Prosecutors recommend Felicity Huffman serve 1 month in federal prison in college cheating scandal

TMZ

U.S. attorneys are recommending Huffman serve one month in prison and pay $20,000 in fines for her involvement in the college cheating scandal, according to TMZ, which adds: "That's a great deal for Felicity because back in May prosecutors were recommending she do somewhere between 4 to 10 months in prison." In their letter to the judge, the U.S. attorneys wrote: "Some period of incarceration is the only meaningful sanction for these crimes. Not because the defendants' relative wealth has generated public resentment, but because jail is a particularly meaningful response to this kind of offense. For wrongdoing that is predicated on wealth and rationalized by a sense of privilege, incarceration is the only leveler: in prison everyone is treated the same, dressed the same, and intermingle regardless of affluence, position or fame."

ALSO:

• Read the letters submitted by Felicity Huffman, husband William H. Macy and her Desperate Housewives co-star Eva Longoria to the judge
• Huffman wrote she had a misguided belief that she was giving her daughter a “fair shot” at college acceptance: "I honestly didn't and don't care about my daughter going to a prestigious college," Huffman wrote. "This sounds hollow now, but, in my mind, I knew that her success or failure in theater or film wouldn't depend on her math skills. I didn't want my daughter to be prevented from getting a shot at auditioning and doing what she loves because she can't do math."
• The letters on behalf of Huffman, including one from Desperate Housewives creator Marc Cherry reveal backstage drama: "We had a problematic cast member on my show. She was a big star with some big behavioral problems," wrote Cherry without revealing a name. "Everyone tried their darnedest to get along with this woman over the course of the show. It was impossible. And things went from bad to worse. At some point during season seven this woman decided she would no longer speak to her fellow cast members. She would only communicate with the directors who were then forced to pass on her throughs to her co-stars. This was alternately maddening and hilarious." He wrote that Huffman "insisted" on still greeting her every morning, despite being ignored. "I found out about this and asked Felicity about it. She smiled and said, 'Just because that woman's determined to be rude, doesn't mean she can keep me from being polite,'" he wrote.
• Eva Longoria recounted how Huffman protected her from a bully on the Desperate Housewives set: "There was a time I was being bullied at work by a co-worker," she wrote. "I dreaded the days I had to work with that person because it was pure torture. Until one day, Felicity told the bully 'enough' and it all stopped. Felicity could feel that I was riddled with anxiety even though I never complained or mentioned the abuse to anyone."