Former Democratic Rep. Chaka Fattah was on Monday sentenced to 10 years in prison after being convicted in June on federal corruption charges.
Fattah’s sentence falls short of the 17- to 22-year sentence prosecutors had recommended. The Pennsylvania Democrat was found guilty of accepting bribes and misusing federal funds to repay an illegal $1 million loan he took to fund his unsuccessful run for mayor of Philadelphia in 2007.
Speaking to jurors Monday, Fattah sought a shorter sentence by appealing to their good graces. He told the court his work in Congress helping “tens of millions of people” should be taken into account, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
The judge responded that Fattah had “abused the trust” voters had placed in him by electing him to Congress for nearly 22 years.
Fattah, who lost his Democratic primary earlier this year to then-state Rep. Dwight Evans, resigned from Congress shortly after his conviction. But he has continued to collect state and federal pensions, the Inquirer reported, and can continue to do so until his appeal process is exhausted.
