Ex-congressman Cunningham sentenced to 8 years
Marty Graham
Reuters
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San Diego, California (US):
Former U.S. Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham, who pleaded guilty last year to taking $2.4 million in bribes, was sentenced by a federal judge on Friday to eight years and four months in prison.
Cunningham, a decorated Vietnam War pilot and eight-term California Republican who tearfully resigned from the House of Representatives in November, was also ordered to pay $1.8 million in restitution.
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See Also:
Wartime heroics loom large in Cunningham's sentence
Cunningham's day of reckoning
Chronology of events
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"After years of service to my country I made a wrong turn," Cunningham, 64, told a packed San Diego courtroom before his sentencing.
"No man has ever been more sorry. I could have said no and didn't. It was me, Duke Cunningham, and it was wrong."
Prosecutors had asked U.S. District Judge Larry Burns to give Cunningham the maximum of 10 years in prison, while defense lawyers had sought six.In choosing the middle term, Burns cited Cunningham's "profound medical problems" -- which include prostate cancer, thyroid problems and bad knees -- war service and expressions of remorse.
Mar 04, 2006
Marty Graham
Reuters
______
San Diego, California (US):
Former U.S. Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham, who pleaded guilty last year to taking $2.4 million in bribes, was sentenced by a federal judge on Friday to eight years and four months in prison.
Cunningham, a decorated Vietnam War pilot and eight-term California Republican who tearfully resigned from the House of Representatives in November, was also ordered to pay $1.8 million in restitution.
_________________
See Also:
Wartime heroics loom large in Cunningham's sentence
Cunningham's day of reckoning
Chronology of events
_________________
"After years of service to my country I made a wrong turn," Cunningham, 64, told a packed San Diego courtroom before his sentencing.
"No man has ever been more sorry. I could have said no and didn't. It was me, Duke Cunningham, and it was wrong."
Prosecutors had asked U.S. District Judge Larry Burns to give Cunningham the maximum of 10 years in prison, while defense lawyers had sought six.In choosing the middle term, Burns cited Cunningham's "profound medical problems" -- which include prostate cancer, thyroid problems and bad knees -- war service and expressions of remorse.
Mar 04, 2006
