前弗吉尼亞州長因腐敗罪名獲刑兩年

Bob McDonnell, Ex-Governor of Virginia, Sentenced to 2 Years for Corruption

前弗吉尼亞州長因腐敗罪名獲刑兩年

RICHMOND, Va. — Bob McDonnell, the former governor of Virginia who was convicted in September on corruption charges, was sentenced to 24 months in prison on Tuesday in one of the most spectacular falls of a statewide elected official in the history of the commonwealth.

弗吉尼亞州里士滿——周二，去年9月被判腐敗罪名成立的前弗吉尼亞州州長鮑勃·麥克唐奈(Bob McDonnell)獲判24個月監(jiān)禁，這是共和邦歷史上鬧得最沸沸揚揚的全州選舉官員落馬事件之一。

Mr. McDonnell, 60, was given the sentence by Judge James R. Spencer of Federal District Court. He was found guilty of trading favors in return for $177,000 in loans, vacations and gifts from a wealthy family friend who was trying to promote his vitamin supplement business.

對現(xiàn)年60歲的麥克唐奈的判決，是由聯(lián)邦地區(qū)法院(Federal District Court)法官詹姆斯·R·斯賓塞(James R. Spencer)做出的。因通過為一名富裕的家族朋友提供便利，換取價值17.7萬美元(約合110萬元人民幣)的借款、度假和禮物，麥克唐奈被判有罪。這名友人當時需要推廣自己的維生素補品業(yè)務。

Mr. McDonnell, a Republican who was once considered a possible contender for the White House, initially faced the prospect of up to 20 years in prison, but Judge Spencer lowered that range to six-and-a-half to eight years during a hearing. His lawyers, citing what they described as years of good works and commitment to public service, had argued that a sentence of community service should suffice.

身為共和黨人的麥克唐奈一度被認為可能會競選總統(tǒng)。起初，他最高可能會被判處20年監(jiān)禁，但在一次聽證會上，斯賓塞將刑期降至六年半到八年之間。他的律師以其多年來的杰出工作，以及對公共服務的貢獻為由，稱對其處以社區(qū)服務的懲罰就足夠了。

While Mr. McDonnell and his family looked shocked when he was convicted, on Tuesday they appeared impassive as sentence was passed. He was directed to turn himself in on Feb. 9.

被判有罪時，麥克唐奈及家人看上去都頗為震驚，但周二宣判時他們似乎是不動聲色的。去年2月9日，麥克唐奈被責令自首。

For hour upon hour before sentence was passed, the court heard accounts of Mr. McDonnell’s good deeds, and the judge said they were a mitigating factor. But, he said: “A price must be paid. It breaks my heart.”

在宣判前的很長時間里，法庭上聽到的都是對麥克唐奈善行的敘述，法官也表示它們是輕判的一個因素。但他說：“必須付出代價。我很心痛。”

Mr. McDonnell, who arrived in court with two of his daughters, looked on silently through the hours of testimony from friends and former associates. He was the last to address the court.

麥克唐奈在兩個女兒的陪同下來到法庭。在朋友和前同事作證的數小時時間里，他一直都在默默地看著。他是最后一個在庭上發(fā)言的。

“I stand before you as a heartbroken and humbled man,” he said, as many supporters in the packed courtroom dabbed at their eyes with tissues.

“站在你們面前的，是一個悲痛、卑微的人，”他說。在擁擠的法庭上，許多支持者在用紙巾拭淚。

Mr. McDonnell said his life in the governor’s mansion had become unbalanced. Now, he said, he will dedicate the rest of his life “newly to service.”

麥克唐奈說，在州長官邸的生活失去了平衡?，F(xiàn)在，他說自己將把余生“重新”奉獻給“公共服務”。

Nearly 450 people, including Mr. McDonnell’s relatives and their friends, had written letters seeking leniency to Judge Spencer. Some spoke of the former governor’s generosity with the homeless. Others noted his devotion to the Roman Catholic Church. Still others said he had always taken care to notice the lowest rungs of the political ladder during campaigns.

包括親友在內的近450人給斯賓塞法官寫信，希望對其寬大處理。一些人贊揚了這位前州長對待無家可歸者的慷慨。還有一些人指出了他對羅馬天主教會(Roman Catholic Church)的虔誠。還有一些人稱，競選期間他總會留心注意到政治級別最低的那些人。

Most striking were the letters from Mr. McDonnell’s family members. One daughter, Jeanine McDonnell Zubowsky, wrote to Judge Spencer blaming her mother, Maureen McDonnell, who was also convicted of various charges and is to be sentenced in late February.

