By Sam Wroblewski 630wpro.com and the Associated Press
The judge in the Gordon Fox corruption case sentenced the former House Speaker to three years in prison Thursday morning.
Fox pleaded guilty in March to charges of bribery, wire fraud and filing a false tax return. He acknowledged he took more than $50,000 in bribe money from a Providence restaurant when he was a member of the city board of licenses.He also admitted taking more than $100,000 from his campaign account for his own use.
“There’s no excuse for my behavior, and I’m very, very sorry for it,” said Fox.
Fox was remorseful leaving court, saying he is sorry and that he hopes his actions do not add to Rhode Islanders’ cynicism of government officials.
“I hope this doesn’t create so much more cynicism that we keep good people running for elected office.”
U.S. District Judge Mary Lisi reportedly accepted Fox’s plea agreement for 36 months – five months less than federal sentencing guidelines – citing his willingness to wave the statute of limitations for bribery charges.
Lisi gave Fox the date of July 7 to self surrender, where he will be taken to a yet-undetermined federal prison.
Fox will serve two additional months probation after his release in 2018 and is expected to pay $109,000 in restitution.
