RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - A federal appeals court has upheld the prison sentence of a former West Virginia circuit judge convicted of corruption.
The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond ruled Thursday in the appeal of ex-Mingo County judge Michael Thornsbury, who was sentenced in federal court in Charleston, West Virginia, to four years and two months in prison last June.
The appeals court noted that at sentencing, Thornsbury had no objections to a presentencing report putting more weight on his role as an organizer of the criminal activity.
“On appeal, Thornsbury attempted to resurrect the arguments he abandoned in the district court,” the appeals court wrote.
At sentencing, U.S. Judge Thomas E. Johnston compared Thornsbury’s abuse of power to what could be expected from a “third-world dictator.” Johnston said the sentence would have been five years, but Thornsbury had cooperated in other investigations.
Thornsbury admitted he conspired to deprive Mingo County campaign sign maker George White of his constitutional rights. Prosecutors said Thornsbury participated in a scheme to protect the late Sheriff Eugene Crum, a political ally, from accusations that the sheriff bought prescription painkillers from White.
Federal prosecutors said Crum had sought the help of Thornsbury, a former county prosecutor and a former county commissioner in a scheme to try to keep White from talking to the FBI about Crum. White was told that if he switched lawyers and pleaded guilty to drug charges, he would receive a lighter sentence from Thornsbury.
Thornsbury is serving his sentence at a minimum-security federal prison camp in Pensacola, Florida.
The ruling was first reported by The Charleston Gazette.
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