Denver – The former chief of staff for retired Colorado Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell was sentenced today to one year of probation for a federal charge of not reporting income that another staffer claimed was a kickback.
Virginia Kontnik was ordered to repay the $2,000 and pay a $2,000 fine. She apologized during the sentencing hearing.
The maximum punishment was a year in prison and $100,000 fine.
Kontnik pleaded guilty in March to one misdemeanor count of making a false statement. Prosecutors said she did not report the income on a 2002 financial disclosure report.
Kontnik had described the $2,000 as reimbursement for expenses.
But Brian Thompson, another former Campbell staffer, accused her of giving him bonuses with an understanding that he would return $2,000 to her so she could pay for her divorce.
Campbell, a Republican who retired in 2004 after two terms, has said he knew about the bonuses but not about the alleged kickback.
Kontnik supervised about 40 employees in Campbell’s office starting in 1995. She resigned on Feb. 20, 2004, two weeks after she was reassigned.
She said then that she and Campbell had discussed her departure for months because she wanted to spend more time with her two children in Colorado and explore other career options.
