WSB's Veronica Waters reports a jury acquitted Campbell, 52, of federal bribery and corruption charges after a two-month trial, rejecting the Government's contention that the Mayor lined his pockets with illegal campaign contributions and corrupt payments, and ran a pay-for-play administration which doled out contracts to big campaign supporters.

Campbell was convicted of failing to pay taxes on unreported income, which included money he earned giving speeches as Mayor. At Campbell's sentencing, Judge Richard Story decided some of the untaxed income had also come from kickbacks from a longtime golfing buddy of the Mayor's, and enhanced his sentence.

Story said "wonderful things" had happened during Campbell's administration. Campbell presided over one of Atlanta's most prosperous periods, and was known for helping boost affordable housing during that time. He received praise for comforting Olympic Park bombing victims and helping calm and bring the city together after the blast, and was considered a rising star in the Democratic party, taking on a life of public service that began when he desegregated Raleigh, North Carolina's elementary schools.

"Yes, Bill Campbell, you did good things, and there is a person in this room that recognizes this," Story said in June, referring to himself. But, said Story, he was "almost appalled at the breadth of misconduct in your administration."

Story sentenced Campbell to 2.5 years in prison, a $6,300 fine, and ordered him to pay nearly $63,000 in back taxes on over $160,000 in unreported income. Campbell must also serve a year on probation after his release from the minimum-security prison in Miami.

Mike Truman, with the federal Bureau of Prisons, says prisoners at facilities like FCI Miami, where Campbell will be, often share a cubicle with one--even two--others in dormitory-style housing. The jet-setting ex-Mayor, known for his indulgence in high-stakes gambling at casino blackjack tables, will earn from 12 to 40 cents an hour behind bars while he serves his sentence. Though Campbell is an attorney, the BOP has somewhat strict rules about inmates giving inmates legal advice, so the job he'll eventually be assigned will likely be very different from his profession.

"Most inmates are assigned to an institutional job such as a food service worker, orderly, plumber, painter, warehouse worker, or groundskeeper and an average work day is approximately 7-1/2 hours," Truman tells Waters.

Campbell's lawyer says the 30-month sentence is three times the norm for similar tax evasion convictions, but Judge Story, and then the 11th U. S. Circuit Court of Appeals, denied Campbell's request for an appeal bond this month. Story said Campbell's motion had not shown any likelihood of overturning his conviction or reducing his sentence. The appeals court did not comment.

WSB's legal analyst Ron Carlson says Campbell still has the option to appeal to the nation's highest court, but it's impractical.

"There's a theoretical remedy here, which is to take the case on the bond revocation all the way up to the U. S. Supreme Court," said Carlson. "It's called a petition for certiorari. However, as a practical matter, that's not a realistic outcome because he would have served about half of his sentence or more by the time the Supreme Court, even if they would have granted cert, would have litigated the case."

As the days ticked down toward Campbell's surrender, he sounded angry about his impending sentence.

"I don't care whether you like me or dislike me. You certainly would respect that I should be treated fairly," Campbell said. "If a jury finds me not guilty of all of the corruption charges, and then says, 'Okay, you're guilty of the tax charges,' you don't then have the judge to say, 'Well, I'm going to disregard the jury's verdict and I'm going to punish him because I think he was guilty of those things.'"

Campbell's family lives about 80 miles away from the Miami facility. He says as always, his faith in God remains strong.

"There's no doubt that I would rather be someplace else, and there's also no doubt that the sentence I was given is not fair based on the crimes I was convicted of," said Campbell. "But I think you just have to work with what you have, and you have to just prepare yourself for a difficult stretch."

Sunday, 20 August 2006