Former Probation Commissioner Sentenced to 18 Months In Prison

A former Massachusetts probation commissioner convicted of rigging the agency's hiring process to favor politically connected candidates has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison.

U.S. District Court Judge William Young sentenced John O'Brien on Thursday, saying ``every judge in Massachusetts'' must stand ``appalled'' by the extent of corruption in the state probation department revealed by the two-month trial. Prosecutors had asked for nearly six years in prison.

The judge also sentenced O'Brien deputy Elizabeth Tavares to three months in prison and deputy William Burke to a year of probation.

O'Brien and Tavares were convicted by a jury of racketeering and mail fraud this summer. Burke was convicted of the lesser charge of racketeering conspiracy.

The three had denied the charges against them.