FEDS ASK: 4 YEARS FOR Looting of campaign fund about ‘greed and entitlement’ BY LYNN SWEET Washington Bureau Chief WASHINGTON — Jesse Jackson Jr. looting his campaign fund was about “greed and entitlement,” federal prosecutors said Friday, arguing for a four-year sentence. Wife Sandi deserved 18 months because she “stole.” “In fact, she stole a lot.” The brutal assessments came in sentencing memos filed by the government in U.S. District Court here for the former congressman and his Chicago alderman wife. Both Jacksons will be sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson (no relation) on July 3. The biggest drama at this stage is over whether the judge will consider Jesse Jackson Jr.’s physical and mental condition as a mitigating factor for a lesser sentence. Most of the medical details were redacted or blacked out from the filings his lawyers made that were part of the public record. Jackson has been treated for bipolar disorder, disappearing last year, surfacing at Mayor Clinic. The Jacksons have a boy and girl, who attend a private elementary school in Washington. In order not to leave the children without a parent, the prosecutors are suggesting to the judge that Sandi Jackson go to prison first. With a time off for good behavior, Sandi Jackson could be back home in about a year, the prosecutors said. “If Mr. Jackson is sentenced to a lengthy prison term, the effect on his children will be devastating,” his lawyers argued. Attorneys for the Jacksons filed memos with dozens of letters from friends and family members pleading with the judge to be lenient in sentencing. Lawyers for Jesse Jackson Jr., the son of the Rev. Jesse Jackson, said he should serve less than four years, asking for a break because of his mental and physical health, the “good Former Rep. Jesse Jackson and former Ald. Sandi Jackson leave a federal building in Washington in February. | EVAN VUCCI~AP Powered by TECNAVIA Copyright © 2013 Sun-Times Media, LLC 06/08/2013
Posted on: Sat, 08 Jun 2013 11:26:54 +0000
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