Former St. Gabriel mayor resentenced

BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) - The former mayor of St. Gabriel will spend a little less time in prison. On Tuesday, he was re-sentenced to 20 years from his original sentencing of 22 years.

The ruling was made by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. It is believed to be the longest public corruption prison sentence in the history of Louisiana.

In March 2012, a jury found Grace guilty on seven of 13 counts resulting from an FBI sting known as Operation Blighted Officials. The guilty charges included violations of the RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) Act, making false statements to the FBI, bribery, mail and wire fraud and aid of racketeering.

Prosecutors say Grace accepted bribes for a fake product known as Cifer 5000.

New Roads Mayor Tommy Nelson, Port Allen Mayor Derek Lewis, the city's Police Chief Fred Smith and White Castle Mayor Maurice Brown were also convicted on felony corruption charges from Operation Blighted Officials. White Castle Police Chief Mario Brown was acquitted.

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