Former lawmaker sentenced to 30 months in prison
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former Republican Rep. Bob Ney of Ohio was sentenced on Friday to 2-1/2 years in prison for his role in the Jack Abramoff political corruption scandal that helped Democrats win control of the U.S. Congress.
Standing before the judge, a sorrowful Ney apologized to his family, friends and former constituents and said in brief remarks that he would continue "to battle the demons of addiction that are within me."
The former U.S. lawmaker had pleaded guilty to illegally accepting trips, meals, drinks, tickets to concerts and sporting events and other items worth tens of thousands of dollars in return for official acts performed for lobbyist Abramoff and his clients.
He abandoned his re-election race in August because of questions about his links to Abramoff, and is the only lawmaker convicted and sentenced in the scandal.
U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle said that after Ney serves his time he will be on probation for two years and must perform 100 hours of community service in each of the years.
He also is required not to drink any alcohol while on probation. The judge also fined Ney $6,000.
BETRAYED PUBLIC'S TRUST
Huvelle said Ney betrayed the public's trust.
"As a member of Congress, you had a responsibility to set an example," she said.
Huvelle said Ney's problems with alcohol did not explain all of his illegal conduct.
The judge said she would recommend to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons that Ney be allowed to take part in a residential substance abuse program while serving his time in prison in Morgantown, West Virginia.
The Abramoff scandal has reached into the White House as well as Congress. Democrats in the mid-term elections were aided by voter anger over a series of congressional scandals, including the one involving Abramoff.
Ney, 52, faced a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, but as part of his plea deal, prosecutors recommended that he get 27 months in prison. The judge rejected that recommendation.
Under federal sentencing guidelines, she calculated that Ney's prison term would fall between 27 and 33 months. She said she decided on 30 months because his illegal conduct spanned four years, he abused his powerful position and he violated the laws he was sworn to uphold.
Ney has admitted that he conspired to commit fraud and other offenses and that he filed false financial disclosure forms.
Others have been sentenced in the scandal. Former Bush administration official David Safavian was sentenced in late October to 18 months in prison for lying and obstructing justice in connection with the Abramoff scandal.
Abramoff in November began serving a sentence of five years and 10 months in prison handed down by a federal judge in Miami for fraud in the purchase of a Florida casino cruise line.
Abramoff also has pleaded guilty to conspiracy, mail fraud and tax evasion in connection with his lobbying activities.
He has yet to be sentenced on those charges, but prosecutors are recommending a prison term of nine years to 11 years and three months, to run at the same time as his sentence in the Florida case.
