Former Labor MP Craig Thomson will spend the next three months in prison.
Thomson was sentenced to one year in jail (including nine months suspended jail time) for stealing money from the Heath Services Union (HSU) to pay for prostitutes and personal expenses.
Victorian magistrate Charlie Rozencwajg handed down the sentence this morning, noting that he had "no doubt" imprisonment was the only appropriate response to Thomson's "blatant dishonesty" and "flagrant and insouciant" behaviour.
Thomson was asked to step into the dock with two security guards as soon as the sentence was handed down. He'll be held in custody pending a bail application later today.
Thomson, the former HSU national secretary, had faced up to five years imprisonment after being convicted of more than 60 theft and dishonesty offences. He was found guilty of using HSU credit cards to pay for escort services, personal travel, and personal expenses like firewood and cigarettes.
He paid prostitutes more than $5500 with HSU credit cards, and continued to spend union money after taking his seat in parliament.
Thomson has agreed to pay $24,538.42 (the total sum illegally taken) in compensation to the HSU, but he faces civil action from the union which could bring heftier fines.
Thomson's lawyers had tried to argue that public humiliation and the end of his political career constituted punishment enough, but let's face it — we live in a country where Clive Palmer is an elected member of parliament, and a world where Silvio Berlusconi still leads a political party. There is no public humiliation severe enough to guarantee the end of a political career.
So... Craig Thomson for PM in 2016, anyone?
UPDATE: Thomson has been granted bail, and will appear in the Victorian County Court on November 24 to appeal his conviction and sentence. Stay tuned...
[via The Australian]
