A former Georgetown law student known for "dazzling professors" is going to prison for dealing the drug he couldn't stop taking, the Washington Post reports.
Marc Gersen was a Phi Beta Kappa, second-year Georgetown Law student when he was arrested outside a boutique hotel more than a year ago.
Gersen, 31, pleaded guilty to dealing meth and was sentenced to four years in prison Thursday.
In a letter to the court written on Gersen's behalf, one of his Georgetown professors called Gersen's law school performance "truly remarkable," according to the Post.
Indeed, at Georgetown he belonged to a prestigious debate society and won the title of best extemporaneous speaker at the homecoming debate, the Post reported.
But in their own letter to the court, prosecutors reportedly called Gersen "a drug dealer who believed that because of his intellectual ability, he was able to outwit law enforcement and avoid detection."
Prosecutors allege he conspired to deal meth, traveling to and from California several times to purchase the drug, which he would then ship back to his partners in the District.
In late November 2011, prosecutors searched Gersen's DuPont Circle apartment when he was visiting family in Florida. They found three grams of meth and chemicals to make it.
Gersen started taking meth while struggling to finish his master's dissertation in economics at Berkeley, his lawyer says. Gersen's parents told the court their son had "emotional breakdown" that caused him to turn to drugs, the Post reported.
Head over to WashPo to read the entire fascinating profile of Gersen.
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