000 in income for Marshall Swan Construction, which they operated, and failed to pay $145,000 in income tax those years. Marshall Swan turned over a check to the U.S. Treasury for $145,000 on the day he was sentenced.
He is at the FMC Devens, an administrative security federal medical center in Ayer, Mass., according to the federal Bureau of Prisons, serving his 33-month sentence. Marshall Swan was sentenced June 2, and was not filing an appeal, according to his attorney, Walter McKee.
FMC Devens is a men’s prison, with 1,139 inmates, including 131 at an adjacent minimum security satellite camp.
Betty Adams — 621-5631
Twitter: @betadams
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