前弗吉尼亚州长因腐败罪名获刑两年

Bob McDonnell, Ex-Governor of Virginia, Sentenced to 2 Years for Corruption

前弗吉尼亚州长因腐败罪名获刑两年

RICHMOND, Va. — Bob McDonnell, the former governor of Virginia who was convicted in September on corruption charges, was sentenced to 24 months in prison on Tuesday in one of the most spectacular falls of a statewide elected official in the history of the commonwealth.

弗吉尼亚州里士满——周二，去年9月被判腐败罪名成立的前弗吉尼亚州州长鲍勃·麦克唐奈(Bob McDonnell)获判24个月监禁，这是共和邦历史上闹得最沸沸扬扬的全州选举官员落马事件之一。

Mr. McDonnell, 60, was given the sentence by Judge James R. Spencer of Federal District Court. He was found guilty of trading favors in return for $177,000 in loans, vacations and gifts from a wealthy family friend who was trying to promote his vitamin supplement business.

对现年60岁的麦克唐奈的判决，是由联邦地区法院(Federal District Court)法官詹姆斯·R·斯宾塞(James R. Spencer)做出的。因通过为一名富裕的家族朋友提供便利，换取价值17.7万美元(约合110万元人民币)的借款、度假和礼物，麦克唐奈被判有罪。这名友人当时需要推广自己的维生素补品业务。

Mr. McDonnell, a Republican who was once considered a possible contender for the White House, initially faced the prospect of up to 20 years in prison, but Judge Spencer lowered that range to six-and-a-half to eight years during a hearing. His lawyers, citing what they described as years of good works and commitment to public service, had argued that a sentence of community service should suffice.

身为共和党人的麦克唐奈一度被认为可能会竞选总统。起初，他最高可能会被判处20年监禁，但在一次听证会上，斯宾塞将刑期降至六年半到八年之间。他的律师以其多年来的杰出工作，以及对公共服务的贡献为由，称对其处以社区服务的惩罚就足够了。

While Mr. McDonnell and his family looked shocked when he was convicted, on Tuesday they appeared impassive as sentence was passed. He was directed to turn himself in on Feb. 9.

被判有罪时，麦克唐奈及家人看上去都颇为震惊，但周二宣判时他们似乎是不动声色的。去年2月9日，麦克唐奈被责令自首。

For hour upon hour before sentence was passed, the court heard accounts of Mr. McDonnell’s good deeds, and the judge said they were a mitigating factor. But, he said: “A price must be paid. It breaks my heart.”

在宣判前的很长时间里，法庭上听到的都是对麦克唐奈善行的叙述，法官也表示它们是轻判的一个因素。但他说：“必须付出代价。我很心痛。”

Mr. McDonnell, who arrived in court with two of his daughters, looked on silently through the hours of testimony from friends and former associates. He was the last to address the court.

麦克唐奈在两个女儿的陪同下来到法庭。在朋友和前同事作证的数小时时间里，他一直都在默默地看着。他是最后一个在庭上发言的。

“I stand before you as a heartbroken and humbled man,” he said, as many supporters in the packed courtroom dabbed at their eyes with tissues.

“站在你们面前的，是一个悲痛、卑微的人，”他说。在拥挤的法庭上，许多支持者在用纸巾拭泪。

Mr. McDonnell said his life in the governor’s mansion had become unbalanced. Now, he said, he will dedicate the rest of his life “newly to service.”

麦克唐奈说，在州长官邸的生活失去了平衡。现在，他说自己将把余生“重新”奉献给“公共服务”。

Nearly 450 people, including Mr. McDonnell’s relatives and their friends, had written letters seeking leniency to Judge Spencer. Some spoke of the former governor’s generosity with the homeless. Others noted his devotion to the Roman Catholic Church. Still others said he had always taken care to notice the lowest rungs of the political ladder during campaigns.

包括亲友在内的近450人给斯宾塞法官写信，希望对其宽大处理。一些人赞扬了这位前州长对待无家可归者的慷慨。还有一些人指出了他对罗马天主教会(Roman Catholic Church)的虔诚。还有一些人称，竞选期间他总会留心注意到政治级别最低的那些人。

Most striking were the letters from Mr. McDonnell’s family members. One daughter, Jeanine McDonnell Zubowsky, wrote to Judge Spencer blaming her mother, Maureen McDonnell, who was also convicted of various charges and is to be sentenced in late February.

