Ex-Virginia first lady Maureen McDonnell sentenced to 1 year

[WestVirginiaRebel]

Fox News:

Former Virginia first lady Maureen McDonnell was sentenced Friday to one year and 1 day in prison for her role in a bribery scheme that destroyed her husband's political career.

 

U.S. District Judge James Spencer sentenced McDonnell on eight public corruption counts. Prosecutors had asked for an 18-month sentence. Defense attorneys requested probation and 4,000 hours of community service.

 

Former Gov. Bob McDonnell, convicted of 11 counts, was sentenced to two years in prison last month. He is free on bond while he appeals the convictions to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which will hear arguments May 12.

 

A jury in September found the McDonnells guilty of taking more than $165,000 in gifts and loans from Star Scientific Inc. CEO Jonnie Williams in exchange for promoting his company's nutritional supplements -- primarily the tobacco-derived anti-inflammatory Anatabloc. Among the gifts were about $20,000 in designer accessories and clothing for Maureen McDonnell and a $6,500 Rolex watch she gave her husband for Christmas.

 

Bob McDonnell, who was widely considered a possible Mitt Romney running mate before the scandal broke, testified during the six-week trial. His wife did not.

 

Maureen McDonnell is likely the first modern-day spouse of a governor convicted on felony charges arising from her occupancy in an executive mansion, according to scholars and research conducted by The Associated Press. First spouses of the states have had lesser brushes with the law, such as a former West Virginia first lady who was acquitted more than a century ago on charges of forging her first husband's signature, but none has confronted the prospect of a prison term for a felony conviction.

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On the bright side, they can be prison pen pals...