Former MD Delegate Gets 48 Months In Bribery Scheme: Report

Former Maryland state delegate Michael L. Vaughn has been sentenced to 48 months in federal prison after being convicted of voting to expand liquor sales in Prince George's County in exchange for cash bribes, according to a report.

The Washington Post reports that Vaughn was found guilty of conspiracy and bribery back in March, and on Tuesday he was sentenced.

His attorneys argued the $15,000 he got from liquor store owners in a lobbyist in 2015 and 2016 were campaign contributions that weren't reported, not bribes, but prosecutors said they were.

Earlier this summer, the former owner of a liquor store in Prince George's County who pleaded guilty to paying bribes to lawmakers received a year and a day in federal prison, and was ordered to pay $50,000 in fines.

The Washington Post reported that Shin Ja Lee, who owned Palmer Liquor Store, wanted legislation passed that would expand Sunday liquor sales in Prince George's County, so he bribed then-Dels. William A. Campos and Michael L. Vaughn for their support of the law.

Lee was involved in a total of five bribes that spanned 2015 through 2016. In one of those occasions, he passed an envelope to Campos containing $4,000 in a restaurant bathroom, according to the report.

Another liquor store owner, Young Paig, and former county liquor board head David Son were also involved in the scheme, prosecutors say.

Paig has been sentenced to 41 months in prison, Campos has gotten 54 months, and Son received a 60-month sentence.

(Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)