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(HAMMOND) – A former Whiting mayor who pleaded guilty to charges that he spent about a quarter-million dollars in campaign funds to gamble and pay personal bills avoided prison on Wednesday when a federal judge ordered he be placed on two years probation and home detention for one year.
Joe Stahura was also ordered by U.S. District Judge James T. Moody to pay a $7,500 fine. However, the judge decided against following the recommendation of federal prosecutors last month to sentence Stahura to 15 months in federal prison.
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In September, Stahura, 64, pleaded guilty to wire fraud and filing a false tax return, felony charges that carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. He was forced out of public office at the time.
His wife, Diane Stahura, entered into a separate agreement in which she acknowledged that prosecutors had enough evidence to charge her with wire fraud, according to a statement.
At Wednesday’s hearing, Stahura apologized. “I’ve not only embarrassed my wife, my family, and the residents of Whiting but everyone who believed in me,” he said.