A US federal judge has sentenced former Virginia governor Robert McDonnell's to two years in prison and two years of probation for a corruption conviction.
McDonnell, the first Virginia governor to be convicted of taking a bribe, was sentenced by US district judge James Spencer for accepting sweetheart loans and lavish gifts from a businessman seeking to promote a dietary supplement.
“No one wants to see the governor of Virginia in this kind of trouble,” the judge said.
“It breaks my heart, but a meaningful sentence must be imposed.”
McDonnell, once a rising star in the Republican Party, was convicted in September along with his estranged wife, Maureen, in a trial that laid bare rifts in their marriage.
McDonnell (60) was ordered to report to prison on February 9th. Defence attorneys asked that he be sent to a prison in Petersburg, Virginia, so that he could be close to his family.
Prosecutors had sought a 10- to 12-year prison term. McDonnell’s lawyers had argued for a community service sentence instead.
A jury found McDonnell guilty of 11 charges of public corruption in September. – (Reuters)