Former Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell Faces A Decade Behind Bars

Former Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell will be sentenced on January 6, 2015, and Mrs. McDonnell on February 20.  He was convicted in federal district court on September 4, 2014 on eleven counts of corruption. His wife Maureen was convicted on nine counts, including one count of obstruction of justice that applied only to her.  How long a prison sentence can he expect?

McDonnell was found guilty on two counts of conspiracy, three counts of honest services wire fraud, and six counts of obtaining property under color of official right (Hobbs Act extortion). Mrs. McDonnell was found guilty on the two conspiracy counts, two counts of honest services wire fraud, four counts of Hobbs Act extortion, and the single count of obstruction of justice.  Each of these crimes carries a statutory maximum prison sentence: five years for conspiracy and twenty years for all the others.

So McDonnell stands convicted of nine 20-year crimes and two 5-year crimes.
if the Judge follows the Guidelines,  Bob McDonnell can expect a sentence in the range of 97-121 months.
His wife, who was not an elected official faces 78-97 months.

In the federal system now there is no parole – the sentence you get is pretty much the sentence you serve, less some minor potential credits for good behavior.

A sentence of 8-10 years for the former Governor would certainly not be extraordinary. Former Governor Rod Blagojevich of Illinois is  serving a fourteen-year sentence upon his  corruption conviction. Another Illinois Governor, George Ryan, served five years for corruption. And William Jefferson, a former Louisiana Congressman was sentenced to thirteen years in prison.

New Orleans own former mayor, Nagin received nearly a decade.