Former Philadelphia congressman sentenced to 10 years in prison

PHILADELPHIA — Former U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah was sentenced Monday to 10 years in prison. He is due to begin his prison term on Jan. 25.

The term is below the federal sentencing guidelines but the second-longest prison term a congressman has ever received for corruption.

At Monday’s hearing, Fattah said he regretted some decisions he had made but also touted millions of people he had helped during his career.

“Those in high places will certainly know what happens in this courtroom today,” U.S. District Judge Harvey Bartle III said.

Prosecutors had asked that the Philadelphia Democrat receive a term of 17 to 22 years, but the defense requested a much shorter term, calling the government’s recommendation “extreme” and “unnecessarily harsh.” They said such a punishment would be the longest prison term ever meted out to a member of Congress for corruption.

Fattah, 60, became the first member of Pennsylvania’s congressional delegation to be sentenced in a federal corruption case since 1996, when Pittsburgh-area Rep. Joseph P. Kolter was sentenced to six months for covering up his theft of thousands of dollars in taxpayer funds with vouchers that claimed he used the money to buy stamps for his office.

The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Harvey Bartle III.

Fattah was convicted in June on 18 counts including racketeering conspiracy, bribery, and money laundering tied to his misuse of charitable donations, campaign contributions, and federal grant funds to pay back his personal and political debts.

He resigned his seat under pressure from colleagues two days after the jury’s verdict.