Theo Gregory, the former Wilmington City Council president recently convicted of funneling public money to a nonprofit he controlled, was sentenced by a judge to repay part of the money that went to his nonprofit.
Gregory was ordered to pay $12,000 in restitution as well as a $1,000 fine and given no prison time following his November criminal conviction of a misdemeanor count of official misconduct.
The case against Gregory stems from a $40,000 grant that went to a nonprofit that he founded and that his wife assists in running. The details were first exposed by a Delaware Online/The News Journal investigation in 2017.
Prosecutors had sought a sentence requiring him to pay back $40,000, but the judge on Friday opted for a lesser amount following his trial, which partially centered on how much money Gregory himself received.
In a text message, Gregory, who spent more than three decades elected to the governing council of Delaware’s largest city, said that he is not required to pay the money until the court hears the appeal of his conviction.
He wrote that he is “optimistic” that he has “favorable issues” to raise in his appeal.
READ MORE ON THE TRIAL:The importance of the word “earmark” in Theo Gregory’s corruption trial
Using the same evidence the newspaper published years ago, prosecutors at trial said Gregory, who left office in early 2017, routed money from a taxpayer grant fund he controlled as City Council president to a nonprofit he revived in late 2016 and that paid him a salary once he was out of office.
Prosecutors said he used his position to set up the grant and then pressured his successor, Hanifa Shabazz, into approving it days after he left office.
Gregory’s defense said that he didn’t actually benefit from the grant award as he had donated either money or services to the nonprofit equal to or greater than the amount he was paid through the taxpayer-funded grant. He also disputed that any action he took while president constituted an official action toward moving the money his way.
At trial, he was acquitted by the jury of a second count of official misconduct and the judge ruled he was not guilty of profiteering, another misdemeanor.
THE 2017 INVESTIGATION: Council president earmarked grant for himself before leaving office
Contact Xerxes Wilson at (302) 324-2787 or xwilson@delawareon
