ATLANTA, June 12 (UPI) -- Prison officials claimed to have been misled by former Atlanta Mayor Bill Campbell, allowing him into a program that would reduce his tax-evasion sentence.
Recently unsealed court documents show that Campbell's 30-month sentence for a tax-evasion conviction was nearly cut short by his participation in a substance-abuse program for which he wasn't qualified. He had been moved into a halfway house earlier this year and, as credit for taking the program, was going to get an early release until federal prosecutors in Atlanta learned of it, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Friday.
Campbell remains incarcerated at a low-security prison near Miami until Oct. 25. He had initially filed a legal action against the Bureau of Prisons for rescinding his early release. But that action ended shortly after documents emerged suggesting Campbell had exaggerated his alcohol dependency.
"Ultimately, Mr.Campbell agreed that the (bureau) had not acted beyond its authority and we reached an accord that resulted in Mr. Campbell dismissing his petition," Campbell's lawyer, Patricia Jean Kyle of Miami said in the Journal-Constitution article.
