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Former N.O. Council Member Gets 37 Months Behind Bars

Section: Politics

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Former N.O. Council Member Gets 37 Months Behind Bars

Oliver Thomas sentenced for bribery in U.S. District Court
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Former New Orleans City Council member Oliver Thomas has been sentenced to 37 months (3 years, 1 month) in prison. He faced a maximum of 10 years in prison

Judge Sarah Vance also ordered Thomas to pay a $6,000 fine and serve 3 years of supervised probation. The judge told Thomas, "you are a tragic disappointment to this community," adding that Thomas' actions were "a cancer on the body politic."

The 50-year-old Thomas pleaded guilty in August to accepting nearly $20,000 in bribes from a parking lot operator doing business with the city.

Federal prosecutors had accused Thomas of violating terms of a plea agreement he had with the government to cooperate with investigators. Prosecutors believe Thomas had knowledge of other crimes but say he refused to provide information.

Before his sentencing this morning, a prosector told the court, "it is no shame to cooperate with the government." She also said she believes "Mr. Thomas is worried about being scorned," by the community.

Thomas, who spent 13 years on the New Orleans City Council is the most prominent public official to be convicted so far in the government's continuing investigation of corruption at City Hall.

In an interview on 99.5FM Tuesday, Thomas denied having knowledge of any other instances of corruption. "I've never been part of a criminal enterprise, so I'm going to pay for what I did. Hopefully, they will be successful in catching others who have been involved in wrongdoing. I'll pay for the crime I committed," Thomas said.

More on this story coming from 995fm.com.

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