Former U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-Pa.) has been sentenced to 10 years in prison on corruption-related charges, according to a report from Philly.com. He will begin his term on Jan. 25.
Fattah, whose area of representation during his 21 years in Congress included Penn’s West Philadelphia campus, also earned a degree in 1986 from the Fels Institute of Government. He later gave the school’s commencement address in 2012 and received a Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award.
This prison term is the second-longest sentence ever given to a member of Congress, but fell below the 17 to 22 year sentence prosecutors requested.
Penn spokesperson Stephen MacCarthy declined to comment on Fattah’s sentencing on Monday afternoon.
At Monday’s hearing, Fattah said the trial “has been the most disappointing event in my now 60-year life,” according to Philly.com’s report. He added, “I’ve helped tens of millions of people and that has nothing to do with the fact that I have been found on the wrong side of these questions by a jury.”
Fattah was convicted on June 21 of 18 counts, including racketeering conspiracy and money laundering tied to his misuse of campaign contributions, federal grant funds and charitable donations to compensate for his personal and political debts. Two days after the charges were released, he resigned from his seat after initially promising to stay the full length of his term. Fattah would have been ousted the following year regardless because he lost his April 26 primary to State Rep. Dwight Evans.
In addition to his prison sentence, Fattah is also required to pay $614,000 in restitution, according to Billy Penn.
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