ONE of the most powerful US Democratic politicians, ex Congressman Dan Rostenkowski of Chicago, has been sentenced to 17 months' imprisonment and fines of 100,000 after pleading guilty to two charges of postal fraud which he called "a technical violation of the law."
Rostenkowski, who served 36 years in Congress, was defeated in 1994 by a neophyte Republican politician, Mr Patrick Michael Flanagan. He was chairman of the most important Congressional Committee dealing with the budget through the 1980s and early 1990s. One of the charges to which he pleaded guilty was sending official payroll cheques from Washington to Chicago for employees who helped him personally though not officially.
The other charge in his guilty plea involved the purchase of a piece of china, a personal gift, with an official cheque. He was indicted two years ago and has maintained his innocence since.
He said: "I do not believe that I am any different than the vast majority of the members of Congress and their staffs who have experienced enormous difficulty in determining whether particular services by Congressional employees should he classified as congressional, political or personal."
Judge Norma H. Johnson of the Federal District Court told Mr Rostenkowski: "When I think of your case the one phrase that comes to my mind is betrayal of trust.