After attending a year and a half of court hearings, Dennis Racine of Grass Valley said he’s relieved a judge handed down a long-awaited prison sentence Friday to his former wife, who hired a hit man to kill him in March 2006.

Nevada County Superior Court Judge Robert Tamietti sentenced Erzsebet Racine, 42, Friday to six years in prison for solicitation to commit murder. Racine’s actual sentence will be 691 days in prison with credit for time served and good behavior, according to the judge’s calculations.

“I’ve spent more than a year in court and it’s been tremendously tasking,” Dennis Racine said after the sentencing, referring to 11 sentencing continuations. “I’m glad it’s finally done. Prison is a good result.”

After she has completed her prison sentence, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will take Erzsebet Racine, a Hungarian citizen here legally, into custody, said ICE spokesperson Virginia Kice.

Federal removal proceedings will then take place, Kice said, and a federal judge will rule on the question of deportation.

Erzsebet Racine has been incarcerated at Wayne Brown Correctional Facility for 17 months as Tamietti encouraged defense attorney Monica Lynch to seek alternative sentencing options, including finding a secure mental health facility willing to take the defendant.

Erzsebet Racine has acute bipolar disorder but cannot afford to pay for her own treatment, according to court records. She divorced her husband while she was in jail and was granted a $14,000 settlement, which cannot cover costs of a year-long treatment program.

Lynch said she has researched every possible avenue and has repeatedly reported back to court that no secure mental health facility exists that will take the defendant without pay. She advocated Friday for a sentence of probation. The District Attorney’s Office had consistently pushed for a prison sentence.

The Union has reported Dennis Racine’s growing frustration with the delays. He has been publicly supported by Nevada County Victim/Witness Assistance, which takes the position that all victims are entitled to resolution within a reasonable period of time.

Tamietti defended the sentencing delays and his advocacy for alternative sentencing.

Using large poster paper displaying his math at the front of the courtroom Friday, the judge attempted to show Erzsebet Racine would have spent more time in custody with his preferred sentence: a year in jail plus a year in a secure mental health facility, in addition to time already served.

The prison sentence, he said, means Racine spends less time behind bars and will most likely get no psychological counseling from a prison system that does not follow through on its promises, he charged.

“The notion we’re sitting here like a bunch of weak-kneed idiots is put to the lie right there,” Tamietti said, waving his hand at the poster paper.

The judge equated Dennis Racine’s and Nevada County Victim Witness’ past appeals to the public with “inciting a lynch mob outside the building.

“If people want to influence the court, we do this in the court, on the record,” Tamietti said.

When Deputy District Attorney Kathryn Francis asked Dennis Racine if he wanted to say anything in open court, he declined.

Tamietti apologized to Erzsebet Racine for not finding any plausible alternative sentencing.

“Ms. Racine, I’m sorry we couldn’t put together a treatment deal,” he said.

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To contact Staff Writer Robyn Moormeister, e-mail robynm@theunion.com or call 477-4236.