February 22, 2008
Ex-House leader Martineau to serve 37 months in prison
PROVIDENCE
-- Former House Majority Leader Gerard M. Martineau this morning was
sentenced to 37 months in prison on corruption charges.
Judge Mary M. Lisi also ordered him to pay a $100,000 fine and serve two years of supervised probation following his release.
He will have to report to a prison to be determined by 2 p.m. March 14.
Martineau,
a longtime state representative from Woonsocket, pleaded guilty in
November to corruption charges for steering legislation that benefited
the CVS drugstore chain and Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode
Island, with which he had plastic and paper bag contracts worth more
than $800,000.
Martineau was sentenced in U.S. District Court,
Providence. He faced a maximum of 46 months and a fine of $1.8 million
on each count.
The prosecution had asked Lisi to sentence
Martineau to 37 months. Martineau's lawyer asked for a split sentence
that would have allowed him to spend part of the sentence on home
confinement.
Also revealed at this morning's hearing: Martineau
is cooperating with the federal investigation into corruption at the
State House, Operation Dollar Bill. He has met with the FBI six times.
He
is expected to testify at the trials of two former CVS executives who
are accused of paying off former state Sen. John Celona.
John R.
Kramer, former CVS senior vice president for corporate affairs and
government relations, and Carlos Ortiz, former vice president of
government affairs, are charged with one count each of conspiracy and
bribery and 21 counts each of fraud for contracting with Celona.
Celona,
who resigned from the General Assembly in 2004 amid questions about his
business dealings with CVS, pleaded guilty to federal mail fraud
charges in 2005 for his relationships with CVS, Blue Cross & Blue
Shield of Rhode Island and Roger Williams Medical Center.
-- With reports from Journal staff writer W. Zachary Malinowski
$90.00
