Breaking the public trust

Ex-Rep. Ney (R-Ohio) gets 30-months in jail, $6000 fine

Former Ohio Republican Representative Bob Ney, the only member of Congress to be criminally charged in the Jack Abramoff-lobbying scandal, was sentenced today to 30 months in prison and fined $6,000 by U.S. District Judge Ellen S. Huvelle.

The Justice Department had asked for a term of 27 months in prison. The sentence was harsher than recommended by prosecutors or Ney's lawyers, Huvelle said, because Ney had violated the trust place on him as a public official. "Both your constituents and the public trusted you to represent them honestly," she said.