Former Bronx City Councilman Miguel Martinez was sentenced today to five years' imprisonment by Manhattan Federal District Judge Paul Crotty for three felony charges connected to the two-years-old and ongoing federal criminal investigation of the use of the City Council's discretionary spending, also known as the "slush fund" scandal.
Compared to the New Jersey corruption sentences -- and even the sentence handed down to former Connecticut Governor John Rowland -- this sentence seems strict. Martinez is also significantly younger than his older and much more long-serving counterparts in neighboring states. It's actually not that much less of a sentence than the sentence handed down to perhaps the biggest player in the most major recent corruption scandal, that being Jack Abramoff. (However, I note that former Congressman Randy Cunningham got ten years and the Louisiana congressman who put some money in his freezer -- his name escapes me today -- got twelve years.)
I note: The investigation is continuing. I believe there is every reason to expect more people to be charged.
I also note that Martinez has not been a "cooperator." Not yet. Perhaps the sentence is -- unofficially -- a way to induce his "cooperation."
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