A federal judge has sentenced a former Illinois township official who pleaded guilty to stealing $40,000 from the impoverished community to five years in prison. U.S. District Court Judge Michael Reagan handed down the sentence Thursday to Oliver W. Hamilton.
The sentence was five times as long as the sentence prosecutors in the case and the former East St. Louis Township supervisor's attorneys had once recommended. The judge said he could think of "nothing worse than taking from the indigent."
Hamilton pleaded guilty in December to wire fraud charges. Authorities say he used the money to pay for things like trips to Las Vegas and child support. He was arrested after a newspaper investigation found he'd spent tens of thousands of dollars on a township credit card on himself.
