Birmingham, AL – Former State Rep. Bryant Melton of Tuscaloosa has been sentenced to 15 months in prison for using some of his legislative discretionary money for personal gain.
Melton, who resigned from the Alabama House in 2006 and pleaded guilty to theft and money-laundering, is the latest person to be sentenced as part of a federal and state probe into Alabama's two-year college system.
U.S. District Judge Karon Bowdre handed down the sentence Thursday in Birmingham, giving Melton a bigger break than prosecutors had recommended.
The government had asked that he get 20 months in prison, but Bowdre noted that Melton was the first to plead guilty and gave substantial assistance to prosecutors.
Prosecutors said Melton sent $85,000 in state funds to the Alabama Fire College foundation and took back $68,000, using much of it to pay gambling debts.
(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)