Today is D-Day for Charlie Engle

I thought you meant Charlie Rangel...my reading skills suck!

I believe there are 2 Charlie Engles. Is this the one that is in recovery?

thepinkmonkey wrote:

I believe there are 2 Charlie Engles. Is this the one that is in recovery?

Charlie Engle from North Carolina is an ultramarathoner. He is who is being discussed here.

Chuck Engle runs a lot of marathons, mostly in the range of 2:40-3:00, I think.

Got that, but I remember seeing an article about one of them in Running Times? Which one is in recovery from alcohol/drugs?

thepinkmonkey wrote:

Got that, but I remember seeing an article about one of them in Running Times? Which one is in recovery from alcohol/drugs?

this charlie engle

Here's that article:

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-243-297--12524-3-1X2X3-3,00.html

Charlie Engle: Endurance Junkie

Find out how Charlie Engle went from drug addict to ultramarathoner.

By Jeff Pearlman

Published 03/10/2008

Though quirkiness trailed Charlie like a lost puppy, he was also gifted with an uncommon athletic lineage. Not only had his father played freshman basketball under Dean Smith at North Carolina, but his grandfather, Dale Ranson, was a legendary UNC cross-country and track coach for decades. So it was no surprise when Charlie developed his own aptitude for sports. He ran his first sub-five-minute mile as an eighth-grader, and as the star quarterback at Pinecrest High School in Southern Pines, North Carolina, he was recruited (albeit lightly) by Clemson and North Carolina. "I got more attention for football than running," he says. "But when I got hit hard on the football field, I didn't like it. The punishment that appealed to me was from running. I just loved the freedom, the time for thought, the individuality. Even as a teenager I was getting up at 5:30 a.m. and running. I had that urge."

Engle ran a 4:40 mile in high school, excellent for the prep ranks but hardly good enough to excel at the Division I collegiate level. Once he arrived at North Carolina, Engle switched focuses from long distances to long nights. He drank--and then some. "One night a buddy had a little cylinder with a chamber filled with cocaine," Engle says. "I did two hits. I didn't feel anything particularly strong, and that's what started the mind-set of, 'This really isn't that big of a deal.'" Two weeks later Engle spent an entire night doing coke. "And I can honestly say that I spent the next 10 years chasing that feeling."

Indeed, the Charlie Engle everyone once knew--trustworthy, honest, hardworking, engaging, decent--was no more.

Edited: More here:

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-243-297--12524-3-1X2X3-3,00.html

WHen he was running all thosoe 2:40 marthons what do you think he could have run for one focused marathon where he was going for time? 2:22-2:24 I would guess.

I've never in my life seen a newspaper article written that kindly and favorably to a convicted embezzler.

2 different people. Charlie Engle "the embezzler" is the Running the Sahara guy and not the 2:40-3 hour marathoner. Chuck Engle is the guy who does all the marathons in 2:40-3 hours.

free beer wrote:

WHen he was running all thosoe 2:40 marthons what do you think he could have run for one focused marathon where he was going for time? 2:22-2:24 I would guess.

I've never in my life seen a newspaper article written that kindly and favorably to a convicted embezzler.

"Free Beer" you are mixing up your Engles.

Chuck Engle ("marathon junkie") is the guy from Ohio that runs the 2:40 marathons just about every weekend.

Charlie is a well respected man in Greensboro - he is a great father, a philanthropist, incredibly accomplished, and a recovering addict. Charlie is extremely honest, open, blunt and you would consider him a friend within 5 minutes of meeting the guy. I'm not personally saying he did anything wrong, but that is why the article has kind & favorable tone - Charlie is a great guy that's made lots of mistakes in the past (haven't we all...the difference is Charlie's mistakes are a little more extreme than most...kind of like his running accomplishments).

That's Chuck Engle.Rumor is that Michael Wardian is thinking of changing his name to Charles Engle.

free beer wrote:

WHen he was running all thosoe 2:40 marthons what do you think he could have run for one focused marathon where he was going for time? 2:22-2:24 I would guess.

I've never in my life seen a newspaper article written that kindly and favorably to a convicted embezzler.

I feel for the guy but how can you be "duped" into saying you earn way more than you do, knowing you are lying about it?

"Prosecutors said Engle reported income of $135,000 one year and $390,000 another, when really he earned less than $50,000 one year and had negative income the other.

Engle said he was duped. Justice agrees."

If you think that is a "favorable article", you should have read some of the ones that same paper wrote about Greyson Dawson, a woman who hit and killed a cyclist while being drunk and on prescription meds with a suspended liscense. The articles were all about how difficult it was for herto face prison because of the Crohn's disease. They completely ignored the facts of the case and negated the severity of the death of an innocent person. Newspapers around here are crap.

Killer Mike wrote:

If you think that is a "favorable article", you should have read some of the ones that same paper wrote about Greyson Dawson, a woman who hit and killed a cyclist while being drunk and on prescription meds with a suspended liscense. The articles were all about how difficult it was for herto face prison because of the Crohn's disease. They completely ignored the facts of the case and negated the severity of the death of an innocent person. Newspapers around here are crap.

