MMA ref Josh Rosenthal out of prison next month, 18 months shy of scheduled sentence

Josh Rosenthal

Veteran MMA referee Josh Rosenthal went to federal prison in Sheridan, Ore., on Aug. 14, 2013, a little more than one month after a judge sentenced him to 37 months of confinement and other penalties as part of a plea deal he reached in a drug case. The term was reportedly mandatory and did not allow for parole.

According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, however, Rosenthal is scheduled to be released on March 10, or 18 months shy of his sentence. A rep from the government agency verified to MMAjunkie the release date.

In January 2013, Rosenthal agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy to manufacture, possession with intent to distribute, and distributing marijuana. In April 2012, federal agents raided an Oakland, Calif., warehouse he owned with an associate and found 1,356 marijuana plants. He faced 10 years to life in prison, a $10 million fine and a minimum of five years’ probation.

An email to the U.S Attorney’s Office in San Francisco requesting clarification on Rosenthal’s case wasn’t immediately returned, and Rosenthal’s lawyer of record, Ted Cassman, did not respond to multiple requests for an interview.

Nathan Puri, a federal criminal defense attorney based in San Francisco, pointed to a decision by the judge in Rosenthal’s case as the potential reason for the early release. In July 2013, the judge, Saundra B. Armstrong, recommended the MMA referee to participate in a residential drug abuse program, where he was transferred on Aug. 4, 2014, after serving one year in prison.

Puri said participation in the program, known as the Residential Drug Abuse Program (R.D.A.P), effectively serves as an early release from prison if the person successfully completes the program.

“(Attorney General) Eric Holder wants judges to have their discretion back, so the fed system is lightening up a bit these days for nonviolent drug and financial crimes,” he told MMAjunkie.

At the moment, Rosenthal is officially a member of a halfway house overseen by a R.D.A.P in Sacramento. Cassman convinced the court to place Rosenthal in a program close to his family in the Bay Area.

Rosenthal’s sentence includes three years of probation, or supervised release. He paid a fine of $100 to the government in June 2014. Cassman submitted several letters to the court from community leaders praising the referee’s volunteer work as a jiu-jitsu instructor to at-risk youths.

In the wake of his plea agreement, Rosenthal let his referee licenses lapse in Nevada and California, where he oversaw several major MMA fights. His work in UFC 116’s headliner between then-heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar and Shane Carwin was praised by UFC President Dana White.