Ex - Congressman Cunningham Sentenced to 8 Years

By REUTERS

Published: March 3, 2006

Filed at 8:26 p.m. ET

SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - Former U.S. Congressman Randy ``Duke'' Cunningham, who pleaded guilty last year to taking $2.4 million in bribes, was sentenced by a federal judge on Friday to eight years and four months in prison.

It was the longest prison sentence ever given a U.S. congressman, prosecutors said, topping the eight-year sentence given in 2002 to Ohio Democrat James Traficant for bribery, tax evasion and racketeering.