3-Year Prison Term Urged for U.S. Judge in Corruption Case
SAN FRANCISCO — Prosecutors recommended Tuesday that federal Judge Robert Aguilar, convicted on corruption charges, be sentenced to up to three years and five months in prison.
Aguilar, found guilty of obstructing justice by lying to the FBI and disclosing wiretap surveillance to an aging mobster, faces sentencing Thursday.
The prosecutors’ recommendation went beyond the 21 to 27 months called for in 1987 sentencing guidelines. The government asked for the increased time because of Aguilar’s “egregious breach of trust,” according to sentencing documents filed Tuesday.
Aguilar, 59, a federal judge for a decade, was convicted in August after his second trial.
Aguilar became the first judge in the country ever charged with racketeering when indicted in 1989. He was accused of using his office as a criminal enterprise. That count was dropped after jurors deadlocked on the charge in his first trial.
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