(CN) - A former member of the Indianapolis City and Marion County Council was sentenced to three years and four months in federal prison for attempted extortion and soliciting a bribe.
A jury in September convicted Lincoln Plowman, 48, of accepting more than $5,000 in cash while serving as a member of the city-county council. The cash was delivered by an undercover FBI agent posing as a strip club developer.
"Plowman used his elected office for personal financial gain, betraying the trust placed in him by the people of Indianapolis," Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer said in a statement.
Evidence at trial showed that Plowman solicited an undercover FBI agent to pay $5,000 in cash and to make a $1,000 campaign contribution for Plowman's benefit. In exchange, Plowman offered official action and influence to facilitate the opening of a strip club in Indianapolis. At the time, Plowman was a member of the metropolitan development committee of the city-county council and he was also a major with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department.
"Evidence at trial also showed that Plowman had previously accepted bribes from an existing strip club that was part of a national chain," prosecutors said in a statement. "In exchange, he provided official acts and influence against legislation to ban smoking at clubs in Indianapolis. The evidence showed that the chain feared that legislation would become a model for other jurisdictions."
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