10 months for NH phone jammer

A federal prosecutor described James Tobin of Bangor as an indispensable participant in an illegal plot to disrupt an election, while his own lawyer portrayed him Wednesday as an extraordinarily giving family man who made one uncharacteristic mistake. U.S. District Judge Steven McAuliffe made clear that he found both sides' assessments convincing before sentencing Tobin to 10 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release, for his role in a Republican scheme to jam the opposition's phone lines on Election Day in 2002.

The prison term fell between what the two sides sought, and McAuliffe said it was a difficult sentence to impose.

The judge noted that he'd never seen an outpouring of support for a defendant like the 161 pages of letters submitted by Tobin's friends and relatives. But he also underlined the gravity of the crime, describing it as a "direct assault" on the democratic process.

"People in your position need to know that they cannot do this, they cannot do this, and if they do there will be serious consequences," McAuliffe said. "We'll never know if the wrong people are sitting in government because of this offense."

The judge said that Tobin had not expressed "a great deal of remorse" or shown that he understood the "seriousness of the offense."

Minutes earlier, the 45-year-old political veteran had apologized for disappointing all the people who put faith in him, but he did not apologize directly to the victims of the phone-jamming plot.

Isn't that identical to Randy Cunningham's tearful confession to the press? That he was sorry for letting his friends and family down? I guess actually admitting to the crime, even when you're off to the slammer, could limit your chance of getting political handouts after being released.