最令人震驚的是來自麥克唐奈家人的信。他的一個女兒雅尼娜·麥克唐奈·祖博夫斯基(Jeanine McDonnell Zubowsky)在寫給斯賓塞的信中指責其母親莫琳·麥克唐奈(Maureen McDonnell)應對此負責。莫琳也被判多項罪名成立，將于2月末被判刑。

Ms. McDonnell “has always been concerned about getting discounts or freebies,” Ms. Zubowsky wrote.

祖博夫斯基寫道，莫琳“總是關心折扣和免費贈品”。

“This was one of the main reasons she would not communicate with him,” she said. “She hid her coordination with people for free or discounted things or services, and she didn’t communicate with my dad because she knew he would not approve.”

“這是她不和父親交流的主要原因之一，”她說。“她掩蓋為了獲得免費或打折的東西而與其他人進行的合作，她不和我爸爸溝通，因為她知道他不會同意。”

Ms. Zubowsky offered another reason for leniency, noting that she is to give birth to his grandchild soon.

祖博夫斯基還提出了另一個從輕發(fā)落麥克唐奈的理由，那就是自己即將生下他的外孫。

Mr. McDonnell’s defense centered on his wife’s relationship with a Virginia businessman, Jonnie R. Williams Sr., whose company, Star Scientific, was under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission for possible security violations when federal prosecutors granted Mr. Williams immunity from those charges in exchange for his cooperation with the McDonnell inquiry.

麥克唐奈的辯護主要圍繞他的妻子與弗吉尼亞商人老強尼·R·威廉姆斯(Jonnie R. Williams Sr.)的關系，后者的公司明星科技(Star Scientific)因涉嫌違反安全規(guī)定，正在接受證券交易委員會(Securities and Exchange Commission)的調查。為了讓威廉姆斯配合對麥克唐奈的調查，聯(lián)邦檢察官已同意威廉姆斯免于指控。

Throughout the trial, defense lawyers portrayed the McDonnells as incapable of conspiring with Mr. Williams because the two had such a bad marriage. Mr. Williams gave the couple $120,000 in low-interest loans, paid for much of the wedding of their daughter Cailin McDonnell Young, bought a Rolex for the governor, picked up bills for golf outings and lent them his Ferrari. Mr. McDonnell’s lawyers portrayed Ms. McDonnell as a “nutbag” so taken with Mr. Williams that she had lost general control of her office and marriage.

整個庭審過程中，辯護律師一直表示，麥克唐奈夫婦不可能與威廉姆斯合作，因為二人的婚姻關系十分糟糕。威廉姆斯為這對夫婦提供了12萬的低息貸款，負擔了他們的女兒蔡琳·麥克唐奈·楊(Cailin McDonnell Young)婚禮的很大一部分開銷，送給麥克唐奈一塊勞力士(Rolex)手表，為他們的高爾夫行程買單，把自己的法拉利(Ferrari)借給他們。麥克唐奈的律師們說，麥克唐奈夫人被威廉姆斯迷得“神魂顛倒”，幾乎失去了對工作和婚姻的掌控。

Judge Spencer, referring to Mr. Williams, said Ms. McDonnell “may have let the serpent into the mansion.” But the governor, he said, let Mr. Williams into his financial affairs.

斯潘塞法官提到威廉姆斯時稱麥克唐奈夫人“可能是引狼入室”的那個人。不過他說，是州長讓威廉姆斯插手了自己的財務。

Upon release, Mr. McDonnell will face two years of supervision. The prison term and the supervision are all well below the recommended sentencing guidelines, which could have put the former governor behind bars for up to 20 years, and less than the 78 months sought by the government.

麥克唐奈獲釋后將面臨兩年的管束。他所獲的刑期和監(jiān)督都遠遠沒有達到量刑指導原則的建議——可能會讓這名前州長面臨最長20年的監(jiān)禁，也低于政府建議的78個月。

“The Jonnie Williams of the world are a dime a dozen, " Michael Dry, a lead prosecutor in the case, told the court. “Corrupt governors are not. But when we find one,” he said, the official must be brought to justice.

“強尼·威廉姆斯這樣的人比比皆是，”本案的主檢察官邁克爾·德里(Michael Dry)告訴法院。“但腐敗的州長卻不是。一旦被我們發(fā)現(xiàn)，”他說，這個官員就必須被繩之以法。