California politician shows little remorse, gets prison time
LOS ANGELES — Former state Sen. Ron Calderon was sentenced Friday to 3 1/2 years in federal prison after showing little remorse for a corruption scandal that tarnished his family’s Southern California political dynasty.
Calderon made an emotional plea to stay out of prison to a judge who said he had not accepted responsibility or apologized to California’s citizens for taking bribes in exchange for his influence in the state capitol.
“My goal was to do the right thing for California,” said Calderon who asked Judge Christina Snyder for home confinement. “At no point did I ever intend to break that law.”
After he spoke, Snyder said she had contemplated putting him behind bars for four years because his request for leniency was self-serving. But she said the shorter term was significant and would send a message to the longtime lawmaker.