Former auto dealer Antoinette Frink (center) with her sister Alphae Snicale (left) and Arlena Sawyers, the reporter atA u to m o th v N ews who fol
lowed Frink's ordeal for the past few years. Frink was released from prison Jan. 2 0 after saving 11 1/2 years.
[
life that the customer is right, and you
treat them with respect. 1 mean, drugs
are a scourge, but it’s sad that people
who work, tor the government would
(prosecute me), even when they know
it’s wrong. Even my prosecutor said
that if I had had good representation, 1
would not have gone to jail.”
i
At the trial, she was not represented
bv her current attorney. Ross Nabatoff,
a partner with the Washington, D.C.,
firm of Brand and Frulla. Her lawyer
now for nearly a decade, Nabatoff now
hopes to clear Frink’s name. Since hers
was a sentence commutation — not a
pardon — she will remain under court
supervision for the next five years. He
hopes Frink's situation sheds light on
what he sees as a larger problem within
the criminal justice system.
"These are horror stories; the federal
system has innumerable numbers of
people who are serving harsh sentences,
long periods of incarceration, for at best
minimal roles in drug offenses," said
Nabatoff, who’d submitted
last
December a clemency petition to the
United States Department of Justice on
Frink’s behalf.
"The sentence itself is ludicrous.
Though Frink is innocent, it’s just a
shame that you can get reduced sen
tences if you have information on other
people, but people on the periphery,
those who don’t know anyone, they
don’t have any information. People
W hy Can't W'c all Just Buckle U p?
who can cut a deal, do. The other peo
ple are sort of hosed," The alleged drug
dealers to whom Frink’s cars were sold
were reportedly released soon after
offering info on higher-ups in the drug
trade.
Knowing the likelihood that Frink
would do time, and do a lot of it,
Nabatoff wishes he'd been around to
talk Frink into a plea. But she’ll have
none of that.
"Listen, I had been in San Francisco
at the (National Automobile Dealers
Association meeting), and got a call
from the dealership attorney,” Frink
said. "It was just bizarre. I’m thinking,
so what? They bought the cars from
me. I thought once it got to court it
would be thrown out.
"So, I’m not thinking plea, no way,
because I’m not guilty, and besides
that, I didn't really know about the
guidelines. The only way I would have
pled was if I could have seen the future
and known that my daughter would
die.” Frink's only child, Trina, a college
senior, was killed in a traffic accident
while returning to Clark Atlanta
University after visiting her mom in
prison.
Nabatoff said though Frink is part of
a group of about 20 whose sentences
were reduced, he does not consider her
commutation controversial or worthy
of skeptical scrutiny. Said Frink: "He
didn't give a reason (for her commuta
tion) but, in general, I think the presi
dent heard my name a lot. Thanks to
Ross, some of the media and others,
there just was a massive synergy toward
the end there."
Joining the fray to free Frink was The
National Association of Minority
Automobile Dealers, the Georgia
Automobile
Dealers Association,
Families
Against
Mandatory
Minimums, and automotive trade pub
lication Automotive News.
While in prison, Frink had been a
hospice volunteer and a member of the
suicide watch, and had taught other
inmates to read. She’d also helped to
get the American Red Cross to certify
inmates as HIV/AIDS instructors. As
for the future, Frink is keeping an open
mind.
"I'm just trying to get mv bearings,"
she says. "I know the (automotive)
industry, but 1 worked really hard to
keep my dealership successful. I’m not
sure I can do that anymore, though
some day I might. And, von know, there
are laws regarding felons.
"But you know, I’m not bitter. I’m
disappointed. I still hurt. But I’m not
the only one. Not at all. This has hap
pened to a lot of people. Auto dealers
have become a lot more stringent after
what happened to me.
"I just, well, I just hope my story
helps.”
•
April/May 2001
33