HARRISBURG — Former state treasurer Rob McCord will serve up to 30 months in prison for attempting to shake down businessmen for campaign donations during his failed campaign for governor in 2014, according to an Allentown Morning Call report.
McCord will also pay a $5,200 fine. He will report to prison in 60 days, the Morning Call says.
U.S. District Judge John Jones said McCord’s downfall was an indictment of Pennsylvania’s campaign finance laws while handing down sentence.
“You unfortunately seem to be the the poster child for the need for reform,” he said, according to the Morning Call.
McCord, a Democrat and former venture capitalist from Montgomery County, resigned suddenly on Jan. 29, 2015. He pleaded guilty in U.S. Middle District Court to trying to extort $125,000 from two businesses less than a month after his abrupt resignation.
Court records show McCord was caught on a wire, saying he keeps a “book” on potential donors he thought were “ducking his calls” and had “stiffed him” on donation pledges, the Morning Call says.
