Detroit, MI (AP) – A federal judge has denied ex-Detroit councilwoman Monica Conyers' request to withdraw her guilty plea in a corruption case and sentenced her to three years and one month in prison.
Conyers suggested she was the victim of "badgering" last summer when she acknowledged a conspiracy to take bribes for her support of a Houston company seeking a sludge contract.
But U.S. District Judge Avern Cohn says her plea deal was voluntary.
Conyers, the wife of Democratic Detroit congressman John Conyers, quit her council seat after pleading guilty.
The government urged the judge to consider other alleged crimes Wednesday. Prosecutors say Conyers and an aide collected $69,500 from people seeking help from the city.