Bribe For A Lighter Sentence

A man convicted of importing drugs paid a middleman about a hundred thousand dollars, handed over in cash in a series of instalments. The money was said to be for the federal judge who would sentence him, in exchange for a light sentence. Both the judge and the middleman denied that any bribe was paid. They said the money was a legitimate legal fee, and that nothing ever reached the judge to influence what he did. The prosecution had to prove the payment was meant to buy the judge's act.