Two years for La. movie bribe scandal

NEW ORLEANS, July 29 (UPI) -- A federal judge Wednesday sentenced the state official responsible for bringing movie productions to Louisiana to two years in prison for accepting bribes.

Former Louisiana Film Commissioner Mark Smith was ordered to report to prison Aug. 31 to serve his term for taking payoffs from production companies in exchange for state tax exemptions.

The New Orleans Times-Picayune said U.S. District Judge Kurt Engellhardt told Smith he believed he was truly remorseful for his actions, but noted that they had caused damage to the state's film industry. The newspaper said the sentence was lighter than it could have been since Smith had pleaded guilty in 2007 and cooperated with federal investigators.

Smith's position gave him the power to decide how many tax credits a particular film would receive. He and two co-conspirators engineered payoffs in exchange for granting a project more credits than it deserved.