Tobin Gets 10 Months for Scheme [Corrected 05/19/06] ; His Role in Election Day Phone Jamming Was an `Assault' On the Democratic Process, the Judge Says.

Summary

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A federal prosecutor described James Tobin of Bangor as an indispensable participant in an illegal plot to disrupt an election, while his own lawyer portrayed him Wednesday as an extraordinarily giving family man who made one uncharacteristic mistake. U.S. District Judge Steven McAuliffe made clear that he found both sides' assessments convincing before sentencing Tobin to 10 months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release, for his role in a Republican scheme to jam the opposition's phone lines on Election Day in 2002.

The prison term fell between what the two sides sought, and McAuliffe said it was a difficult sentence to impose.

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Extract

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Tobin Gets 10 Months for Scheme [Corrected 05/19/06] ; His Role in Election Day Phone Jamming Was an `Assault' On the Democratic Process, the Judge Says.

The judge noted that he'd never seen an outpouring of support for a defendant like the 161 pages of letters submitted by Tobin's friends and relatives. But he also underlined the gravity of the crime, describing it as a "direct assault" on the democratic...

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