EXCERPT: Former Refco CEO Philip R. Bennett is arguing that he be given a sentence similar to that meted out to former junk bond king Michael Milken rather than the "de facto life sentence" he claims the government is seeking. If prosecutors have their way, Bennett, who pleaded guilty to accounting fraud that forced commodities brokerage Refco into bankruptcy just weeks after a successful initial public offering, will get a jail term more akin to the 25 years former WorldCom CEO Bernard Ebbers received. But in sentencing memoranda filed over the past two weeks, Bennett, 59, noted that Milken, who also "conceived and led, over a long period, a huge fraud with substantial impact on the securities and financial markets," was sentenced by Southern District of New York Judge Kimba Wood to 10 years, of which he served less than two. Since then, Milken has "lived an exemplary life and made substantial contributions to society," Bennett is claiming. In arguing for leniency, Bennett is also pointing to the unprecedented cooperation he has provided to the securities class action litigants now suing over his misconduct as CEO. But prosecutors are arguing in their own sentencing memoranda that Bennett's cooperation should not be considered in his sentencing, since the benefits of his cooperation are uncertain: "[T]o the extent that Bennett has conferred some benefit to the litigants, the Government respectfully submits that it pales in comparison to the devastating harm caused by Bennett in carrying out this fraud and worthy of no more than minimal credit, if any." Sentencing in United States v. Bennett, 05 cr 1192, by Southern District of New York Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald is scheduled on July 3.