Former Houston district and appeallte judge Eric Andell — who formerly served as deputy undersecretary under fellow Houstonian Rod Paige at the U.S. Education Department — was sentenced to one year of probation and fined $5,000 Friday after pleading guilty to charges that he intentionally had the federal government pay about $9,000 for travel in which he conducted personal business and worked as a visiting judge while still employed at the Department of Education. Here is a previous post on the matter and here is the Chronicle story on the sentencing.
One of the most popular local Democratic politicians, Mr. Andell is a genuinely good man who made a mistake and owned up to it in a responsible manner. That he avoided any prison time is a just result.