Durenberger Gets Probation, Fine
WASHINGTON — Former Sen. Dave Durenberger (R-Minn.) was sentenced to a year of probation and fined $1,000 Wednesday, ending the ethics case that destroyed his political career.
Durenberger had pleaded guilty in August to five misdemeanor charges that he falsified his congressional expense account to steal $425 in public funds.
Before sentencing, U.S. District Judge Stanley Harris called Durenberger a “fine human being” who “accomplished a lot.” Harris said he got 101 letters from senators and other supporters.
Durenberger, 61, was indicted in 1993 on felony charges that he improperly billed the Senate $3,825 for nights he spent in a Minneapolis condominium he owned. A plea agreement reduced the charges to misdemeanors involving $425.
The charges stemmed from an ethics investigation that resulted in Durenberger’s being denounced by the Senate in 1990 and forced to pay restitution.
His voice breaking, Durenberger described how the case had disgraced him in the Senate and cost him his law license. He did not seek reelection in 1994.
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