DRUG-AD DUO FACING EIGHT YEARS IN JAIL
By John Lehmann
After being marched into court in handcuffs yesterday, two senior Manhattan advertising execs accused of ripping off the feds by almost $1 million were told they could wind up in prison for more than eight years.
Shona Seifert, regarded as one of New York's sharpest ad execs, and Thomas Early, a senior partner at global marketing firm Ogilvy & Mather, were indicted Tuesday on charges they overbilled the government $1 million for an anti-drug advertising campaign.
They are each charged with one count of conspiracy and 10 counts of making false statements.
Seifert, dressed in a smart beige pantsuit, signaled she intends to put up an aggressive defense, hiring star lawyer Gregory Craig, whose clients have included Bill Clinton, the father of Cuban Elian Gonzalez, and Ronald Reagan's would-be assassin, John Hinckley Jr.
The 43-year-old exec was working alongside Early at Ogilvy & Mather at the time of the alleged offences, but is now president of TBWA/Chiat/Day.
They both pleaded not guilty during the hearing before Manhattan federal judge Richard Berman.
Federal prosecutors charge the pair directed 16 staff to lie on time sheets about their work on the campaign so the firm could overcharge the Office of the National Drug Control Policy while working on the $684 million anti-drug campaign.
Both defendants were released on $500,000 bail.
WES JUST 4 POINTS BEHIND HOWIE