Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
RENO, Nev. (AP) — A federal appeals court has denied a bid by former Nevada developer and power broker Harvey Whittemore to stay out of prison while he appeals his campaign finance conviction.
Friday's ruling means Whittemore must surrender to a federal prison on Wednesday to begin serving a two-year sentence for making illegal contributions to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, said Natalie Collins, spokeswoman for the Nevada U.S. Attorney's Office.
"You would have to speak with his attorney about whether they have other angles to pursue," she said by email.
Whittemore lawyer Justin Bustos declined comment Saturday on the decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Last week, Bustos filed a motion to allow Whittemore's release on bond pending appeal of his conviction. Oral arguments on the appeal are scheduled for Oct. 6 in San Francisco.
Whittemore was convicted last year of violating campaign-spending laws by using family and employees of his real estate company to funnel more than $130,000 to Reid's re-election committee in 2007.
Reid was not accused of wrongdoing in the case.
Whittemore, 61, will not be sent to a federal prison in Herlong, California, about 50 miles north of Reno, as he had hoped, according to officials there. His health problems require that he stay at a federal prison with higher levels of health care.
Whittemore suffers from diabetes, peripheral neuropathy, high blood pressure and heart disease, according to documents filed by his attorneys last September.
The U.S. Bureau of Prisons has declined to disclose the medium-security prison where he will serve his sentence, citing security.
Prisons with higher levels of care are in California, Oregon and Arizona, the Reno Gazette-Journal has reported.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
