Sante and Kenneth Kimes Get Life Sentences

Mother-and-son con artist duo Sante and Kenneth Kimes, whose crimes have been the subjects of several books and a made-for-television movie, were sentenced to life without parole for the 1998 murder of David Kazdin, a business associate and family friend.

Kenneth Kimes, 29, pleaded guilty last June to the murder of Kazdin and in a plea agreement testified against his 71-year-old mother Sante, who was previously convicted of the 2000 murder of Irene Silverman of New York.

Kenneth Kimes testified during the trial that he shot Kazdin in the back of the head, because they believed Kazdin was about to expose the duo's scheme to obtain a $280,000 loan in his name. Kimes said his mother planned the murder.

He also admitted that he and Sante were involved in the murder of Silverman and an Arab banker who disappeared in 1996. Both mother and son are serving 100-year sentences for the New York murder.

The exploits of the duo were dramatized in the 2001 movie "Like Mother, Like Son" which starred Mary Tyler Moore.

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Kimes Mother, Son Duo Get Life Sentences in L.A.