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Former Florida mayor sentenced to 51 months for embezzling from United Way

PENSACOLA, Fla. — The former mayor of a Florida Panhandle city was sentenced to 51 months in prison Friday after he was convicted of embezzling from United Way.

Guy Thompson, 66, was sentenced after pleading guilty to 23 federal counts of wire fraud and tax evasion in May, WEAR-TV reported. Thompson had been accused of embezzling more than $650,000 from United Way of Santa Rosa County, where he was executive director, from 2011 to 2018, the television station reported.

U.S. District Judge Casey Rodgers handed down the sentenc eat 5:30 p.m., nearly four and half hours after Thompson’s hearing began, the Pensacola News Journal reported. The former mayor will report to prison May 2, the newspaper reported.

An FBI investigation revealed years of embezzlement while Thompson was in charge of the United Way chapter in Santa Rosa County, the News Journal reported. The charges against Thompson included 20 counts of wire fraud and three counts of tax evasion.

Thompson was a Milton city commissioner from 1978 to 1994 and served as mayor from 1994 to 2014.