Comparing sentences with local former mayors
Former Trenton Mayor Tony Mack and former Hamilton Twp. Mayor John Bencivengo came to mind Thursday when Paul Manafort received a 47-month sentence.
Manafort, 69, convicted last summer for defrauding banks and the government and for failing to pay taxes on millions of dollars in income he had earned from Ukrainian political consulting, received a low-ball, prison-lite sentence for his misdeeds.
While both Mack and Bencivengo held positions of authority and were positioned to produce considerable malfeasance and corruption as men with political power, their sentences seemed harsh when matched against the 47 months received by Manafort.
Mack, found guilty of corruption in February 2014, served four years and 10 months at the FCI McDowell federal prison in Welch, West Virginia. The Trenton mayor left prison in 2018 and must deliver 100 hours of community service, plus, pay $3,000 in fines.
Former Hamilton Mayor Bencivengo received 3 years and 2 months in federal prison for soliciting $12,400 in bribes from a school district insurance broker. His sentencing in March 2013 included a $3,000 fine after a jury found Bencivengo guilty of extortion, attempted extortion, violating the federal Travel Act and money laundering.
Bencivengo served 18 months of a 38-month prison sentence following his conviction in 2012. Bencivengo did time at the minimum security prison camp in Leavenworth, Kan.
The feds had pressed for a 19- to 24-year prison term but Judge T. S. Ellis III of the United States District Court in Alexandria, Va., said that while Mr. Manafort’s crimes were “very serious,” following the guidelines would have served as harsh treatment.
Manafort gained sympathy by another appearance in a wheelchair and claims that he suffers from gout. The infamous political operative asked for compassion from Judge Ellis during a brief statement. The judge criticized Manafort for a statement that acknowledged no regret.
Judge Ellis III ordered Manafort to pay $25 million in restitution and a $50,000 fine. Manafort received credit for the nine months he had already spent in jail, which could mean a release in just over three years.
Even an addition of community service hours would have made the Manafort punishment more acceptable. Next week, Manafort will be sentenced in the District of Columbia on two conspiracy counts by Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the United States District Court. Those charges each carry a maximum of five years.
While professional observers believe Judge Berman will deliver more serious consequences, Manafort attorneys will request he serve both sentences simultaneously.
While the Manafort sentence received stark criticism for leniency, his time behind bars represents three more years, plus, more forthcoming.
Should Manafort receive seven to eight years more from Judge Berman then that places him in prison until he’s almost 80 although a President Trump pardon could set him free.
L.A. Parker is a Trentonian columnist. Find him on Twitter @LAParker6 or email him at LAParker@Trentonian.com.