FBI agent will get six months’ dwelling confinement, superb for wiping laptop computer throughout investigation of former Sen. Jon Woods

40/29 experiences that Robert Cessario, a former FBI agent who grew to become a bone of rivalry within the conviction of former Republican Sen. Jon Woods, was sentenced to 6 months of dwelling confinement and a $25,000 superb for wiping his dwelling laptop computer earlier than it could possibly be examined.

Cessario had pleaded responsible in August to the destruction of a report in a public continuing.

In keeping with court docket information filed by the federal government, Cessario was ordered to submit his laptop computer pc for a forensic examination after sure interviews with witnesses had been referred to as into query.

In keeping with the plea settlement, Cessario admitted that in December 2017, he took the pc to a industrial enterprise and paid for it to be “wiped” to fully erase the contents of the laborious drive that contained the recordings and that he carried out one other process just a few days later earlier than he submitted the pc for forensic examination.

In keeping with the sentencing memorandum filed by Texas Assistant U.S. Legal professional Alan Jackson, the federal government had no proof Cessario wiped the pc apart from what he expressed, which was to take away delicate and private household info from the pc or that he had any motive to impede the general public corruption prosecution.

Woods contended the lack of the knowledge broken his protection, however the trial choose and the eighth U.S. Circuit Court docket of Appeals rejected the argument in upholding a 15-year sentence for Woods within the bribery case. He’s in a federal jail in Texas.

Cessario’s lawyer had requested for unsupervised probation. The federal government really helpful probation, the size on the choose’s discretion.

Decide P.Okay. Holmes imposed a three-year probationary sentence, however with the primary six months confined at dwelling. He can go away solely with permission of the probation and parole workplace.

40/29 stated protestors demonstrated on the courthouse in Fort Smith towards a lightweight sentence for an FBI agent who broke the regulation.