BEN NUCKOLS
Associated Press
WASHINGTON – A former campaign aide to District of Columbia Mayor Vincent Gray has been sentenced to 2 years of probation for lying to investigators about payments from the Gray campaign to another candidate.
Howard Brooks is one of three former Gray aides to plead guilty to crimes related to the 2010 campaign. Gray defeated incumbent Adrian Fenty in the Democratic primary.
Brooks admitted he lied to the FBI about payments to Sulaimon Brown, a minor candidate who prosecutors say was paid to stay in the race and disparage Fenty.
Prosecutors said Brooks earned in a reduction in his sentence by providing “substantial assistance” in their ongoing probe of corruption in city politics. At his sentencing Wednesday afternoon, Brooks apologized for his conduct, saying he embarrassed himself and his family.
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