There's a well-worn path from America's governors' offices to the big house. As Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell now awaits sentencing, here's a look at a seemingly unending list of his fellow gubernatorial convicts.
Here, McDonnell leaves U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia with family members, after he was found guilty of 11 corruption-related counts. The ex-governor and his wife, Maureen, who was found guilty on eight counts, were on trial for accepting gifts, vacations, and loans from a Virginia businessman in exchange for helping his company.
Aug. 17, 2010
Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, shown here with his wife, Patti, after his initial corruption trial in Chicago, was found guilty on one charge of giving a false statement to federal agents after being accused of attempting to sell the Illinois Senate seat formerly occupied by Barack Obama. The jury was hung and was unable to reach a verdict on 23 of the 24 counts. Nearly a year later, he was retried and convicted on 17 of the remaining 20 counts. He was sentenced to 14 years in a federal prison and could be eligible for parole in 2024.
April 17, 2006
What is it about Illinois? Gov. George Ryan spent 5 1/2 years in federal custody on charges that he unfairly gave state contracts to friends while he served as secretary of state. He became a free man again on July 4, 2013.
Bill Janklow was the longest-serving governor—four terms, for 16 years—in South Dakota history. He also ended up spending 100 days in jail for second-degree manslaughter after he ran a stop sign and killed a motorcyclist in 2003, a conviction that forced him to resign from his seat in Congress. Janklow's lawyers argued he was suffering from a bout of hypoglycemia and had no memory of the accident. He died in 2012.
Wild guess which state now? Former Illinois Gov. Dan Walker, a one-term governor in the '70s, wound up going to prison over his business dealings. But unlike Ryan and Blagojevich, his bank fraud conviction didn't stem from his time at the Capitol. He was sentenced to four years in prison, starting in the late '80s.
Former Arkansas Governor Jim Guy Tucker talks was given a four-year probated sentence for Whitewater-related charges on Aug. 19, 1996. The judge said he was persuaded that a prison sentence would be cruel and unusual punishment, due to Tucker's medical condition.
Despite its notorious levels of corruption, Rhode Island never had a governor sent to jail. That is until Gov. Edward D. DiPrete, who pleaded guilty to charges of racketeering, extortion, and bribery in 1998 and was sentenced to a year in prison.
It's not only Bob McDonnell in the news for gubernatorial bad behavior. Connecticut Gov. John G. Rowland was sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison after pleading guilty to "depriving the public of honest service," after state contractors were found to have performed free work on his vacation home and inappropriate ties to businesses were revealed. Rowland made headlines this week as a second trial began on charges that he falsified documents and violated campaign-finance laws.
Arizona Gov. J. Fife Symington III and his wife, Ann, waved goodbye to staff and friends after a 1997 press conference in Phoenix. Symington was found guilty on seven counts of bank fraud, acquitted on three, and a mistrial was declared on 11 other counts in his trial in federal court, and resigned the following day. His conviction, however, was overturned on appeal in 1999, and he was pardoned by Bill Clinton in January 2001.
Guy Hunt was the first Republican elected governor of Alabama since Reconstruction. He was also the state's first chief removed from office because of a criminal conviction, according to The New York Times. He was ousted from office in 1993 after being found guilty on ethics charges, a conviction for which he was later pardoned.
Dave Martin/AP
Former North Carolina Gov. Mike Easley pleaded guilty to one felony charge of campaign-finance violations in 2011 to end a long-running state and federal investigation into his actions while he was in office. He paid a $1,000 fine and served no time in prison.
What's a mere eight years in prison? Just three years after leaving a halfway house, former Louisiana Gov. Edwin Edwards, now 86, is running for Congress. He was convicted of numerous racketeering charges—but whatever: A March poll had Edwards leading all contenders for Louisiana's 6th District, with 43 percent.
Seriously, Illinois. Get help. Here's Otto Kerner, the first Illinois governor sent to prison, convicted on conspiracy, perjury, and mail-fraud charges in 1973.
