Con artist David Foley sentenced to 10 years for check-kiting scheme

MILWAUKEE -- A judge calls David Foley the worst con artist he's ever dealt with. Foley is a former Whitefish Bay barber who tried to frame another man with child pornography -- only to be caught molesting a boy himself. On Thursday, December 13th, Foley was sentenced for defrauding a plastic surgeon.

Despite a 30-year criminal history of ripping off friends, business partners and others, Foley insists "they" are the ones who stole from him.

"I wasn't living a lavish lifestyle. There's nothing left.  Now they want to throw me into prison for another 10 years so they can get away with all these crimes they've committed.  Everything that I own is gone.  They went in my apartment and ransacked it," Foley said.

Foley is the former operator of the Sport 'N Cuts barbershop on Silver Spring Drive in Whitefish Bay. Foley had a toxic relationship with the owner of the building that housed the barbershop -- a man to whom he owed more than $50,000.

When the landlord took his case to the district attorney, Foley retaliated. He sent a DVD loaded with child pornography to FOX6 News in an attempt to frame his landlord as a pedophile.

That tactic backfired when state agents traced the disc back to Foley.

"I'm not that stupid.  I wouldn't want this public humiliation.  This video, the TV reporters.  It's ridiculous," Foley said.

Last month, Foley was convicted in federal court of producing child pornography and molesting a boy.

On Thursday, December 13th, he was sentenced in state court for a check-kiting scheme that included a $6,600 rubber check to cover the cost of a facelift.

"I just tried to do the things that were right.  To live your dream.  To build a business.  To do everything I was supposed to be doing.  The American dream," Foley said.

Milwaukee County Judge David Hansher was not swayed by Foley's rambling, 13-minute diatribe. 

"In my 21 years on the bench, you're one of the biggest con-artists I've ever dealt with.  Probably the worst.  Probably the most sophisticated," Judge Hansher said.

52-year-old Foley was sentenced to 10 years in prison. The 10-year sentence is the longest Foley has ever received -- but that won't be true for long. 

In February 2013, Foley will be sentenced in federal court for producing, distributing and possessing child pornography and for transporting a minor across state lines to commit a sex act. He faces 15 to 140 years in prison.

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