最令人震惊的是来自麦克唐奈家人的信。他的一个女儿雅尼娜·麦克唐奈·祖博夫斯基(Jeanine McDonnell Zubowsky)在写给斯宾塞的信中指责其母亲莫琳·麦克唐奈(Maureen McDonnell)应对此负责。莫琳也被判多项罪名成立，将于2月末被判刑。

Ms. McDonnell “has always been concerned about getting discounts or freebies,” Ms. Zubowsky wrote.

祖博夫斯基写道，莫琳“总是关心折扣和免费赠品”。

“This was one of the main reasons she would not communicate with him,” she said. “She hid her coordination with people for free or discounted things or services, and she didn’t communicate with my dad because she knew he would not approve.”

“这是她不和父亲交流的主要原因之一，”她说。“她掩盖为了获得免费或打折的东西而与其他人进行的合作，她不和我爸爸沟通，因为她知道他不会同意。”

Ms. Zubowsky offered another reason for leniency, noting that she is to give birth to his grandchild soon.

祖博夫斯基还提出了另一个从轻发落麦克唐奈的理由，那就是自己即将生下他的外孙。

Mr. McDonnell’s defense centered on his wife’s relationship with a Virginia businessman, Jonnie R. Williams Sr., whose company, Star Scientific, was under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission for possible security violations when federal prosecutors granted Mr. Williams immunity from those charges in exchange for his cooperation with the McDonnell inquiry.

麦克唐奈的辩护主要围绕他的妻子与弗吉尼亚商人老强尼·R·威廉姆斯(Jonnie R. Williams Sr.)的关系，后者的公司明星科技(Star Scientific)因涉嫌违反安全规定，正在接受证券交易委员会(Securities and Exchange Commission)的调查。为了让威廉姆斯配合对麦克唐奈的调查，联邦检察官已同意威廉姆斯免于指控。

Throughout the trial, defense lawyers portrayed the McDonnells as incapable of conspiring with Mr. Williams because the two had such a bad marriage. Mr. Williams gave the couple $120,000 in low-interest loans, paid for much of the wedding of their daughter Cailin McDonnell Young, bought a Rolex for the governor, picked up bills for golf outings and lent them his Ferrari. Mr. McDonnell’s lawyers portrayed Ms. McDonnell as a “nutbag” so taken with Mr. Williams that she had lost general control of her office and marriage.

整个庭审过程中，辩护律师一直表示，麦克唐奈夫妇不可能与威廉姆斯合作，因为二人的婚姻关系十分糟糕。威廉姆斯为这对夫妇提供了12万的低息贷款，负担了他们的女儿蔡琳·麦克唐奈·杨(Cailin McDonnell Young)婚礼的很大一部分开销，送给麦克唐奈一块劳力士(Rolex)手表，为他们的高尔夫行程买单，把自己的法拉利(Ferrari)借给他们。麦克唐奈的律师们说，麦克唐奈夫人被威廉姆斯迷得“神魂颠倒”，几乎失去了对工作和婚姻的掌控。

Judge Spencer, referring to Mr. Williams, said Ms. McDonnell “may have let the serpent into the mansion.” But the governor, he said, let Mr. Williams into his financial affairs.

斯潘塞法官提到威廉姆斯时称麦克唐奈夫人“可能是引狼入室”的那个人。不过他说，是州长让威廉姆斯插手了自己的财务。

Upon release, Mr. McDonnell will face two years of supervision. The prison term and the supervision are all well below the recommended sentencing guidelines, which could have put the former governor behind bars for up to 20 years, and less than the 78 months sought by the government.

麦克唐奈获释后将面临两年的管束。他所获的刑期和监督都远远没有达到量刑指导原则的建议——可能会让这名前州长面临最长20年的监禁，也低于政府建议的78个月。

“The Jonnie Williams of the world are a dime a dozen, " Michael Dry, a lead prosecutor in the case, told the court. “Corrupt governors are not. But when we find one,” he said, the official must be brought to justice.

“强尼·威廉姆斯这样的人比比皆是，”本案的主检察官迈克尔·德里(Michael Dry)告诉法院。“但腐败的州长却不是。一旦被我们发现，”他说，这个官员就必须被绳之以法。