Desi Cartman Posted January 6, 2015 Posted January 6, 2015 I came across the the ruling against Virginia's ex-governor where he has been sent to jail for 2 years for taking money from a "donor". The amount is not in millions, and the case was ruled on within a few months. More info: Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell given 2 years in prison http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/06/politics/bob-mcdonnell-sentencing/index.html Federal corruption charges, conviction and sentencing[edit] On January 21, 2014, McDonnell and his wife were indicted on federal corruption charges. The charges followed a months-long federal investigation into gifts McDonnell received from a political donor.[208][209] They were charged with fourteen different counts, relating to their acceptance of more than $135,000 in gifts, loans, trips and other items from Jonnie Williams Sr., former CEO of Star Scientific, a company developing a compound called anatabine as a dietary supplement and as a drug. In 2013, McDonnell repaid more than $120,000 to Williams and apologized for bringing "embarrassment" to the state. McDonnell insisted he did not break the law and vowed to fight "these false allegations."[210][211] He became the first Governor of Virginia to be indicted for actions committed during his tenure.[212] In July and August 2014, Williams testified at McDonnell's federal corruption trial.[213] After a five-week trial and three days of jury deliberations in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, McDonnell and his wife were found guilty of public corruption charges on September 4, 2014.[214] He was convicted of honest services wire fraud, obtaining property under color of official right, and extortion under color of official right.[215][216] His wife was convicted of honest services wire fraud, obtaining property under color of official right, extortion under color of official right, and obstruction of a federal proceeding.[215][216] Senior U.S. District Judge James R. Spencer has set sentencing for January 6, 2015. The US Probation Office has recommended sentencing between 10 years and 1 month to 12 years and 7 months.[217] In the aftermath of being convicted, McDonnell lost his Liberty University teaching job.[218] On January 6, 2015, Judge Spencer sentenced the former governor to two years in prison followed by two years of supervised release. Prior to sentencing, the judge agreed with the arguments of defense counsel that the value of the gifts McDonnell received were overstated requiring a reduction in penalty based on Federal sentencing guidelines. In arguing for leniency, McDonnell's attorneys produced over 400 letters including ones from McDonnell's predecessor, Democratic Senator Tim Kaine, and former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, arguing that McDonnell had lead an exemplary public life marred by one incident. [219] Now compare this with the trials of our netas like Lalu or Raja. The cases go on forever and the politicians almost never get convicted.
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