Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Congressman's former aide gets house arrest in tax case

07/31/13

A former top aide to U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah was sentenced Monday to four months of house arrest and three years' probation for failing to pay taxes on $264,000 she earned as a taxpayer-funded consultant.

Cheryl Mobley, 55, blamed her crimes on the stress of an abusive and disintegrating marriage, and her lawyer argued that she suffered from mental health problems. A skeptical prosecutor called the claims "shallow, false excuses" and said anyone facing prison would be anxious and depressed.

But U.S. District Judge Joel H. Slomsky said he was struck by Mobley's "bizarre" responses during a hearing last year and seemed swayed by a doctor's report that she had made progress in therapy. "I don't see the need for full-time incarceration," he said.


FULL STORY

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