LAS VEGAS (AP) - The Latest on sentencing of a former top Nevada Democratic lawmaker for misusing campaign funds (all times local):
11:40 a.m.
A former top Democratic lawmaker in Nevada has been sentenced to 27 months in prison and fined almost $250,000 for misusing campaign funds.
Ex-Senate Majority Leader Kelvin Atkinson acknowledged using campaign money to open a Las Vegas nightclub and fund what prosecutors called a lavish personal lifestyle.
He told U.S. District Judge James Mahan in Las Vegas that he was embarrassed and called his fall from grace regrettable and unfortunate.
Atkinson remains free but must surrender to federal prison authorities on Oct. 18.
He resigned from the Legislature in March and pleaded guilty less than a week later to federal wire fraud.
The 50-year-old Atkinson has served 10 years in the Assembly and seven years In the Senate.
He became the first black, openly gay member of the Legislature in 2013.
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7:50 a.m.
A former top Nevada Democratic lawmaker is seeking probation and promising to make restitution while federal prosecutors want him to serve more than two years in prison for misusing campaign funds.
Ex-Senate Majority Leader Kelvin Atkinson is due for sentencing Thursday in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas.
Atkinson resigned from the Legislature in March and pleaded guilty less than a week later to federal wire fraud.
Atkinson is 50. He served 10 years in the Assembly before being elected to the state Senate in 2012.
He became the first black, openly gay member of the Legislature when he came out in 2013 during a Senate same-sex marriage debate.
Atkinson admits using $250,000 in campaign money to open a Las Vegas nightclub and fund a lavish personal lifestyle.
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