Manuel must serve 21 months in prison

In the case of United States of America vs Thomas G. Manuel, the former St. Johns County Commission Chairman entered a guilty plea and today he received his sentence — 21 months in federal prison followed by 16 months of home detention.

The Governor suspended Manuel from office one day after he was indicted on two counts of bribery.

On July 31, 2008, 64 year-old Manuel pleaded guilty to bribery and admitted receiving two payments totaling $60,000 from representatives of The Falcone Group in exchange for his support of the developer’s projects.

Manuel could have been sentenced to prison for up to 10 years, required to pay a $250,000 fine and serve up to three years of probation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Savell argued that transcripts of several of Manuel’s conversations, that were turned over to the court last week, oblige Manuel to serve a prison sentence calculated at 37 to 46 months in accordance with federal guidelines.

Part of the surveillance videotape was played during today’s sentencing hearing.

Manuel apologized at the sentencing hearing for his actions. Manuel explained to the court that he suffered from bipolar disorder, other health problems and that he needed the money.

After deliberating for 30 minutes, Corrigan announced his sentence, and has allowed Manuel 60 days to report to prison.

Photo credit: © 2010 Historic City News staff photograph