By Ian Simpson
WASHINGTON, Nov 13 (Reuters) - The former No. 2 official in
the Washington city government was sentenced to home arrest,
probation and community service on Tuesday on a bank fraud
charge, the latest stage in financial scandals involving local
officials in the U.S. capital.
Kwame Brown, 42, a Democrat who had been the City Council
chairman, pleaded guilty in June to a federal charge of
overstating his income in applying for bank loans in 2005 and
2007.
U.S. District Judge Richard Leon ordered him to undergo a
day of confinement as he faced sentencing and six months of
house arrest followed by two years of probation. Brown also was
ordered to do 480 hours of community service.
"I'm here today because of my own poor conduct. I'm not a
victim," Brown said in a brief statement before sentencing.
He also was sentenced in District of Columbia Superior Court
on a misdemeanor campaign finance charge. Brown had pleaded
guilty in June to letting a family member make illegal cash
expenditures from his 2008 campaign account.
Brown was given a 30-day jail sentence but it was suspended
on condition he complete two years of probation to run
concurrent with the bank fraud sentence. He also was ordered to
do 100 hours of community service concurrent with the federal
sentence.
Brown was the second City Council member to step down this
year over a financial scandal. Harry Thomas pleaded guilty to
stealing city funds and was sentenced to prison in May.
As part of an ongoing federal probe, two workers in Mayor
Vincent Gray's 2010 election campaign have pleaded guilty to
paying a minor mayoral candidate to disparage incumbent Adrian
Fenty in the Democratic primary.
A former Gray consultant also pleaded guilty in July for her
role in helping to hide about $650,000 in undisclosed campaign
funds from a city contractor.
A rising star in local politics dominated by Democrats,
Brown was elected to the City Council in 2004. He served as its
chairman from November 2010 until resigning in June.
District of Columbia voters approved charter amendments in
last week's election that would make a council member or mayor
convicted of a felony while in office ineligible to stay in
office or hold the post in the future.
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