Former Congressman Mel Reynolds To Be Sentenced On Tax Charges

CHICAGO (AP) -- Former U.S. Rep. Mel Reynolds, who failed to file tax returns for income he made while consulting for Chicago businessmen in Africa, is about to learn his punishment.

The sentencing Thursday comes some seven months after U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman found Reynolds guilty in a bench trial on four misdemeanor counts.

Reynolds has been representing himself. In a Wednesday filing, he argued that one year of probation would be an appropriate sentence. Prosecutors say he deserves at least two years behind bars because he flouted the law for so long.

The maximum possible sentence he could face is four years in prison.

The Harvard graduate and Rhodes Scholar resigned from Congress in 1995 after being convicted of statutory rape. He was later convicted on charges that included concealing debts.

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