Former Alderman Sandi Jackson Released From Prison
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Former Ald. Sandi Jackson has been released from a minimum security federal prison camp in West Virginia, after serving nearly 11 months of a one-year sentence for filing a false federal income tax return.
Jackson, 53, reported to prison on Oct. 20, 2015, 30 days after her husband, former Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr., completed his own sentence on federal charges.
In 2013, Jesse Jackson Jr. pleaded guilty to misusing about $750,000 in campaign funds to pay for his family's lavish lifestyle. He was sentenced to 2 ½ years in prison, but was given time off his sentence for good behavior, and for completing a substance abuse program, and spent a total of 23 months in custody, including about three months in a halfway house, and another three months on home confinement.
Sandi Jackson pleaded guilty to filing false income tax returns, failing to report about $600,000 in income, and was sentenced to a year in prison.
Bureau of Prisons spokesman Justin Long said Sandi Jackson was transferred from the federal prison camp in Alderson, West Virginia, to a halfway house to complete her sentence. Long said the specific halfway house would not be disclosed for privacy reasons. Jackson's sentence will be completed on Oct. 18.
According to court documents, the Jacksons made dozens of personal purchases using campaign funds, including: memorabilia autographed by Michael Jackson, Eddie Van Halen, and Bruce Lee; fur coats and capes; two stuffed and mounted elk heads; a $43,500 Rolex; vacations to Disney World and Martha's Vineyard; various electronics; gym memberships; their children's private school tuition; and more.
Jesse Jackson Jr. served in Congress from 1995 until he resigned in November 2012, ending a once-promising political career. He left Congress that June, and his staff eventually confirmed he took a medical leave for treatment of bipolar disorder and other issues. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, mail fraud and making false statements in February of 2013.
Sandi Jackson pleaded guilty to filing a false income tax return, admitting she failed to report about $600,000 in income for several years, ending in 2011.