Denny Hecker's former auto business partner and co-defendant Steven Leach received a break Tuesday when a judge reduced the restitution he must pay the court from $2,500 to $200 a month.
Leach, former president of Hecker's defunct Rosedale Leasing operation, was imprisoned in March 2011 and served a 20-month sentence for his part in helping former auto dealer Hecker defraud Chrysler Financial out of millions of dollars in ill-gotten auto loans.
Originally Leach, 57, was ordered to repay $14.2 million. He still owes $11.4 million and was supposed to repay it in $2,500 monthly installments.
But in court documents made public Tuesday, Leach's probation officer said he investigated Leach's finances and was now recommending that monthly restitution be reduced. U.S. District Judge Joan Ericksen approved the request Monday.
At one time, Leach, who lives in Burnsville with his wife, drew a salary of nearly $1 million a year. But no more. Leach was released from prison around November 2012. In October, the court seized Leach's vacation home in Arizona. The $460,000 home will be sold to pay down part of Leach's restitution bill.
Hecker is serving a 10-year sentence and was recently relocated from a federal prison in Pennsylvania to a federal prison camp in Littleton, Colo.
Dee DePass • 612-673-7725
