Lea Fastow gets year in prison

HOUSTON, May 6 (UPI) -- Lea Fastow, the wife of a former Enron executive, pleaded guilty to a tax charge in Houston Thursday and was sentenced to one year in prison.

Fastow burst into tears after U.S. District Judge David Hittner left the courtroom, the Houston Chronicle reported. Family and friends surrounded the 42-year-old mother and former Enron assistant treasurer.

Fastow pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor tax charge. She will be on supervised released for a year after serving the prison time. She was not immediately jailed because the Bureau of Prisons must decide where she will serve the time.

Hittner earlier rejected a proposed plea bargain that would have given her a five-month sentence. Prosecutors then reduced the six felony counts against Fastow to the one count of filing a fraudulent tax return.

Prosecutors want the cooperation of her husband, former Enron Chief Financial Officer Andrew Fastow. He pleaded guilty to two felony charges and faces up to 10 years in prison for his role in the collapse of Enron.