Shoplifter Gets Jail Instead of Heart Transplant

Long Island woman stole from three drugstores after judge gave her chance at new life, prosecutor says

A New Yorker who lost her chance for a life-saving heart transplant by continuing to commit crimes has been sentenced to more than two years in jail.

A judge had freed Diane McCloud in January so she could try to get on the transplant waiting list.

Long Island prosecutors say McCloud stole from three drugstores after that. She pleaded guilty to petty larceny charges last month.

On Wednesday, Nassau District Court Judge Francis Ricigliano resentenced her to the 15 months he had forgiven her. He also added a year for the new charges.

McCloud's lawyer, Leonard Isaacs, tells Newsday newspaper that he had hoped for "a much better outcome."

Isaacs says McCloud's doctor told him the medicine that keeps her heart pumping will eventually stop working.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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