A longtime New York lawmaker has been sentenced to a year and a day in prison for cheating on his income taxes.
Former state Sen. Nicholas Spano was sentenced in federal court Monday. He admitted in February that he underpaid his taxes by $53,000.
Spano had asked for just six months behind bars and six months home confinement but the judge said he had to consider the public's perception of the system. Federal sentencing guidelines ranged from 12 to 18 months in prison.
Spano told the judge his mistakes would haunt him for the rest of his life.
Spano spent 28 years in the state Legislature. As assistant majority leader in the Senate, he was among New York's most powerful politicians.
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