Otherwise his lawyer probably would have gotten him off.

Maybe.... It's a whole different ballgame when you are a high profile defendant. Also, the "provider" was a hoax or LE employee. There are also women's advocacy groups that apply pressure to prosecutors not to drop charges against high profile defendants.. Had this CEO not been caught in a police sting but had been "merely" arrested with a provider who was not in cahoots with LE, I might agree more with vorlon's perspective.

There are certain areas that are notorious for LE stings. Bloomington, & Richfield are on the top of the list, & have been since I can remember. I was hoping through this post to remind folks of this. Experienced hobbyists, & providers probably don't need this reminder, but my thought is it never hurts once in a while to partake in a refresher course of "high risk" areas to avoid, or at least screen with a vengeance prior to taking the plunge. I also agree with vorlorn here. No matter who, or what you are, STFU!

I agree that his high profile would have made it more difficult and he still would have paid a high price anyway.  I still suspect he made it easy for them and if he had kept quiet all along they would have had a lot of difficulty in getting an actual conviction.

There's nothing wrong with Bloomington, I've been out there many times to um...partake. It's who you see, not where you see them.

And as always, of course, when confronted with LE - 'lawyer' should be the only word in one's vocabulary.

Just to add some details here - looks to me like he got a 1 year probation and stay of imposition.  I think this means that if he's not busted again for a year the conviction drops off - not that he will be a CEO again anytime soon...  Oh, and a $350 fine.  
Members of this fine board should be aware that Minnesota courts made quite a bit of info available at their website.  In this case here's the skinny:
http://pa.courts.state.mn.us/CaseDetail.aspx?CaseID=1613913349

Doc.

So is that a misdemeanor? gross misdemeanor?  Felony?  Always wonder how great the risk, that's why although I'd like to try some new providers.   I wait til there are a few reviews, not sure which questions to ask.

I've heard that the cops use la quinta & the excell ALOT! If a SAFE provider wants to use a hotel due to her living arrangements, that has to be UNDERSTANDABLE! I just use CAUTION when I go! I saw a provider, who can't use her place! Her name starts with 'L'! She was VERY AWESOME! & she did tell me that she does frequent 2+ Star hotels due to her living situation!