I know the assistant prosecutor of this case very well and he told me that while he can't predict the sentence, they are asking for the max of 30 years due to the fact that Engle knew exactly what he was doing and why he was doing it. Then he lied to federal prosecutors about it.

Heard anything? I can't find any mention of it online. Maybe the weather closed the court?

21 months in prison for mortgage fraud:

http://www.dailypress.com/news/crime/dp-nws-greensboro-sentence-20110110,0,459996.story

Correct. Here's the lengthier article:

Ultramarathoner sentenced to 21 months for mortgage fraud

By Tim McGlone

The Virginian-Pilot

© January 10, 2011

NORFOLK

Ultramarathon runner Charlie Engle ran his last foot race Sunday for at least 21 months.

U.S. District Judge Jerome B. Friedman on Monday sentenced Engle to 21 months in federal prison after a jury last fall found Engle guilty of 12 counts of bank, mail and wire fraud in an Eastern Shore real estate scam.

Citing Engle’s clean record and 18 years of sobriety and charitable work, the judge granted his request for leniency. A federal prosecutor walked into court seeking a prison term more than double what Engle got, claiming his deceit even after his arrest and his perjury at trial warranted a harsh penalty.

Afterward, Engle praised the judge, saying he knew he would receive a fair sentence.

“Obviously I would prefer not to be in this situation at all,” he said. “Considering the worst possible scenario, I’m grateful.”

Engle, surrounded by more than 40 friends and family members, received hugs as he left court. The judge allowed Engle to turn himself in to a designated federal prison by Feb. 14.

Engle, 48, of Greensboro, N.C., gained some notoriety in the past decade for his fund-raising run across the Sahara Desert and a similar effort to run across America. He’s also a motivational speaker. On Sunday, Engle met supporters in his hometown for a 5K run.

Friends, relatives and fellow marathoners filed around 120 letters of support with the court. Some letter writers said they hadn’t even met Engle but were inspired by his athletics and motivational speeches.

The judge cited those letters as well, saying he has never received so many in one case. And it was also the first case the judge said he had that went viral, with websites and blogs set up to support Engle.

Engle also gave a long speech to the judge, noting that he had been “foolish enough to think I can change the world.” While he did not address the charges the jury convicted him of, he said at times he “can be careless.”

“I can say with confidence that I can turn negatives into positives,” he told the judge. “I have no doubt I will make the best of this.”

A jury in October found Engle guilty of 12 felonies, finding that he bilked banks out of $150,000 in an Eastern Shore mortgage fraud scheme.

Evidence showed that Engle obtained $1.055 million from four loans, causing $404,000 in alleged losses to the banks after Engle stopped making payments and the homes in Cape Charles were foreclosed on.

Prosecutors have said that Engle used proceeds from the fraud to fund his lifestyle around the time of his 4,300-mile run across the Sahara four years ago. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Kosky said Engle needed money for the 111-day run. The run was documented in “Running the Sahara,” narrated by film star Matt Damon.

Engle, his family and supporters have denied that accusation, saying the run and film were independently funded.

Kosky initially pushed for a sentence between four and five years in prison, citing bank losses of $404,000. But after hearing arguments Monday, the judge lowered the loss amount to $265,500, which also lowered the recommended federal guideline sentence from a maximum of 57 months to a maximum of 46 months.

Friedman then went even lower, but denied Engle’s request for a sentence of probation.

“He has to be punished for what he did,” Friedman said. “I believe he knew what he was doing was wrong.”

Engle argued at trial that he was duped by unscrupulous mortgage brokers and real estate agents, some of whom he said forged his signature and made up his inflated income numbers to get the loans.

But Kosky presented undercover tape recordings where Engle is heard saying of mortgage fraud that “everyone was doing it.” Then after being arrested, Engle told Internal Revenue Service agents that he knew what he did was part of the nationwide mortgage crisis that led to the current recession. Engle denies ever saying that.

Since his arrest, Engle has been a prolific writer on the Internet, at his website,

and on Facebook, where he has just under 5,000 friends.

“I convince myself that this is just another adventure,” he wrote in a recent blog. “But I wonder if I am delusional. Maybe I am just denying the catastrophe that my life has become.”

The judge also sentenced Engle to 100 hours of community service and five years of probation and ordered him to repay $265,500 to the lender.

Tim McGlone, (757) 446-2343,

"Engle also gave a long speech to the judge, noting that he had been “foolish enough to think I can change the world.” While he did not address the charges the jury convicted him of, he said at times he “can be careless.” "

Pretty much seems like a douchebag here.

Charlie had 40 friends drive many, many hours through a snowstorm from Greensboro (and across the US) to be with him during sentencing in Norfolk. Think about that. How many would do the same for you? If I had a fraction of friends that good I would count mysel lucky.

Too bad for him, but glad they are holding him accountable. Seems like a runner junkie who figured out a way to finance his ultra marathon habit and got caught. I wonder if he was counting on the goverment to help him out with his mortgage problems...so hey, why not...default on the mortgages you received from misrepresenting your income, travel the world to pursue your passion, then have the gov't bail you out...life is good.