Legal Juice
Because then he could blackmail them! Fifty-year-old San Antonio, Texas lawyer Ted Roberts coaxed some serious cashish from an accountant, a lawyer, and two executives who had the pleasure of Mary Roberts’ company. Old Ted threatened to tell their wives and employers if they didn’t pony up. 
And pony up they did, to the tune of $155,000. But it was for a good cause, right Ted? The jury found that, after assuring 2 of the men that he would donate the money to a children’s charity, Ted instead used it to help pay for a new house and to fund his law practice. The good news for Ted? The jury acquitted him on 2 of the charges because one of the victims said he didn’t care where his money went, and the other said he knew it would be used to repay Ted for his start-up costs (paying the private investigator to get the goods). Surely Ted sees the error of his ways? Nope. Said Ted to the Court:
It is incredible to me after I sought protection from the law that … I face sentencing without having committed a crime.
Huh? And for good measure, the prosecutor brought in a teacher who claimed Ted said in 2005 that he would represent her for free, if only she’d share “deep, dark,” sexual secrets about the city’s movers and shakers. Said the prosecutor:
This is who you have before you … Somebody who wants sexual secrets and then wants to use them against people to blackmail and extort them.
What do you think the judge’s sentence was?
Five years! Finding no victims other than the cheaters’ families and the Roberts’ family, the judge did not want to just have Ted repay the cheaters. The judge did say, though, that he would consider PROBATION if old Ted donated a chunk of change to a children’s charity, per his original promise. So Ted jumped at that, right? Nope. He’s going to file a motion for a new trial!