Ala. NAACP Head Receives 4-Year Bribery Sentence
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Alabama NAACP President Thomas Reed was sentenced to four years in prison today for taking a $10,000 bribe to try to help a murderer win early release, and automatically lost his state House seat.
“You used your power . . . to line your pockets,” U.S. District Judge Joel F. Dubina told Reed, at 60 the senior black in the Legislature.
Reed was convicted on two counts of extortion. The charges carried a maximum penalty of 25 years in federal prison and a $500,000 fine.
“Judge, I know I’m not guilty,” he told Dubina today.
Reed was convicted of taking a bribe from a businessman in exchange for trying to win early release for the man’s nephew, an imprisoned murderer. He contacted the state Board of Pardons and Paroles on the man’s behalf.
The nephew, Anthony Dennis Chesser, continues to serve a 40-year sentence for the murder of his wife.
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