Former Atlantic City, New Jersey, Mayor Frank Gilliam was reportedly sentenced to 30 days in prison and 11 months of house arrest Thursday.
Gilliam pled guilty to soliciting $87,000 in donations under false pretenses as a member of the City Council then and as mayor according to AP News. When soliciting the donations, Gilliam reportedly told donors the money would be used for a youth basketball team or school supplies for underprivileged children.
Ex-Atlantic City Mayor Frank Gilliam sentenced to 30 days in federal prison for stealing $86K from youth basketball club https://t.co/Ezd7gdTAav
— The Philadelphia Inquirer (@PhillyInquirer) January 28, 2021
“This defendant stole more money than many U.S. residents earn in a year,” U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Rodriguez said, the AP reports. “The defendant also took money from the very underprivileged children in Atlantic City that he tried to encourage and prepare for a better life.” (RELATED: FBI Agents Raid Atlantic City Mayor’s Home, Seize Electronics)
“I’m ashamed, I’m embarrassed,” Gilliam reportedly said. “I’ve hurt the people who love me, I’ve hurt the people who depend on me.”
Gilliam resigned as mayor in October 2019 after pleading guilty to the charges of wire fraud according to a different story from AP News.
Up until 2007, four of the city’s last eight mayors were reportedly arrested on corruption charges along with one-third of the City Council. The pattern of corruption in Atlantic City sparked the HBO series “Boardwalk Empire,” according to the AP.