William Jefferson, the New Orleans, US congressman convicted in 2009 on bribery charges after he was famously caught with $90,000 cash stashed in his freezer, is now a free man.
A federal judge had reduced his 13-year sentence to the time he has already served: five years and five months.
The reduced sentence came on the joint recommendation of prosecutors and defence attorneys after a Supreme Court ruling in an unrelated case made it more difficult to convict public officials on bribery charges. Jefferson was freed from prison in October, when Judge T.S. Ellis III tossed out seven of his 10 conviction counts.
Jefferson, 70, did not address the court during the hearing but told reporters afterward he was grateful to his attorneys, family and friends for their support and that he wanted to be active in the community.
Patriarch of a family that once wielded considerable political influence in New Orleans, he exchanged hugs with relatives and friends who congratulated him on his freedom.
How US Congressman Jefferson was jailed, freed over bribe saga in Nigeria
