PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — After tearfully declaring himself a disgrace, former Rhode Island House Speaker Gordon Fox was sentenced June 11 to three years in prison for corruption, saying he had been driven by greed, a desire to keep up with the Joneses and “just plain stupidity.”
The sentencing brings to a close the federal investigation into a man once considered the most powerful person in state government. He represented Providence for 11 terms in the House and became the nation’s first openly gay House speaker in 2010.
Crying, Fox apologized to his family, friends and to the state when he addressed the court. He described himself as a “lawbreaker, a disappointment and a disgrace, quite frankly.”
“I accept full responsibility for my actions. No excuses, no justifications,” the Democrat said. “I committed illegal acts and I’m very sorry for it.”
