Prisoner release. Photo: Mike Dotta/Shutterstock.com

A former Connecticut bankruptcy attorney who the federal Bureau of Prisons furloughed from prison before a federal judge could act on his request for compassionate release during the COVID-19 pandemic has withdrawn his original request.

Former attorney Peter Ressler, convicted for embezzlement, had originally sought an order that would allow him to spend the remainder of his 63-month sentence in home confinement with no chance of returning to prison.

But as the COVID-19 pandemic swept the globe, Ressler got out of lockup by another means. He was among inmates released as prisons across the world sought to protect inmates from the deadly virus.

Here's the rub though: Unlike the judge's order that would have kept the ex-lawyer out of prison, the bureau could revoke his furlough once the pandemic subsides.

That's why it remained unclear why Ressler withdrew his pending motion.

The consent motion to withdraw shows that prosecutors and Ressler requested that the court take no action on the pending motion for compassionate release pending further word from prison officials.

And after U.S. District Judge Alfred Covello asked for a status report on the matter, plaintiffs counsel Robert Frost Jr. filed the procedural motion Tuesday.

Frost, of Frost Bussert in New Haven, Wednesday then declined to discuss his strategy in withdrawing the request.

No one from the Office of Public Affairs for the BOP responded to a request for comment Wednesday.

The BOP furloughed Ressler for at least 30 days to home confinement on May 4.

In his March 24 motion for compassionate release to Covello, Frost cited several factors, including Ressler's advanced age of 72, cardiovascular issues and the fact that Ressler's wife is sick.

Ressler was sentenced to 63 months in prison in January 2018 soon after he pleaded guilty in 2017 to one count of wire fraud, two counts of embezzlement and one count of bankruptcy fraud. Ressler, the government said, embezzled more than $3 million from clients over the years. Ressler, admitted to the Connecticut bar in 1973, is a former partner with Groob, Ressler & Mulqueen in New Haven.

The former attorney was ordered to pay more than $4 million in restitution. Ressler was not disbarred, but resigned voluntarily in April 2016 when he also waived his right to reapply to the bar.

Ressler didn't contract the coronavirus, but on April 13 Frost wrote to Covello: "Given Mr. Ressler's age and his underlying cardiovascular issues, he is exceptionally vulnerable to contracting the deadly disease, which, in combination with the issues confronting his ailing wife, constitute extraordinary and compelling reasons to grant his motion for compassionate release."

At the time, prosecutors argued against the request, stating many of the attorney's victims asked that he not be released.

The government argued, "The defendant's crimes were plainly not victimless, as reflected on the substantial restitution order and the many victims."

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