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Appealing Lehto's Verdict, Attorney Arrested For Money Laundering

Kurt Ernst

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JJ Lehto at Petit Le Mans, 2004. Image: Wikipedia user Tomh009

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On the night of June 17, 2010, JJ Lehto and a friend were aboard a speedboat in a canal near Raasepori, Finland. Both had been drinking, and the boat was apparently traveling too fast for the narrow confines of the canal. In the dark, the speedboat hit a bridge piling at high speed.

The resulting crash left Lehto with minor injuries, but claimed the life of his unnamed passenger and friend. In December of 2011, a Finnish court found the former Formula 1 and Le Mans star guilty, sentencing him to 28 months in prison for the alcohol-related fatal boat crash.

Throughout the trial, Lehto claimed his innocence, but prosecutors used Lehto’s injuries to prove he was behind the wheel when the accident occurred. Following the verdict, and as expected, Lehto’s attorney prepared to filed an appeal on his client’s behalf.

The outcome of that appeal, however, wasn’t what Lehto or his attorney had hoped for. As Global Motorsport Media (subscription required), via Swiss magazine Blick, reports, Lehto’s attorney appeared in court as expected to file the appeal paperwork.

The attorney himself was then arrested and charged with money laundering, on a presumably unrelated case. It’s unclear where that leaves Lehto, who will likely have to find a new attorney before he can begin the appeals process anew.

Image credit: Wikipedia user Tomh009, CC3.0