NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The former top prosecutor for two New Orleans area parishes was sentenced Wednesday to serve four years in prison in a federal corruption case.
Walter Reed, 70, received the sentence Wednesday from U.S. District Judge Eldon Fallon.
Reed served as district attorney for St. Tammany and Washington parishes for 30 years but did not seek re-election in 2014, amid allegations of corruption.
Reed was convicted last May on 18 counts of wire fraud, mail fraud, money laundering, lying on his income tax returns and conspiracy to commit wire fraud and to launder money. Among other things, the case involved the illegal use of campaign money.
His sentence also includes more than $600,000 in restitution and fines.
Reed will remain free on bond during an appeal. His son, Steven Reed, was sentenced to five years of probation in the case.
“Today, folks, is a good day,” Reed told reporters outside the federal courthouse in New Orleans. “My son does not have to go to prison under any scenario. I get to go home, and we finally get to lodge our appeal.”
The sentence imposed by Fallon was a departure from the Office of Probation’s recommendation of nine to 11 1/4 years in prison. Fallon said the case was unusual in that it involved privately donated campaign funds, not public funds, and that Reed used the money not for extravagant vacations, clothes and jewelry, but for such things as flowers and meals for family members, friends and others.
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