Madmallard
.223 Rem
A former Mount Vernon firefighter who is a half-brother of city Mayor Richard Thomas was spared prison time on federal gun charges.
Henry Thomas, 46, was sentenced Wednesday to time served and probation and ordered to forfeit $55,000. He had faced up to 75 years in prison, although federal sentencing guidelines called for significantly less.
Thomas was arrested in April 2015, months after three transactions in which he sold four handguns and ammunition for nearly $4,000 to an informant working with the FBI. Two of the sales, for a .44-caliber revolver and a .40-caliber pistol, were made across the street from Graham Elementary School.
Thomas had two prior felony convictions, including one for possessing 125 vials of crack that landed him in state prison for three years, when he was hired to work for the Mount Vernon public works department in 2000. He joined the fire department in 2003.
He remained at work because the arrest was not reported publicly while the investigation was ongoing.
Thomas then pleaded guilty in September 2015, a week after his brother won a hotly contested primary for mayor. In addition to the gun trafficking charges, he admitted taking part in a conspiracy to sell cocaine and to intentionally damaging his car to collect insurance money.
The conviction was not made public until late December 2015, when the case was unsealed in federal court. Thomas then submitted his resignation, citing a medical condition related to a back injury he first suffered in 2009. He aggravated the injury in June 2015 — two months after his arrest — when he was knocked to the ground while holding a fire hose because the water pressure from the truck shifted.
Thomas subsequently tried to rescind his resignation. His re-employment was fiercely opposed by then public safety Commissioner Robert Kelly. Kelly was fired, although Mayor Thomas insisted it had nothing to do with his refusal to put his brother back on the payroll.
http://www.lohud.com/story/news/inv...ors-brother-spared-prison-gun-case/100996992/
Henry Thomas, 46, was sentenced Wednesday to time served and probation and ordered to forfeit $55,000. He had faced up to 75 years in prison, although federal sentencing guidelines called for significantly less.
Thomas was arrested in April 2015, months after three transactions in which he sold four handguns and ammunition for nearly $4,000 to an informant working with the FBI. Two of the sales, for a .44-caliber revolver and a .40-caliber pistol, were made across the street from Graham Elementary School.
Thomas had two prior felony convictions, including one for possessing 125 vials of crack that landed him in state prison for three years, when he was hired to work for the Mount Vernon public works department in 2000. He joined the fire department in 2003.
He remained at work because the arrest was not reported publicly while the investigation was ongoing.
Thomas then pleaded guilty in September 2015, a week after his brother won a hotly contested primary for mayor. In addition to the gun trafficking charges, he admitted taking part in a conspiracy to sell cocaine and to intentionally damaging his car to collect insurance money.
The conviction was not made public until late December 2015, when the case was unsealed in federal court. Thomas then submitted his resignation, citing a medical condition related to a back injury he first suffered in 2009. He aggravated the injury in June 2015 — two months after his arrest — when he was knocked to the ground while holding a fire hose because the water pressure from the truck shifted.
Thomas subsequently tried to rescind his resignation. His re-employment was fiercely opposed by then public safety Commissioner Robert Kelly. Kelly was fired, although Mayor Thomas insisted it had nothing to do with his refusal to put his brother back on the payroll.
http://www.lohud.com/story/news/inv...ors-brother-spared-prison-gun-case/100996992/
