Former New Orleans state senator Karen Carter Peterson will report to federal prison on March 6 after a judge sentenced her to 22 months in prison.
Peterson, who resigned from office last April, received the sentence after pleading guilty to taking more than $140,000 from accounts belonging to the Louisiana Democratic Party and her own campaign to feed her gambling addiction.
According to our partners at NOLA.com, Peterson's attorneys pleaded with Judge Sarah Vance to consider house arrest or probation, but Judge Vance was unmoved by their arguments. Still, Vance handed down a sentence that was more lenient than the 41 to 51 months recommended by a pre-sentence report prepared by probation officers.
