Currently browsing tag

crime

Lawyers for ex House Speaker Hastert ask judge for probation

By Justin Madden CHICAGO (Reuters) – Lawyers for former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert, convicted last year of a financial crime in a hush-money case, urged a federal judge on Wednesday to spare him prison time for health reasons and because he is “deeply sorry.” Hastert, 74, faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison when sentenced later this month for his guilty plea in October to a federal charge of “structuring” – evading bank reporting rules by withdrawing large amounts of cash in small increments. The former Republican speaker of the House of Representatives has admitted to paying $1.7 million in cash to someone he had known for decades to buy that person's silence and compensate for past misconduct toward that individual.