Charles L. Ellinger O'Brien, a former loan officer for SunTrust Bank, was convicted of swindling $450,000 from the bank. His sentence: One day in jail initially, and 52 more on weekends.

Oh, and he has to hand in his golf clubs.

O'Brien, 40, fraudulently obtained a $450,000 loan SunTrust Bank in 2001 under the pretext of raising money for the Hampden-Sydney Foundation, as Frank Green tells the story in the Times-Dispatch. Instead of helping his alma mater, he used the money to pay for membership at the Kinloch Golf Club and the purchase of 10 cars, including a Mercedes-Benz and a Porsche. Using the original principal, he continued his semiannual interest payments on the loan until 2006.

Assistant U.S. Attorney David T. Maguire yesterday urged a prison term within the sentencing guidelines. But O'Brien pleaded hardship. He has bipolar disorder and a history of alcohol abuse, and he was disabled permanently by a brain injury -- caused when he got drunk and fell down the stairs. What's more ... sniff ... he's been divorced, given limited visitation with his young son, lost his friends and lives on disability and Social Security.

His psychiatrists say O'Brien needs 10 daily medications in a regimen that took years to perfect and costs $1,200 a month. An independent expert said O'Brien's mental health could be jeopardized if care isn't taken in changing his drugs. Prison officials said they could not guarantee that he will stick to the regimen.

U.S. District Judge Robert E. Payne said a fair sentence would include 41 months in prison. But, in consideration of O'Brien's unusual needs, he sentenced the swindler to three years of home confinement and electronic monitoring, plus 52 days of jail time on weekends and ordered him to pay $450,000 in restitution. Oh, and no more golf.

No golf? Whatever happened to country club prisons?