What to Know
- Thompson admitted setting up a $660,000 slush fund that aided Vincent Gray's election as District mayor in 2010.
- The defense asked for probation and community service, citing his cooperation and noting his loss of businesses and status in the community.
- The judge said Thompson's downfall was not enough of a deterrent to others.
A District of Columbia businessman who poured millions of illegal dollars into political campaigns was released from prison Wednesday following a 90-day sentence.
Jeffrey Thompson was released from federal prison in Kentucky Wednesday, News4's Scott MacFarlane reports.
Thompson admitted setting up a $660,000 slush fund that aided Vincent Gray's election as District mayor in 2010. Several other people who worked on Gray's campaign pleaded guilty to felonies.
At the time of his sentencing, the defense asked for two years probation and 1,200 hours of community service, citing Thompson's cooperation with the investigation and noting how he has lost his businesses and his standing in the community. The prosecution also did not seek prison time, asking for six months home confinement and the fine.
But the judge said Thompson's downfall was not enough of a deterrent to others and called him the mastermind of the scheme who tried to obstruct the investigation once he was caught.
He was sentenced to three months in prison followed by three months of home confinement. Thompson was also fined $10,000.
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Gray denied wrongdoing in the case and was not charged, but the scandal was a factor in his failure to win re-election.
Gray's case was dropped last year. He won the Ward 7 seat on the D.C. Council in November.
Thompson will serve the final three months of his federal sentence at home in Washington, D.C. A judge rejected his request to travel to Jamaica during the holidays, according to court filings.
