Mar.17, 2010

A former Broward County commissioner accused of conspiracy to commit money laundering, along with a Bahamian attorney, has pleaded guilty to the charge and has been sentenced to 30 months in prison.

Josephus Eggelletion, 60, of Lauderdale Lakes, was sentenced on Friday by U.S. District Court Judge Donald Middlebrooks in West Palm Beach to the prison term.

He and Bahamian attorney Sidney Cambridge were charged with the offense last fall along with Florida businessmen Ronald Owens and Joel Williams.

Along with the money laundering charge Eggelletion also plead guilty to filing a false tax return.

In the criminal complaint filed in the case Eggelletion allegedly told a U.S. law enforcement agent in 2006 that he was going to be raising money for then Prime Minister Perry Christie's re-election bid.

Christie has denied that Eggelletion was his fundraiser.

The charges are part of a federal anti-corruption probe in South Florida. The U.S. Government alleged that the men were involved in a $900,000 money laundering scheme.

The four men have been accused of working together to launder money they thought came from criminal activity in exchange for a percentage of the laundered money.

In its indictment, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) claimed that the accused sought to launder the money through The Bahamas and St. Croix.

Eggelletion had faced up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Owens pleaded guilty in January and faces sentencing in April. The cases against Cambridge and Williams are still pending.

Cambridge's attorney Lilly Ann Sanchez has told The Nassau Guardian that her client had no intention of pleading guilty to the charge.

Cambridge has remained in The Bahamas.

According to The Miami Herald, Eggelletion was emotional at the hearing.

"All of my life I tried to do good for people," he told the judge. "I pleaded guilty right away because my dad always told me if you do something wrong, you admit it.

"Whatever happens, I intend on coming back to my community and trying to get others to not do what I have done."

Cambridge resigned as a partner at the law firm Callender's and Co. and as the treasurer of the Progressive Liberal Party and the Bahamas Bar Association after he was charged.

Eggelletion starts his sentence on May 3. He was also fined $10,000.

The former Broward County commissioner will remain on supervised release for three years after he is released from prison.