PHILADELPHIA (AP) - The Latest on the sentencing of former Reading, Pennsylvania, Mayor Vaughn Spencer on corruption charges (all times local):
11:45 a.m.
The former Democratic mayor of Reading, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced to eight years in prison for corruption.
A federal judge Wednesday also ordered 71-year-old Vaughn Spencer to pay a $35,000 fine and serve three years on supervised release.
Spencer will report to prison June 13.
Before his sentencing, Spencer apologized to the citizens of Reading. He said he had let them down.
Spencer was convicted in August on conspiracy and bribery charges for exchanging contracts for campaign contributions.
He was mayor of Reading from 2012 until his failed reelection bid in 2015.
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10:55 a.m.
The former Democratic mayor of Reading, Pennsylvania, has apologized in federal court for his corruption conviction.
Vaughn Spencer spoke ahead of his sentencing Wednesday in Philadelphia.
He says he let down the citizens of Reading, and “I’m truly sorry.”
Spencer was convicted in August on conspiracy and bribery charges for exchanging contracts for campaign contributions.
He was mayor of Reading from 2012 until his failed reelection bid in 2015.
Prosecutors are seeking a prison sentence of 10 to 12 years. Spencer’s lawyer asked for leniency. The lawyer says it was the mayor’s campaign advisers who led the pay-to-play scheme.
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6 a.m.
A former Pennsylvania mayor convicted of exchanging public works contracts for campaign contributions is set to be sentenced.
It’s the second sentencing in six months for a Pennsylvania mayor convicted as a result of a federal pay-to-play investigation.
Former Reading Mayor Vaughn Spencer’s hearing is scheduled for Wednesday. A jury found him guilty in August of conspiracy and bribery.
Prosecutors accused him of promising engineering contracts to companies that agreed to provide campaign contributions and directing contracts to past donors to ensure they kept supporting his reelection efforts.
Authorities said Spencer also attempted to bribe a former city council president to try to get Reading’s anti-pay-to-play ordinance repealed.
Spencer has denied wrongdoing.
Former Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski was sentenced in October to 15 years in federal prison for rigging contracts.
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