Former House Sergeant at Arms Jack Russ was sentenced Friday to two years in federal prison and ordered to pay $445,000 in restitution for his convictions stemming from the House bank scandal.
The only public figure to be prosecuted so far, Russ pleaded guilty last month to three separate felony counts of embezzlement, defrauding investors in a private business and lying to the government in his financial disclosures."You've made mistakes," U.S. District Court Judge Stanley Harris said in ordering the prison sentence and restitution. Russ, who was reponsible for overseeing the now-defunct bank, declined comment.
In addition to the restitution and prison term, the judge ordered Russ to perform 250 hours of community service. He remains free until he begins serving his prison term, scheduled for some time in early January.
Russ, a House employee for 25 years, was convicted of writing 17 bad checks for $75,300.